Threat intelligence: forewarned is forearmed
For companies and organizations seeking to navigate their way through the dark alleys of today’s cyber-insecure world, peril lurks in many forms. Malware, spyware, spear phishing, worms, viruses, trojan horses, denial of service, data breaches, surveillance, exfiltration, sabotage…the litany of cyber threats and their devastating consequences for victims continues to grow.
In addition, the increasing omnipresence of devices, online transactions, apps and internet-connected things presents an ever-expanding array of vulnerabilities for attackers to exploit.
Fighting back is possible, but doing so effectively requires first knowing who you’re up against. The profiles, motivations, sophistication and strategies of mischief makers vary widely and a defense designed for one may leave you open to the attacks of another:
- Hacktivists – groups like Anonymous who target companies and institutions for a variety of reasons, possibly ideological, political or social;
- “Script-kiddies” – individuals, often young people, attracted by the challenge of showing they can break through IT defenses;
- Cyber terrorists – sometimes organized as groups to compromise a government or other target;
- Cyber criminals – profit-seeking individuals or groups who steal or extort money;
- Targeted Intrusion – mercenaries attacking in waves to present an “Advanced Persistent Threat”, sometimes state-sponsored, hired to steal from and/or destabilize the target.
The likelihood of being preyed upon by one or more of these perpetrators and the attack strategy employed also varies by the type of organization being targeted. Government entities may be a high priority target for state-sponsored cyber pirates while cyber criminals may choose to focus on companies or financial institutions.
To combat these multiple and rapidly-changing threats, cyber security expert Thales provides clients in the defense, energy, maritime, financial and other industries with consulting services and solutions tailored to respond to their specific situation. Combined with rapid-response capabilities, Thales’ team of cyber specialists conducts an analysis of the client’s profile to determine likely aggressors and potential attack pathways and propagation tools. Monitoring, detection and response strategies are then customized to meet each client’s threat matrix.
The bottom line: even the darkest alleys can be made safer if you know where to shine the light.
Comments Ivan Fontarensky, Cyberdefense & Threat Intelligence manager at Thales:“Our priority is using threat intelligence to ensure clients aren’t overwhelmed with extraneous information and to focus our response on the most critical dangers to their business.”