The threat landscape has changed irrevocably. The primary foe of security professionals is no longer an asocial teenager basking in the glow of a monitor looking for an easy target, but rather the highly skilled technologists who are deliberately seeking treasure troves of sensitive information.

The change in landscape didn’t happen suddenly. In 2006, we saw a highly targeted attack against the TJX Companies Inc.that resulted in the theft of personal information belonging to millions of individuals.  In 2009, the Operation Aurora attackssaw Chinese sources infiltrating major American companies including Google Inc., Juniper Networks Inc. and Adobe Systems Inc. The following year, the Iranian government claimed that U.S. and Israeli interests were responsible for the Stuxnet worm attack on the Iranian nuclear program. And just last spring, RSA admitted it had been the victim of what it called “an extremely sophisticated cyberattack.”

Read More: Hardening the Network Against Targeted APT Attacks

Published on May 13, 2012 on SearchSecurity.com