Presenter: In this lesson,
we will learn about threat actor motivation.
Threat actor motivations are the underlying reasons
or goals that drive an attacker
to target a specific organization or system.
Threat actor motivations include geopolitical, espionage,
financial, activism, and notoriety factors.
Geopolitical motivations often involve nation-state actors
seeking to disrupt or influence another country's political
or economic stability.
Espionage is driven by the desire
to steal sensitive information,
such as intellectual property or state secrets.
Financially-motivated attackers seek monetary gain,
usually through activities like ransomware attacks or fraud.
Activists, often known as hacktivists,
aim to promote a political or social cause
by disrupting services or leaking information.
And notoriety driven attackers, including thrill seekers
or those seeking to build a reputation
may target high-profile systems
to gain recognition or bragging rights.
Let's learn more about geopolitical,
espionage, financial, activism,
and notoriety threat actor motivations.
First, we have geopolitical.
Geopolitical motivations are driven by nation-states
aiming to disrupt or influence the political
or economic stability of another country.
These attackers target critical infrastructure,
financial systems, or government networks
to create instability or gain strategic advantage.
For example, advanced persistent threat groups
often tied to specific governments
execute long-term covert campaigns to achieve these goals.
One notable example is the Russian APT,
or advanced persistent threat group, known as Fancy Bear.
Fancy Bear has allegedly been involved in influencing the US
French, German, and Ukrainian national elections
by targeting systems to manipulate public opinion.
Their activities have reportedly included hacking
and leaking sensitive information
to sway voter perspectives.
As an aside, in the real world,
you will see the term APT
or advanced persistent threat used
to describe both threat groups
and tactics, techniques, and procedures, or TTPs,
that sophisticated attack groups use.
This is because, at first, APTs were identified
as sophisticated groups monetarily supported
by nation-states,
and over time, those nation-state's sophisticated actors
were better identified by the TTPs or tactics, techniques,
and procedures that they use.
Nowadays, threat actor groups
may not need nation-state funding to support
and launch sophisticated APT-level attacks.
So the term APT is now being used
to represent sophisticated TTPs
and is not necessarily meant
to represent nation-state support.
At any rate, nation-state actors
often target specific sectors
like elections, energy, finance, or healthcare.
Knowing that these actors aim to destabilize economies
or influence policy decisions,
organizations can implement enhanced monitoring
and threat intelligence to stay ahead of these threats.
By focusing on geopolitical motivations,
businesses can tailor defenses to detect
and respond to complex, long-term threats
that seek to exploit vulnerabilities
and disrupt society on a national scale.
Second, we have espionage.
Espionage is all about stealing sensitive data,
whether it's intellectual property, trade secrets,
or government information.
Motivated by competitive advantage
or intelligence gathering,
these attackers often operate as APTs,
staying hidden for extended periods of time
to access valuable information.
A well-known espionage motivated attack
was the SolarWinds breach,
where allegedly the Russian-backed APT29
known as Cozy Bear inserted a backdoor called SUNBURST
into software updates,
allowing them to access sensitive government
and corporate networks.
Understanding espionage-driven attackers
means recognizing the threat to confidential data
and knowing they aim to remain undetected,
accessing systems for as long as possible
without triggering alerts.
Then protecting against espionage threats
involves strengthening data access controls,
monitoring for unusual access patterns,
and ensuring regular security checks
on software and system updates.
In the end, knowing that espionage-motivated attackers
are seeking specific types of information
helps organizations prioritized protection
for their most sensitive data.
And by understanding the espionage motivation,
companies can recognize the importance
of preventing unauthorized access,
reducing the risk of long-term data exposure.
Third, we have a financially-motivated attacks.
Financially-motivated attackers are typically driven
by the desire to make money,
often through tactics like ransomware, fraud,
and data theft.
Organized crime groups are major players here
using well-funded sophisticated methods to extort money
or steal data for profit.
A recent example involves ransomware attacks
from groups like DarkSide,
which targeted companies' critical systems,
and demanded substantial ransoms to restore operations.
DarkSide gained attention
with its attack on the Colonial Pipeline,
which disrupted fuel supplies
along the United States' East Coast,
leading to significant economic and logistical challenges.
The group's tactics included encrypting data
and threatening to leak sensitive information
if their demands were not met,
pressuring victims to pay quickly.
So financial motivations often lead to high-pressure attacks
with criminals focused on obtaining immediate payoffs,
often using disruptive tactics that halt business functions
until their demands are met.
Understanding the financial motivation
behind these attacks helps businesses recognize areas
vulnerable to ransom or theft,
such as customer data or financial records.
Then by implementing strategies like data backups,
employee training on phishing,
and endpoint protection,
organizations can reduce their exposure
to financially-motivated attacks.
In the end, recognizing the attacker's emphasis
on quick financial gain allows companies to stay alert
for suspicious activities that hint at ransomware or fraud.
Fourth, we have activism.
Activism-motivated attackers known as hacktivists
conduct attacks to advance a political or social cause.
These attackers, often part of a hacktivist group,
target organizations or individuals they see
as opposing their values or as harmful to society.
A prominent hacktivist group, Anonymous,
has launched various cyber campaigns
including those against organizations
that they perceive as corrupt or unjust.
An example of Anonymous' activism
was operation in Tunisia in 2011
where the group supported pro-democracy protests
during the Arab Spring.
In response to internet censorship
and government repression,
Anonymous launched cyber attacks
against Tunisian government websites,
including those of the prime minister and president.
They also provided Tunisians with tools
to bypass government internet blocks,
aiming to empower citizens to access information
and organize protests against the regime.
So hacktivist attacks can disrupt services,
leak sensitive data,
or damage reputations to bring attention to their cause
rather than financial gain or espionage.
By understanding activism motivations,
organizations can anticipate attacks
based on political or social events
and ensure systems are secure against disruptions
or data leaks.
Knowing that activists seek attention and public impact,
companies can monitor external mentions
and threat intelligence to anticipate attacks.
In the end, awareness of activism-based motives
helps organizations manage public relations
and safeguard data,
especially when a controversial issue
could make them a target.
Fifth and last, we have notoriety.
Notoriety-motivated attackers are driven by the desire
for attention, recognition,
or status within hacker communities.
These threat actors, often script kiddies or thrill seekers,
use readily available tools to disrupt systems
and cause downtime,
often without fully understanding
the techniques they employ.
Their primary aim is the visibility or bragging rights
rather than causing serious harm
or achieving financial gain.
A notable example of a group motivated by notoriety
is the LAPSUS$ group.
The LAPSUS$ group gained attention
by breaching large organizations like Microsoft and Nvidia,
often using basic tactics like phishing
or social engineering.
While their attacks lacked sophistication,
they still created significant disruption,
impacting Microsoft and Nvidia business reputation
and operational stability.
So understanding notoriety-driven motivations
helps organizations recognize the risk of low-skill,
high-impact attacks that aim to create noise
rather than breach security.
By securing publicly-accessible systems
and monitoring for unusual traffic spikes,
organizations can quickly detect and mitigate these attacks.
So remember, threat actor motivations
are the driving forces behind attacks,
and they include geopolitical, espionage,
financial, activism, and notoriety factors.
Geopolitical motivations often involve nation-state actors
aiming to disrupt or influence another country's political
or economic stability.
Espionage-driven attacks
focus on stealing sensitive information
such as trade secrets
or state intelligence for competitive
or strategic advantage.
Financially-motivated attackers seek profit,
commonly through ransomware or fraud,
often targeting data
that can yield quick monetary returns.
Activism, in this context also known as hacktivism,
centers on advancing a political or social cause
by disrupting organizations viewed as harmful.
Next, notoriety-driven attackers,
which are often thrill seekers,
aim to gain recognition within hacker communities
by causing disruptions or targeting high-profile systems.
Recognizing these motivations helps organizations
tailor security measures to address specific threats,
and knowing the goals of attackers enables companies
to prioritize defenses for areas most likely to be targeted.