Page 311 - (ISC)² CISSP Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide

Proprietary Data

Proprietary data refers to any data that helps an organization maintain
a competitive edge. It could be software code it developed, technical

plans for products, internal processes, intellectual property, or trade
secrets. If competitors are able to access the proprietary data, it can
seriously affect the primary mission of an organization.

Although copyrights, patents, and trade secret laws provide a level of
protection for proprietary data, this isn’t always enough. Many
criminals don’t pay attention to copyrights, patents, and laws.
Similarly, foreign entities have stolen a significant amount of

proprietary data.

As an example, information security company Mandiant released a
report in 2013 documenting a group operating out of China that they
named APT1. Mandiant attributes a significant number of data thefts
to this advanced persistent threat (APT). They observed APT1
compromising 141 companies spanning 20 major industries. In one

instance, they observed APT1 stealing 6.5 TB of compressed
intellectual property data over a ten-month period.

In December 2016, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a joint analysis
report documenting Russian malicious cyber activity. This report
focused on activities of APT 28 and APT 29, also known as Fancy Bear
and Cozy Bear, respectively. These groups primarily targeted US

government entities and others involved in politics. Cybersecurity
firms such as CrowdStrike, SecureWorks, ThreatConnect, and
FireEye’s Mandiant have all indicated that APT 28 is sponsored by the
Russian government and has probably been operating since the mid-
2000s.

It’s worth noting that different organizations frequently identify the
same APT with different names. As an example, U.S. government

entities named one APT as APT 28 or Fancy Bear in a report. Other
entities, such as cybersecurity organizations, have referred to the same
group as Sofacy Group, Sednit, Pawn Storm, STRONTIUM, Tsar
Team, and Threat Group-4127.