Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs)
Over recent years, cyberattacks have become more complex and advanced than ever before. As a proud stockist of the SonicWall firewall range of products, we work hard every day to help companies stay secure. Advanced persistent threats are a huge area of concern for many business owners today, with cyberhackers working to get into your system and target sensitive data. Keep reading to discover the advanced persistent threat definition and how you can work to avoid this issue in the future.
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What is an Advanced Persistent Threat?
An advanced persistent threat is a term used to describe an attack on your system where the aim is to create a long-term impact and access your highly sensitive data. These attacks primarily concern larger business or government organisations and require a lot of research and planning before they can be undertaken. They might be looking to steal a patent, compromise a database, or completely take over a site. As you can imagine, the consequences of an advanced persistent threat are massive, leaving companies in complete disrepair. They often realise they’ve been the victim of this type of attack once it’s too late, which is why every business should have a SonicWall VPN firewall in place to avoid these types of issues.
An APT requires more resources and planning than a typical cyberattack and is usually carried out by very experienced cybercriminals. These attacks can even be funded by the government or used as warfare weapons within the cyber world. Compared to many other types of cyberattack, the aim is to spend time in the system and try to get as much information as possible. APTs are manually executed and usually have a large range of targets, working to take over your entire network.
The Stages of an APT
Now you know what advanced persistent threat detection is, you’ll want to discover the different stages of this type of attack. These can be broken down in many ways, but we’ll keep it simple by focusing on the three main parts of the attack.
Network Infiltration
The first stage of an APT is network infiltration, which involves the compromising of either web assets, authorised human users, or your network resources. These can typically be achieved via phishing, malicious uploads, or other types of social engineering attacks. Cyberhackers may work to create a sort of distraction that will confuse the network personnel and weaken the security systems in place, which helps to make it easier to continue with the next parts of the attack. Once this access has been granted, attackers then use malware to gain further access and continue onto the next stage of an APT – expansion.
Expansion
Once a presence has been established within the network, the next stage of the APT attack is to expand their presence within a network. Hackers work their way up through the hierarchy of an organisation, working to gain access to sensitive data that’s held by top employees. This might offer them employee data, financial information, or information about the range of products and services on offer. There is likely an overarching goal in place for this whole operation, and the advanced persistent threat list could be sold to a competitor or used to destroy a whole organisation. These attacks are naturally quite nasty and require a lot of time and effort to meet their end goals.
Extraction
The third and final stage of an APT is to extract the data and information that has been found throughout the attack. Stolen information is usually secured within a secure location inside the network, and then the cyberhackers work to extract all of this information without getting detected. They may use various tactics at this point to try and distract anyone who has noticed anything suspicious going on in the system, such as with a DDoS attack. Once this stage is completed, the data can be sold or used to bring the company down as planned.
As you can imagine, a lot of time and planning goes into an APT. As a business owner, you need to do all you can to ensure you have security measures in place that will protect you from any type of advanced attack. A VPN firewall is one of the best protection options on offer, helping you to secure your network and stop unwanted visitors from gaining access to anywhere in your system.
Are you looking to improve your security within your business this year? If so, we recommend you buy a SonicWall VPN firewall and work with our team to find the best option based on your current security concerns. Take a look through the full selection of products on offer on our site or contact our team today for more information about how we can protect you from APTs.
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