Description

In this course, you'll embark on a journey to learn how to think like a threat actor. We'll delve into their mindset and explore how they strategize their actions. How do they prepare for an attack, and what are the key steps in their process? We'll also examine which of these steps we can identify and intercept as security professionals, enhancing our ability to protect against potential threats.

In literature, the plan involves eight stages known as the criminal or terrorist planning cycle, a methodical and systematic approach that those with malicious intent often utilize to achieve their objectives. The eight stages are:

mark the target,

gather information,

conduct surveillance,

planning,

tooling up,

perform a dry run,

execution and

getaway.

Every threat actor follows these 8 stages, whether it's a criminal, terrorist, state actor, or malicious competitor.

Contrary to popular belief, the criminal planning cycle isn't a simple circle. It's a complex and intricate process, more like a puzzle with numerous pieces that need solving for successful execution.

Each piece represents a different element of the plan, requiring careful consideration and strategic thinking.

The threat actor doesn't know how many pieces this puzzle has. Each new piece may lead to more questions. There's no set order to the steps.

Once the decision is made to start the execution phase, there's no turning back. The execution phase is always followed by the final phase, the getaway.

In this course, we explore the different pieces of this puzzle and learn to view things from a threat actor's perspective.

What you'll learn