Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is a term used to describe targeted cyber attacks that are carefully planned and executed by skilled attackers in order to gain access to an organization’s network and compromise sensitive data and information over an extended period of time. APT attack campaigns involve numerous attack vectors including compromised systems, social engineering, malware and network data exploitation.
An APT attack is designed to achieve a specific goal such as stealing company information, espionage, disruption of services, or destruction of company systems. The goal of the attack is to remain undetected and gain access to multiple related systems, allowing the attackers an extended window of attack. This type of attack is difficult to detect and significantly more difficult to defend against because they are specifically tailored to a company’s unique network infrastructure and security posture.
In order to protect against an APT attack, organizations need to have a comprehensive security approach which includes training users, security awareness programs, stringent access control, network segmentation, and an in-depth security monitoring system. It is vitally important that organizations invest in a security solution that can detect and mitigate any threats that may come from an APT attack.
