APT Equals FUD

Use of the phrase advanced persistent threat (APT) in the security community is nothing more than a new angle for risk and security professionals to continue to use fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) to try to force their own agendas upon their constituencies and the population at large.

Risk and security professionals often use FUD -- rather than actual data -- to persuade others to align with their point of view and take actions they prescribe, or to get budget.

Unfortunately, FUD also results in a lack of trust and confidence in security professionals by the business leaders, stakeholders, constituents, and customers they serve.

In recent years, the risk and security community has promoted the idea of limiting the broad and unchecked use of FUD in favor of a more data-driven and risk-balanced approach to communication and influence.

This data-driven, risk-balanced approach isn't sensational; it can be difficult and time-consuming, and it represents a journey rather than a quick fix. And yet until recently, it was starting to take hold. As a result, risk and security professionals were becoming more accepted rather than feared and shunned.

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Unfortunately, FUD still exists. Its latest incarnation is the APT buzzword. APT is widely used in the risk and security community and in media stories, and it is an element of many vendor marketing campaigns.

But APT doesn't represent a new, unique category of threats, or even an unexpected development in security and risk management.

The word "advanced" in APT implies new and never-before-encountered levels of threats, adversaries, and attacks. In fact, it's the defenders that have fallen behind.

The adversary community continues to evolve and refine its techniques and tactics. Attacks are more proficient and less obvious, and they employ multiple methods and mature rapidly.

In many cases, however, these attacks are considered advanced only because they have surpassed the abilities of the defenders to mitigate risks with traditional tools and techniques.

It would also be disingenuous for risk and security professionals to argue that they couldn't foresee such developments in the adversary community. So-called APTs are often permutations or derivatives of existing attack methods, tools, and techniques. In many cases, they have been postulated for some time by the risk and security community through threat and vulnerability research.

Threats to information and information infrastructure have always existed and will continue to exist as long as there are motivated and capable adversaries who can derive value from their activities.

Attack tools and tactics will evolve. So must our approach to security and risk management. The rise of the APT buzzword is no excuse for security professionals to fall back on bad FUD habits.

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