What is an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attack?

Preface

APT attacks are compound cyber attacks that utilize multiple stages and different attack techniques. APTs are not attacks conceived or carried out on a whim. Instead, attackers deliberately tailor their attack strategies to specific targets. and attack over a longer period of time.
In this article, we will understand the concept of APT and describe the five stages of APT attacks.

What is an advanced persistent threat

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are organized cyberattacks launched by a group of highly skilled and experienced attackers. APT is not a hit-and-run attack. Attackers carefully plan their activities against strategic targets and conduct them over a long period of time.
APT is a compound attack involving multiple stages and multiple attack techniques. Many common attack vectors were originally introduced as part of APT campaigns, with the most prominent examples including zero-day vulnerabilities and malware.
APT activities often involve multiple modes and multiple access points.
The goals of APT attackers and the consequences organizations face include:

• Steal confidential data
• Theft of personally identifiable information or other sensitive data
• Destroyed, database deleted
• Complete site takeover
• Obtain infrastructure data for reconnaissance purposes
• Obtain credentials for critical systems

What are the unique characteristics of advanced persistent threat attacks?

There are many clear signs that APT attacks exist. include

• Actors – Attacks are typically performed by actors with specific tasks. These actors are often supported by the state or by companies or organizations
• Target – long-term disruption of target capabilities or information collection, the purpose of such disruption or data leakage may be operational or political
• Timeliness – The focus of the attack is to ensure that the attacker gains access and maintains access for a significant period of time. Often attackers will return to a compromised system multiple times during an attack
• Resources – APT attacks require significant resources and time to execute. This includes time, security and development expertise
• Risk tolerance – Attackers are less likely to use broad attacks and instead focus on specific targets. Attackers also need to be more careful to avoid getting caught
• Methodology – APT attacks often employ sophisticated techniques with security expertise. These techniques include rootkits, DNS tunneling, social engineering and rogue wifi
• Source of attack – APT attacks can come from multiple locations and can occur during a break for security teams. Attackers often take the time to fully understand a system’s vulnerabilities before choosing an entry point.
• Attack Value – Attack value can refer to the size of the target or the size of the attack. Large organizations are more frequently targeted by APTs than smaller ones, and similarly, large data transfers often indicate that APT attacks require larger organizations
• Can bypass traditional detection tools – APT attacks often bypass traditional tools that rely on signature-based detection. To do this, attackers use new technologies.

Five stages of APT attacks

There are multiple stages to an APT attack, from the attacker's initial access to eventual data exfiltration and subsequent attacks:

1. Initial Access APT groups begin their activities by gaining access to a network through one of three attack surfaces: web-based systems, networks, or human users. They often gain access through malicious uploads, searching for and exploiting application vulnerabilities, vulnerabilities in security tools, and most commonly, spear phishing targeting employees with privileged accounts. The goal is to infect the target with malware.
2. Initial Exfiltration and Malware Deployment After gaining access, attackers compromise the penetrated system by installing backdoor shells, Trojan horses disguised as legitimate software, or other malware that allows them network access and remote control of the penetrated system. An important milestone is establishing outbound connections to its command and control systems. APTs may use advanced malware techniques such as encryption, obfuscation, or code rewriting to hide their activities.
3. Expanding access and lateral movement Attackers use the first penetration to gather more information about the target network. They may use brute force attacks, or exploit other vulnerabilities they find inside the network to gain deeper access and control other, more sensitive systems. Attackers install additional backdoors and create tunnels that allow them to move laterally across the network and move data at will.
4. Launching an Attack Once they have expanded their reach, attackers identify the data or assets they want and transmit it to a secure location within the network, often encrypted and compressed in preparation for disclosure. This stage may take some time as attackers continue to compromise more sensitive systems and transfer their data to secure storage.
5. Exfiltrate or cause damage Finally, the attacker is ready to transfer data outside the system. They will often conduct "DDos attacks," such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, to distract security teams while they transmit data beyond the network perimeter. They will then take steps to delete forensic evidence of the data transfer. Depending on the target of the attack, the APT group may at this point be able to cause significant damage, cripple the organization, or take over critical assets such as a website or data center.
6. Follow-up Attacks If an APT attack involves a silent data breach that goes undetected, the attacker will remain within the network and wait for other attack opportunities. Over time, they may collect more sensitive data and repeat the process. They will also work on creating hard-to-detect backdoors so that even if they are caught, they can regain access to the system in the future.

APT detection and protective measures

APT is a multi-faceted attack, and defense must include multiple security tools and technologies. These include:

Email filtering – Most APT attacks utilize phishing to gain initial access. Filtering emails and blocking malicious links or attachments in emails can thwart these penetration attempts.
Endpoint Protection – All APT attacks involve the takeover of an endpoint device. Advanced anti-malware protection and endpoint detection and response can help identify and react to endpoint compromise by APT actors.
Access Control – Strong authentication measures and tight management of user accounts, with special attention to privileged accounts, can reduce the risk of APTs.
Monitor traffic, user and entity behavior - can help identify penetration, lateral movement and exfiltration at different stages of APT attacks.

Summarize

This article briefly introduces APT attacks.
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