Who are the Hackers?
As well as the security flaws themselves, we also need to understand where the threats originate from.
Cyber Criminals
Cyber criminals, commit crime by targeting computers or networks, and can be either lone entities, or part of a larger organised group. Remain the most active threat in cyberspace, and are responsible for ⅔ of all registered incidents.
Analysis of recent trends shows that the behaviour of cyber criminals is becoming more organised, and trending toward monetisation of activity. This is evident in the increase in targeted attacks and data breaches in the business sector, and the rise of ransomware. One interesting trend is the increased number of Phishing campaigns targeting of high value targets, such as the CEO of organisations.
Nation States
Nation state hackers may either be part of an "cyber army" or individuals with a "Licence to Hack"
Organised hacking at a state level, with hackers working for a government to disrupt or compromise other governments, organisations or individuals. It is estimated that nation state hacking is responsible for 20% of all incidents.
This style of attack can include; spreading propaganda on social media, stealing national or industrial secrets, interfering with elections, or compromising the nuclear safety of a country1.
Hacktivists / Cyber Fighters
The hacking activist takes their political, religious or social cause onto the internet. This can range from defacing the website of a corporation they disagree with, to directly attacking the infrastructure of an organisation.
There are several large scale hacktivist groups (such as anonymous), that may adopt a cause. It could also be argued that some hacktivist groups are actually a front for nation state activity.
Script Kiddies
Script kiddies are our final threat, these are generally untrained hackers, making use of tools and scripts available on the internet. Generally they are responsible for simple, low impact cyber attacks. However, they can have a significant impact, for example the Talk Talk data breach was caused by teenage hacker using simple tools.