When the first page of the calendar turned to 2020, none of us knew what would come in a few months’ time. In fact, Secureworks’ Senior Security Researcher Rafe Pilling thought the most seismic event he would see was the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in January. As Secureworks’ thematic lead for research focused on Iran and North Korea, he tracks threat groups which operate in two of the world’s most secretive nations.
And while none of us saw what Covid-19 would do around the world, both Rafe and his colleague Tony Adams, Secureworks’ Senior Security Researcher specializing in Russia, knew this year would be full of activity because nation-states often seek to use what is in the headlines and large events like elections as backdrops for achieving their cybercrime and espionage goals.
In this episode of The Cybersecurity Advantage podcast, Rafe and Tony help cybersecurity professionals with a checklist to help weed out the truth from trolls and understand the objectives behind today’s nation-state cybercrime. Companies cannot be protected from threats coming at them from around the world unless they understand the mind of the nation-states and the threat actors they support.
With regard to the tracking of nation-state threat actor groups, Rafe says there are significant areas of alignment between security researchers from different companies and agencies. Secureworks has published intelligence you need to know regarding more than 60 groups that they track from specific countries and organized cybercrime, and in the podcast episode, Rafe and Tony also have more insights to share about the countries they observe daily.
Click the image to see the full Understanding the Playbook of Disinformation.
When cyber capabilities augment other espionage capabilities, organizations can be left vulnerable. The recent shift to remote work has seen a corresponding level of targeting of remote access solutions. Companies must make sure identity and access management are tight, should update patches as they come out, and find ways to educate teams to keep a diligent eye on Covid-focused phishing schemes and malware.
Click the image to see the full Game Plan for Staying Ahead of Nation State Threat Actors.
Don’t wait for threat actors from other corners of the world to find vulnerabilities in your systems. Learn what you need to know in order to be nation-state aware. Start listening to the Nation State Threats episode of The Cybersecurity Advantage podcast now.
Want to hear more from Rafe and Tony? Listen to their presentations at the Global Threat Intelligence Summit. You can also read Rafe’s interview in The Register on Russia Coronavirus research hacking and his ZDNet Iranian hacking security update. Plus, take a minute to read the Secureworks Counter Threat Unit®'s analysis of how the China-based Bronze Vinewood group was implicated in hacking of the U.S. election campaign.