Scenario: Advanced persistent threats (APTs) have been thrust into the spotlight

Scenario:
Advanced persistent threats (APTs) have been thrust into the spotlight due to their advanced tactics, techniques, procedures, and tools. These APTs are resourced unlike other types of cyber threat actors.
Your chief technology officer (CTO) has asked you to develop a detailed analysis and presentation of a specific APT(China).
TITLE: The Cybersecurity Threat Landscape
Report Requirements:
Part 1: Threat Landscape Analysis
• Provide a detailed analysis of the threat landscape today.
• What has changed in the past few years?
• Describe common tactics, techniques, and procedures to include threat actor types.
• What are the exploit vectors and vulnerabilities threat actors are predicted to take advantage of?
Part 2: APT Analysis
• Provide a detailed analysis and descriiption of the APT(China) you were assigned. Describe the specific tactics used to gain access to the target(s).
• Describe the tools used. Describe what the objective of the APT(China) was/is. Was it successful?
Part 3: Cybersecurity Tools, Tactics, and Procedures
• Describe current hardware- and software-based cybersecurity tools, tactics, and procedures.
• Consider the hardware and software solutions deployed today in the context of defense-in-depth.
• Elaborate on why these devices are not successful against the China APT.
Part 4: Machine Learning and Data Analytics
• Describe the concepts of machine learning and data analytics and how applying them to cybersecurity will evolve the field.
• Are there companies providing innovative defensive cybersecurity measures based on these technologies? If so, what are they? Would you recommend any of these to the CTO?
Part 5: Using Machine Learning and Data Analytics to Prevent APT
• Describe how machine learning and data analytics could have detected and/or prevented the APT(China) you analyzed had a victim organization deployed these technologies at the time of the event. Be specific.
Part 6: Ethics in Cybersecurity. Ethical issues are at the core of what we do as cybersecurity professionals. Think of the example of a cyber defender working in a hospital. They are charged with securing the network, medical devices, and protecting sensitive personal health information from unauthorized disclosure. They are not only protecting patient privacy but their health and perhaps even their lives. Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability – the C-I-A triad – and many other cybersecurity practices are increasingly at play in protecting citizens in all walks of life and in all sectors. Thus, acting in an ethical manner, is one of the hallmarks of a cybersecurity professional.
• Do you think the vulnerability(ies) exploited by the APT (China) constitute an ethical failure by the defender? Why or why not?
• For the APT scenario you studied, were there identifiable harms to privacy or property? How are these harms linked to C-I-A? If not, what ethically significant harms could result from the scenario you researched?
Notes
• Use additional sources of information but also describe the concept in layman’s terms.
• Use visuals where appropriate.
• While quality is valued over quantity