Expert Reactions: Ed Kanerva, Vice President
For the most part, APTs that are going after what Mr. Clinton calls ‘vacuum attacks’ are organized. They do their homework first, decide on the target, determine the approach vectors of attack and then unleash. Depending on the target of the attack, they can be elegant in their approach; i.e. quiet, stealthy and unobtrusive, or a little less so in taking the risk of being detected to get what they are looking for. Nonetheless, the APT end game is the same. Penetrate the target, exfiltrate the information, maintain a backdoor in/out if required, and move on. Motives for the attacks can be many, and we have figured out over time what these adversaries are doing to the US and the economy. I recall reading an article translated from the People’s Liberation Daily (a Chinese Military periodical) from the mid-80’s that has stuck with me over the years. I paraphrase a key point here . . . an Adversary wishing to destroy the United States only has to affect the computer systems of its banks by high tech means. This would disrupt and destroy the U.S. economy.
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