Asia Produces More APT Actors, as Focus Expands Globally www.darkreading.com/cyber-ris…

Advanced persistent threat (APT) actors aligned with China and North Korea now account for the majority of sophisticated attacks detected during the past two quarters, as tension in the Asia-Pacific region heats up and China increasingly flexes its muscle.

While the most significant growth in attacks from the two Asian nations have focused on European targets, the Southeast Asian region has seen increases in state-backed attacks as well, with government and educational organizations among the favorite targets, according to the biannual “APT Activity Report” published by cybersecurity firm ESET. The expansion in global activity comes as more regional players are developing their own capabilities in cyber offense, with India, Taiwan, and the Philippines all seeing more attacks but developing their own capabilities as well.

Governments in Asia Pacific are increasingly turning to the cyber domain to help them achieve national goals, says Robert Lipovsky, senior manager of malware research for ESET.