In spite of the best efforts of the cyber security industry to protect computer networks, breaches still happen, causing millions of dollars in damage, tainting the reputation of corporations, and causing end users to lose confidence in the security of their personal information. Given that new reality, it’s not enough for organizations to try to protect their networks from a breach, but to have an effective response plan in place for when a breach occurs anyway.

Today, companies need to conduct a comprehensive response readiness assessment that lays out what steps to take in the event of a breach in order to minimize the damage and recover from the intrusion as quickly as possible.

Physical conflicts increasingly have a cyber element to them. This report highlights how Syrian opposition forces fell victim to a well-executed hacking operation targeting secret communications and plans.

FireEye researchers uncovered these stolen documents as part of our ongoing threat research. Between at least November 2013 and January 2014, the hackers stole a cache of critical documents and Skype conversations revealing the Syrian opposition’s strategy, tactical battle plans, supply needs, and troves of personal information and chat sessions belonging to the men fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. While we do not know who conducted this hacking operation, if this data was acquired by Assad’s forces or their allies it could confer a distinct battlefield advantage.

Having some of the world’s most active economies, Asia Pacific countries are more likely to be a target of targeted attacks than the rest of the world. In “Operation Quantum Entanglement”, “Pacific Ring of Fire: PlugX / Kaba” and other FireEye reports, we have highlighted how Northeast Asian countries have been at the centre of advanced attacks. Today, we release a new report “APT 30 and the Mechanics of a Long-Running Cyber Espionage Operation,” which documents about a threat group, APT 30, who has consistently targeted Southeast Asia and India over the past decade.

Protecting against advanced cyber-attacks requires, among other things, that you meet the same level of sophistication as your attackers. Unfortunately, most current security technologies fail to meet that bar, resulting in organizations being breached when they thought they were protected.

A resulting breach can be devastating, leading most organizations to re-evaluate their security program. Critically evaluating your security program in its entirety and looking for the areas it can be improved is a daunting task.

"In spite of the best efforts of the cyber security industry to protect computer networks, breaches still happen, causing millions of dollars in damage, tainting the reputation of corporations, and causing end users to lose confidence in the security of their personal information. Given that new reality, it’s not enough for organizations to try to protect their networks from a breach, but to have an effective response plan in place for when a breach occurs anyway.

Today, companies need to conduct a comprehensive response readiness assessment that lays out what steps to take in the event of a breach in order to minimize the damage and recover from the intrusion as quickly as possible."