1.3 Explain threat actor types and attributes.

Question 1

Threat actors and attributes• Also called a malicious actor

Answer 1

The entity responsible for an event that has
an impact on the safety of another entity
• Broad scope of actors
• And motivations vary widely
• Intelligence can come from everywhere
• Open source intelligence is a massive starting point

Question 2

Script kiddies

Answer 2

Runs premade scripts without any knowledge of
what’s really happening
• Can be internal or external
• But usually external
• Not very sophisticated
• No formal funding
• Looking for low hanging fruit
• Motivated by the hunt
• Working the ego, trying to make a name

Question 3

Hacktivist

Answer 3

• A hacker with a purpose
• Social change or a political agenda
• Often an external entity
• Can be remarkably sophisticated
• Very specific hacks
• DoS, web site defacing, release of private documents, etc.
• Funding is limited
• Some organizations have fundraising options

Question 4

Organized crime

Answer 4

Professional criminals
• Motivated by money
• Almost always an external entity
• Very sophisticated
• Best hacking money can buy
• Crime that’s organized
• One person hacks, one person manages the exploits,
another person sells the data, another handles
customer support
• Lots of capital to fund hacking efforts

Question 5

Nation states / APT

Answer 5

• Governments
• National security, job security
• Always an external entity
• Highest sophistication
• Military control, utilities, financial control
• United States and Israel destroyed 1,000 nuclear
centrifuges with the Stuxnet worm
• Constant attacks
• Advanced Persistent Threat (APT)
• Massive resources available

Question 6

Insiders

Answer 6

More than just passwords on sticky notes
• Some insiders are out for no good
• Sophistication may not be advanced,
but the insider has institutional knowledge
• Attacks can be directed at vulnerable systems
• The bad guy knows what to hit
• Extensive resources

Question 7

Competitors

Answer 7

• Many different motivations
• DoS, espionage, harm reputation
• High level of sophistication
• The competitive upside is huge (and very unethical)
• Many different intents
• Shut down your competitor during an event
• Steal customer lists
• Corrupt manufacturing databases
• Take financial information