APT will go away soon, said Kaspersky Lab\u2019s GReAT team. Unfortunately this news wasn\u2019t\u00a0a quantum of solace.<\/p>\n
In their predictions for 2016, the GReAT team said that APTs will be replaced by deeper, embedded attacks that are harder to detect and trace back to the perpetrators. APT stands for \u201cAdvanced Persistent Threat\u201d. Cybercriminals, GReAT predicted, will gladly drop both the \u201cadvanced\u201d and \u201cpersistent\u201d elements for the sake of overall stealth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect to see a decrease in the emphasis on persistence, placing a greater focus on memory-resident or fileless malware. The idea will be to reduce the traces left on an infected system and thus avoid detection altogether\u201d, authors said.<\/p>\n
#APT Predictions for 2016: There will be no more APTs! Oh, wait\u2026<\/p>Tweet<\/a><\/blockquote>\n
Another approach will be to reduce the emphasis on advanced malware. Rather than investing in bootkits, rootkits, and custom malware, an increase in the repurposing of off-the-shelf malware is expected \u2013 simply to minimize the initial investment.<\/p>\n
As with any other business, illicit or legitimate, cybercriminals and other threat actors are extremely interested in keeping costs as low as possible, thus maximizing ROI.<\/p>\n
This may mean that the number of actors at the APT theater will grow. As the methods and techniques of APTs become more and more generally available, along with the appropriate off-the-shelf tools, there will be a definite switch towards money-earning.<\/p>\n
\u201c2016 will\u2026 see more players entering the world of cyber-crime. The profitability of cyber-attacks is indisputable and more people want a share of the spoils. As mercenaries enter the game, an elaborate outsourcing industry has risen to meet the demands for new malware and even entire operations. The latter gives rise to a new scheme of Access-as-a-Service, offering up access to already hacked targets to the highest bidder,\u201d said Juan Andr\u00e9s Guerrero-Saade, Senior Security Expert, Global Research and Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab.<\/p>\n
It is also predicted that a number of cyber-mercenaries will grow, and they will start offering \u201caccess-as-a-service\u201d \u2013 digital access into the infrastructure of high-profile victims to anyone willing to pay for it.<\/p>\n