Identifying and Understanding Threat Actors and Their Intent in today’s world of Cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity is one of the fastest expanding fields in the IT industry. Security experts are constantly uncovering new and developing dangers, resulting in asset compromise by threat actors. As digital dangers become more prevalent, organizations are developing new roles to secure and safeguard their assets. This article aims to equip prospective penetration testers with the necessary information and abilities to excel in the cybersecurity sector. Penetration testers are cybersecurity professionals with hacking expertise who simulate real-world cyber-attacks on an organization’s network to identify and exploit security weaknesses. This enables the firm to identify security flaws and apply policies to avoid and mitigate potential cyber-attacks.

This article teaches how to utilize a popular Linux distribution in cybersecurity to mimic real-world cyber-attacks and exploit security vulnerabilities on systems and networks. The Kali Linux operating system includes pre-installed Linux packages and programs often used in the cybersecurity field, providing a comprehensive toolkit.

How to Identify threat actors and their intent.

Hacking has become a lucrative industry on the dark web, as threat actors improve their strategies. Threat actors conduct sophisticated assaults to penetrate targets’ systems and networks, steal data using exfiltration techniques to avoid detection, and sell it on the dark web.

Hackers now use advanced threats like ransomware to attack weak systems, as opposed to laborious chores in the past. Ransomware infects a system and encrypts all local disks save the operating system. Ransomware can compromise any cloud storage related to the infected system. Consider a user’s system with Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or Dropbox, where data is constantly synchronized. If the system is infected, it may impact the data in cloud storage. Some cloud providers offer built-in security against these dangers.

Ransomware encrypts and locks the victim’s data, prompting them to pay to regain it. At the same time, the responsible threat actor is selling your data on the dark web.

Most Popular Threat Actors involved in Cyber Attack in the World Today.

• The script kiddie – is a type of threat actor who is not typically a young adult or child. They lack the necessary technological knowledge to carry out a cyber-attack independently.
  Script kiddies typically mimic real hackers’ attacks on systems or networks. A script kiddie may appear innocuous due to their lack of knowledge and abilities, yet they can wreak as much damage as a genuine hacker by following dangerous instructions on the internet. Hackers may utilize tools without understanding their functionality, thus causing more damage.

 

• Hacktivists – are individuals and groups who promote or oppose various social and political objectives worldwide. Protesters often organize demonstrations, marches, and engage in criminal activities such as defacing public property. Some threat actors employ hacking to support political or social agendas. This person is often known as a hacktivist. Although some hacktivists utilize their skills for good, it’s important to remember that hacking is still illegal and can result in legal action against the threat actor.

 

• Insider – Threat actors prefer to gain access to an organization’s internal network rather than breaking in through the internet. Threat actors may develop a phony identity and curriculum vitae to apply for jobs at their target organization and gain employment. Once a threat actor becomes an employee, they have access to the internal network and gain a greater understanding of security weaknesses. This threat actor can use network implants and backdoors to gain remote access to sensitive systems. An insider threat actor.

 

• State-sponsored – While many governments deploy armies to fight wars, many fights increasingly take place online. This is known as cyberwarfare. governments are developing defenses to safeguard individuals and assets against malevolent hackers and other governments. To protect against cyber-attacks and dangers, governments engage state-sponsored hackers. Some states utilize threat actors to acquire intelligence on other countries and compromise essential infrastructure, such as public utilities.

 

• Globally, organized crime – In the cybersecurity field, there are organized crime groups with common interests. Each member of the group specializes in a specific skill area, such as conducting extensive reconnaissance on the target or designing an Advanced Persistent Threat (APT). Typically, an organized criminal gang has a financial funder who ensures the group has access to the greatest resources available for successful attacks. These threat actors typically have large intentions, such as stealing and selling target data for financial benefit.

 

• Black hat hackers – are threat actors who use their expertise for harmful purposes. Hackers can target systems or networks for a variety of reasons, including randomness. Hackers may aim to harm a target’s reputation, steal data, or simply prove a point for personal satisfaction.

 

• White-hat hackers – are the industry’s decent guys and gals. This type of hacker helps organizations and individuals secure networks and assets from malevolent hackers. White hat hackers, such as ethical hackers and penetration testers, use their expertise to benefit others in an ethical way.

 

• The gray hat hacker – lies between the white and black hats. Gray hat hackers can work as cybersecurity professionals during the day and use their hacking talents for nefarious purposes at night. As new technologies emerge, people’s curiosity drives them to learn more about the underlying systems. This often exposes security weaknesses in the design, which can be exploited. This section covers threat actors’ characteristics and intentions for cyber-attacks. In the following part, we will explore what matters to a threat actor.

Understanding what matters to threat actors

While some may find the idea of hacking into another system or network exciting, others may be concerned about the potential for a threat actor to damage a system’s security. Before launching a cyber-attack on a target’s systems or networks, threat actors, ethical hackers, and penetration testers must plan and assess the time, resources, complexity, and value of the attack.

Time

It’s crucial to estimate the time required to obtain target information and achieve the assault objectives. A successful cyber-attack requires meticulous planning and execution of each phase, which might take days to months for threat actors to complete. Threat actors must consider the risk that an attack or exploit may not be effective on the target, causing a delay in achieving the hack’s objectives. Penetration testers can use this notion to estimate the time required to conduct a customer’s penetration test and report with
the findings and security recommendations.

Resource

Completing a task will be difficult if the necessary resources are not available. Threat actors require enough resources, including both software and hardware tools. Manually identifying and exploiting security flaws on a system can be time-consuming even for experienced hackers. Using the correct tools can automate security issue detection and exploitation, reducing time and effort. Without the necessary skills, threat actors may struggle to carry out successful cyber-attacks.  Obtaining additional cooperation from skilled individuals can help achieve cyber-attack aims. This principle also applies to security experts, including penetration testers in the sector. Penetration testing for a customer may require a team with diverse abilities.

Financial factors

Financial factors are also an essential resource. Threat actors can carry out successful cyber-attacks without additional resources, compromising their targets. Some attacks may require additional software or hardware to be successful. Having a budget enables threat actors to purchase extra resources. Penetration testers are well-funded by their employers to use industry-leading tools and succeed at their tasks.

Hack value

Finally, hack value refers to the rationale behind a cyber-attack against a target’s systems and network. Threat actors prioritize achieving their objectives and aims when compromising systems. Threat actors may avoid targeting an organization if they believe it is not worth the time, effort, or resources to hack its systems. Other threat actors may target the same organization with a different motivation.
This section covers key elements that threat actors consider before conducting cyber-attacks on organizations. The following section introduces standard cybersecurity terminology.