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The Cyber Defense Review

 
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Thinking Like a State Cyber Threat Actor

By Gregory Conti, Robert Fanelli | November 15, 2019

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Information security and intelligence professionals have long known the value of thinking like their adversary. If the defender can put themselves into the mind of their adversary, they can predict behaviors, anticipate attacks, and make moves and counter-moves that frustrate their enemy at a level far beyond what a traditional reactive defense can accomplish. While much has been discussed about cyber threats in general, state actors are a special case with unique attributes. In the press we see coverage of state cyber operations, but only at the surface level. This article provides a more meaningful, and ultimately more useful, understanding of how state actors think, what incentives drive them, what challenges they face, and what special advantages state actors possess.

 

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