Advanced persistent threats and the “big four”

State-sponsored hackers in China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea in 2003–2021

Bibliographic Data

ID11221351
AuthorsNori Katagiri (0000-0003-4502-0497, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, USA, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume43
Issue3
Pages280-299
Publication date2024-05-03
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Strategy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0149-5933 • E-ISSN: 1521-0448
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01495933.2024.2317251
OpenAlexW4394840550
LanguageEN
Citations received4

The author investigates a range of international hacking groups collectively known as advanced persistent threats (APTs), which have conducted a concentrated number of cyber operations from four authoritarian states – China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea. The author collected data on 112 APTs that operated in 2003-2021 across the globe and analyzed their behavior and state affiliations to conclude that APTs' ties to the "big four" can be explained by the strategic goals of authoritarian states to supplement their military and economic power. The ties have also much to do with states possessing sufficient political capital at home to challenge existing norms of cyberspace behavior. Moreover, the big four boast a high degree of digital expertise and heavy investment into the superiority of cyber offense over defense. The author provides empirical support for the findings in a comparative case study of Chinese and Iranian cyber forces

Authoritarianism · Business · China · Computer security · Cyberspace · Democracy · Globe · Hacker · Investment (military · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · State (computer science · The Internet · Computer Science · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies · Cybersecurity and Cyber Warfare Studies · Information and Cyber Security · Law · Psychology

Tools

Open DOI