Advanced persistent threats (APTs) have been thrust into the spotlight due to their advanced tactics, techniques, procedures, and tools. These APTs are resourced unlike other types of cyber threat actors.
Your chief technology officer (CTO) has formed teams to each develop a detailed analysis and presentation of a specific APT, which she will assign to the team.
Your team’s report should use the Week 5 and 6 Assignment Template to cover the following five areas:
Part 1: Threat Landscape Analysis
Provide a detailed analysis of the threat landscape in 2018.
What has changed since 2017?
Describe common tactics, techniques, and procedures to include threat actor types.
What are the exploit vectors and vulnerabilities threat actors are predicted to take advantage of?
Part 2: APT Analysis
Provide a detailed analysis and description of the APT your group was assigned. Describe the specific tactics used to gain access to the target(s).
Describe the tools used. Describe what the objective of the APT was/is. Was it successful?
Part 3: Cybersecurity Tools, Tactics, and Procedures
Describe current hardware- and software-based cybersecurity tools, tactics, and procedures.
Consider the hardware and software solutions deployed today in the context of defense-in-depth.
Elaborate on why these devices are not successful against the APTs.
Part 4: Machine Learning and Data Analytics
Describe the concepts of machine learning and data analytics and how applying them to cybersecurity will evolve the field.
Are there companies providing innovative defensive cybersecurity measures based on these technologies? If so, what are they? Would you recommend any of these to the CTO?
Part 5: Using Machine Learning and Data Analytics to Prevent APTly
Describe how machine learning and data analytics could have detected and/or prevented the APT you analyzed had the victim organization deployed these technologies at the time of the event.
Sample Solution
