Nation state cyber attacks: an unstoppable force?

Nation state attacks are now an unavoidable part of the cybersecurity landscape.

And increasingly, these attacks are either targeting commercial organisations, to gather intelligence, steal intellectual property or simply for political or diplomatic leverage.

Even if there is no specific hostile intent, businesses and public sector bodies risk being caught in the spill over from attacks aimed elsewhere.

Can organisations defend themselves against an attacker with the resources of a nation state behind them? And how does the nation-state threat rank against other risks?

Our guest this week is Rafe Pilling, principal security researcher at Secureworks’ counter threat unit. He is also a specialist in nation state attacks, with a focus on Iran and the Middle East.

In this episode he breaks down the modus operandi of attacks originating from, and targeting, that region. But, he suggests, there are defensive measures organisations can take that will protect against both nation state attacks and other threats, such as ransomware.

Interview by Stephen Pritchard