Nation-State / APT Advanced Persistent Threat

 Nation-State Threat Actor

A nation-state threat actor is a government-affiliated hacker who carries out malicious activities on behalf of a country or nation-state. These actors are often motivated by political or economic interests and can be tasked with a variety of objectives, including:

• Disrupting critical infrastructure
• Stealing industrial secrets
• Gaining access to policy discussions
• Taking down companies that offend leaders
• Conducting disinformation or propaganda campaigns
• Influencing elections
• Disrupting a country's security, economy, or government departments

Nation-state actors are often well-funded and can use sophisticated cyberattacks, known as advanced persistent threats (APTs), to operate undetected in a victim's network. APTs can be difficult to detect and expensive to run, allowing threat actors to infiltrate computer systems, steal data, and escalate privileges.

Some examples of nation-state threat actors include:

Camaro Dragon

Also known as Mustang Panda, Bronze President, Earth Preta, Luminous Moth, Red Delta, and Stately Taurus, this is a threat group from China

Gamaredon

Also known as Primitive Bear, UNC530, ACTINIUM, Shuckworm, UAC-0010, and Aqua Blizzard, this is a threat group from Russia

RedHotel

A threat actor reportedly backed by the Chinese government that has targeted the space industry and other critical sectors