Advanced Persistent Threat, Phishing Experiment, AppSec Tool

#9 Focusing on Cyber Security

Jul 04, 2024

A systematic literature review on advanced persistent threat behaviors and its detection strategy

Advanced persistent threats (APTs) pose significant security risks to organizations due to their complex and persistent nature. This study reviews existing research on APT detection methods, identifying gaps and proposing future directions. A comprehensive analysis of 45 academic and industry studies reveals that APTs exploit systemic vulnerabilities to achieve their objectives. The research proposes a new approach that combines multi-stage attack behavior analysis with vulnerability assessment and visualization techniques to improve APT detection accuracy. This approach identifies the most probable attack paths and targets, enabling proactive security measures. The study emphasizes the importance of integrating various techniques to enhance overall organizational security against APTs.

Who will take the bait? Using an embedded, experimental study to chart organization-specific phishing risk profiles and the effect of a voluntary microlearning among employees of a Dutch municipality

[Link]

This study examined phishing risks in a large Dutch municipality by sending two test phishing emails to all employees. The experiment focused on ethical considerations and found that senior and middle-aged employees are most susceptible to phishing but less likely to participate in voluntary online training. The study also found that the microlearning intervention did not affect the results, suggesting that a tailored offline training approach might be more effective in raising awareness and resilience against phishing in public organizations. The authors advocate for further research on the human-as-solution approach and understanding the behavior of "never-clickers.”

TALKS

A Walkthrough: AppSec Tool Selection, Procurement, and Implementation

The speaker shares their experience with the process of application security (AppSec) tooling selection, procurement, and implementation. They emphasize the importance of understanding the need and landscape, evaluating and selecting vendors, procuring and preparing, implementing and rolling out, and operationalizing with metrics. They provide tips on engaging with liaisons, discovering vendors, and preparing for vendor demonstrations. They also discuss the vendor evaluation document, proof of concept, business justification, contract negotiations, and implementation rollout. The speaker concludes by highlighting the importance of planning next steps and operationalization, and aligning the project with OKRs.

Key points:

Understand the need and landscape before selecting and implementing AppSec tools.
Engage with liaisons to gain insights and build relationships.
Prepare for vendor demonstrations and prioritize your defined scope.
Use a vendor evaluation document to compare and evaluate different options.
Conduct a proof of concept to test the tool in your environment.
Plan your next steps and operationalization strategy.
Align the project with your company's OKRs.

IN DEPTH

Advanced persistent threats (APTs)

Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are sophisticated, long-term cyberattacks typically carried out by state-sponsored groups or well-resourced organizations. They aim to gain unauthorized access to a target network and remain undetected for an extended period while extracting sensitive data or causing disruption.

Key characteristics of APTs include:

Sophistication: APTs employ advanced techniques, including zero-day exploits, custom malware, and social engineering, making them difficult to detect and mitigate.
Persistence: APTs are designed to maintain a long-term presence within a network, often remaining undetected for months or even years.
Targeted: APTs are typically focused on specific organizations or industries, with attackers carefully researching their targets to maximize the impact of their attacks.
Motivated: APTs are usually driven by financial or political gain, with attackers seeking to steal valuable information, disrupt operations, or cause reputational damage.

The impact of APTs can be severe, resulting in:

Data breaches: APTs can lead to the theft of sensitive data, including intellectual property, financial information, and personal data.
Operational disruption: APTs can disrupt critical business operations, causing financial losses and reputational damage.
Espionage: APTs can be used to gather intelligence on governments, organizations, and individuals.

Protecting against APTs requires a multi-layered approach, including:

Network security: Implementing robust firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and other security measures to protect the network perimeter.
Endpoint security: Deploying endpoint protection solutions to detect and block malicious activity on individual devices.
Security awareness training: Educating employees about the risks of APTs and how to identify and report suspicious activity.
Incident response planning: Developing a plan for responding to and recovering from APT attacks.

APTs are a serious threat to organizations of all sizes, and it is important to take proactive steps to protect against them. By implementing a comprehensive security strategy, organizations can reduce the risk of falling victim to an APT attack.