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30 October 2024

ISC2 Security Congress 2024: The Landscape of Nation-State Cyber Attacks

Megan Crouse

CISA advisor Nicole Perlroth closed out ISC2 Security Congress’ keynotes with a wake-up call for security teams to watch for nation-state-sponsored attacks.

Today’s threat landscape includes nation-state actors as well as attackers looking to test their skills or turn a profit. AT ISC2 Security Conference in Las Vegas, CISA advisor and former New York Times cybersecurity journalist Nicole Perlroth took the stage to discuss what has changed over the last 10 years of cyber warfare. Her presentation was the capstone of the conference, held Oct. 13-16.

Nation-state attackers look for ‘target-rich, cyber-poor’ victims

Perlroth presented a timeline of nation-state attacks she covered throughout her journalism career, from 2011 to 2021. Barriers to entry for attackers have worsened since she began her career, with ransomware-as-a-service evolving into “a well-oiled economy.” The CrowdStrike outage showed how much a widespread attack could disrupt operations.

While it used to be conventional wisdom that the United States’ geographical location kept it isolated from many threats, “those oceans don’t exist anymore” when it comes to the cyber landscape, Perlroth said. Likewise, the digital “edge” has transformed into the world of the cloud, software as a service, and hybrid workforces.


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