Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) pose significant cybersecurity challenges as they are sophisticated, well-resourced, and persistent adversaries. The APT threat landscape is dynamic and continuously evolving. APT groups, often associated with nation-states or well-funded organizations, employ advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures to infiltrate target networks, maintain persistence, and exfiltrate sensitive data. Their primary objectives include espionage, intellectual property theft, disruption of critical infrastructure, and geopolitical influence.

Several high-profile APT incidents have highlighted the severity of the threat. Notable examples include the Stuxnet worm targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, the APT28 group’s infiltration of the Democratic National Committee in the 2016 US election, and the WannaCry ransomware attack leveraging the EternalBlue exploit.

APTs commonly employ multiple attack vectors, including spear-phishing emails, social engineering, watering hole attacks, supply chain compromise, and zero-day vulnerabilities. They leverage a combination of custom malware, remote access tools, and lateral movement techniques to evade detection and maintain long-term access.

In this talk, we will discuss some of the APT campaigns we have uncovered targeting various organizations in India and other regions of the world. Also delves into the potential future developments in the APT landscape based on current trends, emerging technologies, and insights from cybersecurity experts.

About the Speaker: Saurabh Sharma is a senior security researcher at the Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) in Kaspersky. He contributes to the GReAT team’s mission by helping to investigate the most active and advanced threat actors, targeted attacks, attacker tools, and more. Saurabh’s professional passions include reverse engineering malware, as well as uncovering, tracking, and analyzing APT campaigns, and providing technical reports. Saurabh has previously spoken at various international infosec conferences in India and abroad.