Inside the Advanced Persistent Threat

The evolution of hackers from script kiddies into sophisticated attackers with focused goals has led to the emergence of a new kind of cyberwarfare threat— the advanced persistent threat (APT). APTs earned their name because they make use of advanced technologies, select specific targets, and then remain focused on those targets until they achieve victory. An APT might be willing to invest months or years of time toward infiltrating and compromising a valuable target.

APTs are highly organized and have significant resources at their disposal. They move beyond the hacker confederations of earlier times because they have defined leadership and a command structure. APTs might be military units, other government-sponsored ...

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