Analysis of Cyberattack Patterns by User Behavior Analytics

Abstract

Targeted attacks cause the most serious problems nowadays in the cyberspace, as in most cases they are used for cyber espionage, in cyber warfare activities and have a significant role in data leaks both in the governmental and private sector. Meanwhile, it is very difficult to detect such attacks in time, due to the strategy, tactics and chosen tools behind them. Therefore, a new way of cyber defense is needed to reduce risk caused by Advanced Persistent Threat (APT). In this paper we review the process of targeted cyberattacks, focusing on the challenges of authentication, then we introduce user behavior analytics (UBA) as a potential countermeasure. We also emphasize through a case study, how devastating a cyberattack can be for a company and why UBA would be a good candidate in a modern cyber defense system.