How to use APT security

The best APT security utilizes best practices as well as specific tools designed to detect these unique threats. Some best practices to protect your network against APTs include: Regularly analyzing and revoking user access privileges related to the sensitive resources within your network Identifying a baseline of user behavior, so you can more easily recognize when behavior deviates from the norm Regularly updating firewall and antivirus programs Patching software vulnerabilities regularly Educating employees about spear phishing emails However, these actions can only do so much in the face of an APT. Advanced persistent threats often require a comprehensive network security solution that can provide protection across on-premises assets and cloud apps. Network security solutions can correlate logs across systems to find key indicators of advanced persistent threats and disrupt them. It's critical to track down each stage of a multilayered advanced persistent threat to identify lateral movements. Given that APTs can involve many different systems, having correlated data is critical for identifying these threats and taking the appropriate steps to combat them. A critical factor to stopping APTs is a rapid response. The faster your response, the better the chances that you'll be able to protect your valuable data. An APT detection solution like SolarWinds Security Event Manager can initiate automated proactive responses to cyberincidents to help you keep your data secure.

Why is advanced persistent threat security important?

Sensitive data can include internal company records, customer information, medical data, and much more. No matter the size of a business, it can be a target of APTs that undermine sensitive data—which means APT security is important for everyone. The more businesses rely on technology to do business, the more they open themselves up to potential threats. Threat actors are constantly seeking any potential opening or vulnerability. With APTs, those vulnerabilities may not seem significant until they are combined for a powerful attack. If an advanced persistent threat is successful, your business could have its sensitive data stolen or held hostage. This could lead to major financial difficulties and cause you to lose client trust. It's also possible that auditors will find you in violation of compliance guidelines that require you to sufficiently protect sensitive data.

How does APT security work in SolarWinds Security Event Manager?

SolarWinds Security Event Manager (SEM) acts as a powerful yet intuitive APT detection tool built to install in minutes to begin protecting you from APTs. SEM is designed to offer an overview of the security status of components across your infrastructure, including both devices and services, to help you achieve more effective threat protection. The tool helps protect organizations from APT attacks by collecting and aggregating event log data from across environments and systems—including firewalls, workstations, and routers—to offer continuous and unified APT monitoring. The tool scans this data regularly for any potentially suspicious log information. SEM also collects data from other security software, including antivirus tools and network intrusion detection systems , and integrates that information into a centralized, normalized, and searchable view of the combined log data. Security Event Manager also offers automated proactive threat detection responses to help ensure APTs are stopped as soon as they are detected. SEM lets you set up alerts for suspicious activity that demands your immediate attention.

APT Security Software for Advanced Persistent Threat Defense

Easy to use APT software detects threats across environments for cohesive defense-in-depth security

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Deploy typically in minutes and begin detecting threats immediately

SolarWinds^® Security Event Manager (SEM) is a security tool designed to simplify Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) protection for lean IT and security teams. It deploys quickly via virtual appliance and can start detecting threats across your on-premises infrastructure fast with hundreds of out-of-the-box event correlation rules and filters. There’s no need for professional services, and the intuitive design reduces the user learning curve.

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Hunt for APTs with high-speed search

Centralized log analysis and monitoring helps find the breadcrumbs of a cyberattacker—bad actors are intent on remaining hidden to steal data and other nefarious activities. Security Event Manager collects, aggregates, and analyzes event log data from across systems and environments for unified and continuous APT monitoring. IT professionals can search for indicators of compromise, and integrated threat intelligence tool updates help to ensure the latest exploits are detected. In addition to SIEM features, SEM offers network intrusion detection for complete APT protection and defense.

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Automated Active Response

Rapid response is the key to success for advanced persistent threat protection—the faster you respond, the more likely you’ll be able to protect valuable data. By identifying behavior consistent with an advanced persistent threat attack and assessing the nature of that attack, Security Event Manager can initiate an automated proactive response to cyberincidents. Whether it’s automatically blocking an IP address known to be malicious or disabling an illegitimate account, Security Event Manager optimizes your APT defenses. All of these automated incident responses are configurable to maximize the intended result.

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Unify log analysis to track lateral movement

Each stage of an APT or blended threat may involve a different system, app, or device. Centralized log analysis and reporting is a critical tool in the APT defense toolbox. Without centralized logging, key aspects of an APT attack can remain hidden, such as the attack moving laterally across environments. Security Event Manager is designed to aid in the forensic analysis of an APT by helping identify and track events such as reconnaissance activity, delivery of a suspicious file, and more.

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Get More on APT Security

Do you find yourself asking…

What does APT mean in cyber security?
How to use APT security
Why is advanced persistent threat security important?
How does APT security work in SolarWinds Security Event Manager?
Related Features and Tools

APTs, or Advanced Persistent Threats, are prolonged cyberattacks where the targeted organization remains unaware of the attack while the cyberattacker stealthily steals data—usually intellectual property—by remaining on the network for as long as possible.

APT attacks occur over a lengthy period of time where the attacker attempts to gain access to sensitive data by spending months gathering intelligence about the target that can then be used to launch additional attacks. These attacks are particularly threatening given that the attackers are typically seeking sensitive information, which is why they are willing to commit time and energy to evade an organization's existing security measures.

APT attacks are typically stealthy. After the bad actor breaches the target, they create back doors to ensure continuous access to the compromised system. This makes the attack even more difficult to detect, attribute, and remove.

APTs are different from other cyberattacks for several reasons, which makes it critical that organizations invest in specific APT IT security beyond their general cybersecurity measures. These differences include:

APTs typically use customized intrusion techniques and tools. They go beyond basic spear phishing to undermine security measures, using viruses, vulnerability exploits, worms, rootkits, and other measures specifically designed to penetrate the target.
APTs occur over long periods of time, so the attackers can move more slowly and less obtrusively.
APTs are typically characterized by strongly motivated malicious threat actors.

APTs, or Advanced Persistent Threats, are prolonged cyberattacks where the targeted organization remains unaware of the attack while the cyberattacker stealthily steals data—usually intellectual property—by remaining on the network for as long as possible.
APT attacks occur over a lengthy period of time where the attacker attempts to gain access to sensitive data by spending months gathering intelligence about the target that can then be used to launch additional attacks. These attacks are particularly threatening given that the attackers are typically seeking sensitive information, which is why they are willing to commit time and energy to evade an organization's existing security measures.
APT attacks are typically stealthy. After the bad actor breaches the target, they create back doors to ensure continuous access to the compromised system. This makes the attack even more difficult to detect, attribute, and remove.
APTs are different from other cyberattacks for several reasons, which makes it critical that organizations invest in specific APT IT security beyond their general cybersecurity measures. These differences include:
APTs typically use customized intrusion techniques and tools. They go beyond basic spear phishing to undermine security measures, using viruses, vulnerability exploits, worms, rootkits, and other measures specifically designed to penetrate the target.
APTs occur over long periods of time, so the attackers can move more slowly and less obtrusively.
APTs are typically characterized by strongly motivated malicious threat actors.
The best APT security utilizes best practices as well as specific tools designed to detect these unique threats. Some best practices to protect your network against APTs include:
Regularly analyzing and revoking user access privileges related to the sensitive resources within your network
Identifying a baseline of user behavior, so you can more easily recognize when behavior deviates from the norm
Regularly updating firewall and antivirus programs
Patching software vulnerabilities regularly
Educating employees about spear phishing emails
However, these actions can only do so much in the face of an APT. Advanced persistent threats often require a comprehensive network security solution that can provide protection across on-premises assets and cloud apps. Network security solutions can correlate logs across systems to find key indicators of advanced persistent threats and disrupt them. It’s critical to track down each stage of a multilayered advanced persistent threat to identify lateral movements. Given that APTs can involve many different systems, having correlated data is critical for identifying these threats and taking the appropriate steps to combat them.
A critical factor to stopping APTs is a rapid response. The faster your response, the better the chances that you’ll be able to protect your valuable data. An APT detection solution like SolarWinds Security Event Manager can initiate automated proactive responses to cyberincidents to help you keep your data secure.
Other SolarWinds Tools to Help Detect Cyberattacks:
SolarWinds Patch Manager
SolarWinds Access Right Manager
SolarWinds Identity Monitor
Related Features:
Botnet Detection
SQL Injection
Ransomware Detection
Cross Site Scripting Detection
DDoS detection
Threat Management
Threat Prevention
Insider Threat Management

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