Military, Government Sectors Face Escalating APT Attacks

Hacktivism, often aligned with state-sponsored interests, has contributed to the increasing frequency of attacks on government institutions and critical national infrastructure.

Intrusions conducted by advanced persistent threat operations rose by 58 percent in 2024.

According to research by Group-IB, government and military sectors most impacted by such attacks.

Mounting geopolitical tensions around the world have significantly fueled intensified APT targeting of governments and militaries, which have critical infrastructure schematics and classified intelligence that could be leveraged for cyberespionage and cyber warfare, according to Group-IB CEO Dmitry Volkov.

"The rise of hacktivism, often aligned with state-sponsored interests, has contributed to the increasing frequency of attacks on government institutions and critical national infrastructure as they seek to cause disruption and collect information," said Volkov, who also emphasised the importance of increasing cybersecurity spending for national defence amid the lack of such funding across many countries.

Aside from bolstering defensive cybersecurity investments and international partnerships, governments should also implement cyber defence frameworks based on threat intelligence, Volkov added.

Advanced Persistent threats (APTs), state adversaries, nation states Published: 3 March