Table 3.
Real cases of advanced persistent threat (APT) attacks.
| APT case | Platform | Target | APT technique | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stuxnet [26] | Computer | Iran's uranium nuclear project | Malware | Disturb critical components |
| CloudAtlas [27] | Mobile | A civil servant, an oil and financial CEO | Application repackaging | Leak sensitive information |
| Stealth Mango and Tangelo [28] | Mobile | Military, medical, and civilian personnel in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Iraq, Iran, and the UAE | Watering hole | Leak sensitive information |
| Carbanak [29] | Mobile | Banking/financial institutions | Spear phishing | Steal sensitive information |
| Hydraq [30] | Computer | Malware | Steal organizational data | |
| Marcher [31] | Mobile | Customers of Bank Austria, Raiffeisen Meine Bank, and Sparkasse | Spear phishing | Steal sensitive information |
| TwoSail Junk [32] | Mobile & computer | Users in Hong Kong | Watering hole | Cyber espionage |
| Transparent Tribe [33] | Mobile & computer | Government entities, military (Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan) | Spear phishing | Cyber espionage, data theft |
| Mata [34] | Computer | Corporate entities (Germany, India, Japan, Poland, South Korea, and Turkey) | Malware | Steal customer databases and distribute ransomware |
| DeathStalker [35] | Computer | Financial technology companies, law offices, wealth consultancy firms, financial sector | Spear-phishing emails | Steal sensitive business information |
| ZooPark [36] | Mobile | Focus on the victims of Middle Eastern targets in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, and Iran. | Watering hole | Steal sensitive information |
| FinSpy [37] | Mobile & computer | Activists, criminal suspects (Vietnam, Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Russia, and Ukraine) | Malware | Surveillance |
| Adwind [38] | Mobile & computer | Financial institutions; government entities; healthcare, manufacturing, mass media and TV, shipping, software companies; telecoms, commerce (Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, USA) | Spear phishing | Cyber espionage, surveillance |
| Hacking Team RCS [39] | Mobile & computer | Activists, criminal suspects, journalists, politicians (Germany, India, Iraq, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam) | Malware | Surveillance |
| Desert Falcons [40] | Mobile & computer | Victims representing the military and government, to targets of leading media entities and financial institutions | Spear-phishing emails, watering hole | Cyber espionage, data theft, surveillance |