It goes without saying that cyber dangers are growing for businesses of all sizes and sectors. The CISA, NSA, and FBI, among other U.S. cybersecurity agencies, are aware of recent allegations of an uptick in malicious cyber activity and anticipate that trend to continue. Organizations must deal with security flaws and vulnerabilities brought on by a patchwork of IT systems and solutions that are difficult to see and give off a false impression of security.

What are cyber threat organizations?

Attackers who act in a coordinated and synchronized manner are known as cyber threat groups. To avoid being discovered, these adversary organizations keep changing their behavior and tactic, technique, and procedure (TTP) repertoire.

Threat Group Types

Groups engaged in cybercrime act like real businesses with training, rewards, advertising, and customer service. Numerous threat organizations have been around for a while, developing various exploitation techniques. Threat groupings can be categorized into three categories:

  1. Attackers with a financial motive (FINs): These organizations finance their activity by using threat vectors like click fraud, ransomware, and phishing emails. The rewards for cybercrime are enormous, and the risks are minor. These persistent financial attackers take their time, employ “low and slow” methods, and prey on vulnerable people by using social engineering. Example: REvil, also known as Sodinokibi and GandCrab, has been accused of stealing from the Bank of Bangladesh and the SWIFT banking network.
  2. Nation-state adversaries (APTs): These well-funded attackers utilize cybertheft and espionage to steal sensitive information like intellectual property in order to further their nation’s objectives and political agenda. They might find complicit support in a liberal climate even if they are not officially a part of the administration. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are used by nation-state adversaries for their malicious actions, and they are known to skulk for several months in order to accomplish their goals. APT 29, a group from the Nobelium, is thought to be behind the SolarWinds attack, which targeted thousands of unwary victims.
  3. Hacktivists: Although they are less common than actors who are financially motivated and nation-state opponents, they nonetheless cause significant damage to corporations and governments. Political and social ideologies, as well as the desire to incite discontent or bring about societal change, drive hacktivists. As an illustration, consider the assault on Sony Pictures as payback for the release of a film that was critical of North Korea.

Threat Intelligence Decreases Risk and Attack Surface

Cybercriminals have a wide variety of goals and tactics, and their dangers cannot be disregarded. Your chance of being a victim of an expensive security event decreases if you are aware of these danger groups and their tactics.