🔑 Key Takeaways
- Outsourcing security teams to detect Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) in clients' networks can save money, and immediate action is crucial to protect valuable intellectual property. Forensics and incident response consultants work diligently to detect, isolate and defeat the attacker.
- When facing an APT attack, forensic analysis of malware is crucial in developing a deeper understanding of their methods. It is important to monitor their activity to accurately identify and remove their ingress points.
- Research extensively to build knowledge and understand threats better. Don't rush remediation, as removing malware prematurely can compromise the investigation. Work with cybersecurity teams to determine the best course of action and remain calm.
- Companies must stay alert to ongoing network monitoring and maintain constant vigilance against cyber-security threats like APTs. A successful attack can lead to severe consequences, including a buy-out attempt or other impacts on business operations.
- Companies must prioritize protecting their intellectual property from state-sponsored cyber criminals and be cautious of unexpected buyout offers. Remediation efforts should include looking for missed discoveries, but most attacks are focused on theft, not destruction.
📝 Podcast Summary
The Excitement and Importance of Thwarting Cyber Attacks
Companies often outsource their security teams to save money, and a security team's job is to detect APTs in their clients' networks, which are the worst kind of hackers to find in a network. Andrew, a District Forensics and Incident Response Consultant, works for a security assessment and digital forensics company that offers this service. During his assessment, they detected an active threat actor in a client's environment, which is a company that develops cutting-edge technology and has valuable IP. Andrew and his team worked to thwart the hacker in a toe-to-toe scenario. This work can be very exciting, especially when facing such high-stakes cyber threats.
Understanding and combatting advanced persistent threats
Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups are highly-skilled hackers with specific goals and significant resources. They are difficult to detect and often sponsored by nation-states. When attacked by an APT, it is crucial to study the malware used in their tactics to understand their methods. Forensic teams isolate and identify the malware, develop a profile, and collect IOCs that are used to detect more about the APT in the network. A monitoring period is needed to identify where the APT is active in the environment before attempting remediation. This is to get a more accurate picture of their ingress points and infrastructure, so it is not mistakenly removed, and they come back in a different location.
How to Approach Remedying Cybersecurity Threats with Care
It is important to tread carefully while remedying cybersecurity threats as threat actors can change their tools and tactics once they know they are being targeted. The blind spots this creates can be dangerous for the company and its intellectual property. With extensive research, teams will be able to build up their knowledge and understand the threat better. It is crucial to not rush remediation, as removing malware prematurely can compromise the investigation. In some cases, these threats can go undetected for years and have catastrophic consequences. It is important for companies to remain calm and to work with their cybersecurity teams to progress with remediation and determine the best course of action.
APT, Buy-Out Attempt, and Vigilance Against Cyber Threats
A company's security team discovers an APT in their network and studies it to collect more data. The team prepares to remediate the issue and fly out to the company's location when they discover that the APT has gone quiet. A financial news report reveals that the company had been subject to a buy-out attempt by a company from the same part of the world that the threat actor was from. The security team begins to suspect that the APT was involved in the buy-out attempt. It is important for companies to constantly monitor their networks and stay vigilant against cyber threats, as the potential consequences of a successful attack can be severe.
Prioritizing the Protection of Intellectual Property and Mitigating Cyber Attack Risk
Hacking is a business and cyber criminals are motivated by money. This means that companies must think differently about how they protect their intellectual property from state-sponsored groups who may be conducting due diligence before acquisition. Remediation efforts after an attack should include looking for any missed discoveries, but it is important to note that most attacks are focused on theft and not destruction or corruption of data. Companies must be aware of the potential for inflated figures prior to acquisition and be cautious of unexpected buyout offers. Ultimately, companies must prioritize the protection of their intellectual property and consider the motivations of state-sponsored groups in order to mitigate the risk of cyber attacks.
