APT (Advanced Persistent Threat)
Definition
An Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is a prolonged, sophisticated cyberattack where an attacker gains undetected access to a network and remains active for an extended period. APT attacks are often conducted by state-sponsored hacker groups.
APT attacks are characterized by three phases: infiltration, entrenchment, and data theft. The attacker breaks in, embeds deeply in the infrastructure, and steals data over a long period.
Common targets are government agencies, critical infrastructure, and large organizations with valuable data.