Week 12 Research Topic: Cybercrime and Advanced Persistent Threats (APT)

Cybercrime has definitely become more popular in the past couple of years. Ranging from a compromised credit card of a single individual to a compromised government database holding sensitive data, cybercrime can cause damage on different scales with varying severity. This paper discusses advanced persistent threats as a form of cybercrime and what effects they have on today’s society. It also compares advanced persistent threats to other forms of cybercrime. The paper begins with a general introduction into the world of cybercrime and advanced persistent threats.  The phases of an advanced persistent threat are examined together with recent cases of advanced persistent threats are also examined and analyzed.  These cases include the Stuxnet attacks, the Flame attacks and APT1. This paper goes further to examine ethical and legal challenges that arise as a result of advanced persistent threats.  Finally, current implications of advanced persistent threats are discussed. The paper concludes by with a summary of what the future holds for advanced persistent threats.

References

1. http://www.symantec.com/theme.jsp?themeid=apt-infographic-1
2. http://ca.norton.com/cybercrime-definition