Formidable APT Cyberattacks on the Rise

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) have emerged as a formidable cybersecurity menace given their capacity to infiltrate networks undetected, wreaking substantial havoc in their wake. These attacks primarily focus on gaining unauthorized access to sensitive data, intellectual property and financial information to extort for remunerative gain. Alarmingly, a recent study led by Infoblox reveals that 34% of companies worldwide have experienced severe reputational damage due to APT attacks, leading to significant financial losses. 

APT attacks are typically orchestrated by well-funded, organized and highly skilled threat actors, such as nation-states and cybercriminal groups. These adversaries are typically driven by specific objectives, such as   stealing sensitive data, conducting espionage or disrupting critical operations. The success rate of ATPs can be attributed to the extensive research cybercriminals conduct on their victims and the development of tailor-made strategies to maintain their presence within the targeted network for as long as possible for maximum impact. 

As a result, APT attacks became the second most preferred cyberthreat employed by cybercriminals targeting organizations during 2022, according to Infoblox. While phishing and ransomware attacks were more prominent in Mexico, accounting for 59% and 54% of cyber incidents recorded within the country, there has been a noticeable uptick in APT attacks. Over 46% of the surveyed Mexican companies have fallen victim to APT attacks. This surge underscores a growing preference for this strategy among cybercriminals, ushering in a new era of cyberthreat sophistication.

In response, organizations are investing heavily in advanced security measures, including firewalls, antivirus solutions, multifactor authentication and encryption. However, these traditional security measures may prove insufficient against the sophistication of APT strategies, which normally make use of other cyberattack tools in combination to enhance their success. This can include the repurposing of malware to bypass antivirus programs and exploiting DNS protocols to effectively evade firewalls and web filters.

Against these formidable attacks, organizations should continually reassess their security posture, update their defenses and invest in resources to anticipate them, prescribes Iván Sánchez, Vice President of Sales Latin America, Infoblox. This is significantly important for organizations with time-sensitive supply demands, given that APT attacks can disrupt a company's operations, causing downtime, loss of productivity and financial losses due to system unavailability.

Infoblox’s report identified that 34% of companies have experienced reputational damage as a consequence of APT attacks, while 68% of organizations have grappled with data loss resulting from targeted network incursions. As a result, organizations are seeking comprehensive solutions that offer unified visibility and control across multiple cloud platforms under a centralized management tool. In this context, automation, real-time visibility and workload control in the cloud will become indispensable as companies strive to combat the evolving threat of ATPs.