Cyber Espionage Incidents Triple: Verizon Report

Eastern Asia. "Two countries in particular, the People's Republic of China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, represent that region," the report notes.

Attackers are using a diverse array of tools in espionage, but the most common is spear phishing. Email attachments are used to deliver 78% of identified espionage attacks, and links within emails deliver 2%.

Because exploits used for espionage are varied, the recommended controls to counter them run the gamut of basic cyber security:

• Patch everything.
• Use updated antivirus.
• Train users.
• Segment your network.
• Keep good logs.
• Break the exploitation chain by detecting phishing attempts and interrupting them when someone "clicks."
• Spot command and control traffic and data exfiltration.
• Stop the lateral movement of attackers who gain access to the network.

The report also found the use of stolen and/or misused credentials (user names and passwords) continues to be the most frequent way attackers gain access to information, making the case again for using two-factor authentication. The report also noted that insider attacks are on the rise, especially for intellectual property.

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