Targeted attacks reap big rewards. Large organizations and institutions have faced a sophisticated attacks and millions of customer data has been affected. Not only it causes financial losses but tarnishes the reputation.
When does an attack become targeted attack?
There are few specific details for an attack to be called targeted:
- When the attackers have specific target in mind. Attackers would devote considerable amount of time and resources in carrying out the attack.
- The attack is long and persistent. The attackers will not only infiltrate the network but go much beyond that.
- Attackers look to steal data in large quantity and hold it for ransom or might publish it publicly.
Clearly targeted and advanced attacks have one thing in mind, to study and analyze the target for a considerable time and develop the attack tools specific to the victim’s vulnerability. Given the dangerous extent of the attack, it is required the protection is advanced.
Framework for Complex threats
There are 3 basic steps to be undertaken for protection:
- Prevent- Acting on the existing threats.
This is the most efficient way to identify as well as fight threats. It causes minimal impact to network and daily operations. The risk can be reduced by inspection and if high risk is seen, it can be separated for further inspection.
- Detect- Identification of unknown threats and making the network more intelligent in detection.
Unknown ‘zero-day’ threats are sophisticated and hard to detect. Advanced threat detection is necessary because the attackers stay hidden in plain sight. Malicious codes can stay hidden for months before they actually start acting.
Sandboxing is one of the powerful tools which can be used at this stage. Additional botnet detection will add to the protection layer and help in analyzing unusual activity and flag them.
- Mitigate- A system’s response to threats.
Prognosis is the crucial step. Once the threats are identified organizations need to act fast. Validating the threat and taking necessary measure to mitigate it are crucial. Systems and devices need to be quarantined immediately.
Solutions to safeguard against targeted attacks need to be powerful. These simple yet crucial steps need to work together in a synchrony and on a regular basis. Adding additional layer of security for the entire system once the threat has been detected is another step which the protection should do.
Logix Infosecurity deploys latest advanced threat protection systems. They effectively help prevent the attacks. Data leakage as well as targeted ransom attacks are carefully analyzed and mitigated.