Newly Discovered Iranian APT Group Brings State-sponsored Cyber Espionage into Focus


State-sponsored cyber espionage has been rising steadily in recent years. Whether it’s high-profile attacks such as North Korea’s hack of Sony in 2014, China’s alleged hack of the US’s Office of Personnel Management in 2015, or Russia’s alleged hack of the Democratic National Committee in 2016, the stories are mounting. Iran has also been in the cyber espionage news, with major suspected attacks ranging from the Las Vegas Sands attack in 2014 to the DDOS attack on numerous US banks in 2016.

Beyond these high-profile attacks, there are also countless examples of low-profile attacks. While these attacks don’t make the major headlines, they may actually be more relevant to your organization.

In this blog, we zero in on this lesser-publicized activity, focusing on a recently discovered Iranian hacker group, dubbed APT33, the tools they have developed, and how AlienVault can help you detect this activity in your environment.

What is state-sponsored cyber espionage and what are the typical goals?

First, a quick primer on state-sponsored cyber espionage. State-sponsored cyber espionage is the act of obtaining secrets and information from individuals, competitors, rivals, groups, governments, and enemies, without the permission and knowledge of the holder of the information, usually for economic, political, or military advantage.

The goals of these state-sponsored groups or individuals range from basic theft or sabotage to collecting military and diplomatic information to enabling domestic organizations to compete on a global economic level.

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Source: AlienVault