Definition of Cyber Espionage
Cyber Espionage is a type of cyberattack that hackers carry out against businesses or governments. The goal is to spy on the victim to obtain information that can be sold to a rival company or government. So, the motive for cyber espionage can be financial or political.
Attackers involved in cyber espionage usually want to remain in an undetected environment for a long period of time. This type of Cyber Espionage attack is quite complicated and requires a lot of capital.
Cyber Espionage Targets
Any government and large corporation can be an easy target for cyber espionage attacks. Some countries that are often targeted are the United States, South Korea, Japan, Russia, China, and the UK. Meanwhile, based on data from the US Department of Homeland Security, countries that are best prepared for cyber attacks include, but are not limited to, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Germany.
Contoh Kasus Cyber Espionage Cyber Espionage Case Example
Computer system breach at a procurement office in a South Korean ministry
- Cyber espionage operation with botnets to disrupt companies in the US media, financial, aerospace and critical infrastructure sectors
- Attempted theft of trade secrets from client firm through infiltration of Norwegian software firm Visma
- Chinese and Russians probe voter databases ahead of Indonesia’s presidential and legislative elections
- DDoS attack on the UK Labor Party’s computer system that took the system temporarily offline before the national election.
Cyber Espionage Strategies
Attackers employ the following strategies when attacking:
- Exploiting site or browser vulnerabilities
- Spreading malware, trojans and worms
- Spreading phishing emails
- Attacking supply chains targeting key target partners
- Infecting updates for commonly used third software applications.
How to Prevent Cyber Espionage and Protect Data
Not every company is at high risk of being targeted by high-profile hackers, but individuals at rival companies can conduct cyber espionage to undermine or even bring down your business. Protect your data and prevent cyber espionage with the following steps:
- Evaluate the risk based on business intelligence of the company’s role, whether it is at high risk for cyber espionage attacks.
- Create a security policy that accommodates HR, business, and operational security controls
- Monitor systems for unexpected behavior, use security monitoring tools to flag suspicious activity that needs further investigation
- Establish company practices for communication, train employees to be aware of espionage practices
- Define a response plan when there is a cyber attack incident especially cyber espionage
- Check for software vulnerabilities and update patches regularly, especially for high-risk systems
- Know access rights and set controls to monitor abuse of administrative rights/VIP profiles
- Establish content filtering for all inbound and outbound channels (email, web, network traffic, etc.)
With the development of technology and the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT), the threat of Cyber Espionage attacks is also increasingly real. Tighten your company’s network security with the strategies above.
Hypernet is ready to help you secure your devices, data, and network. Contact CS to get more information.
