Hacker News Reader

We don't sell security tools but do deal with this type of stuff. You'd be surprised at the state of corporate desktop security and how easy it is to get hit.

To be honest the line between APT, the more advanced criminal stuff and the run of the mill botnets are more blurred than most vendors would be happy to say, especially when information is bought and sold anyway (so in theory the chinese government wouldn't even need to attack people).

That's interesting. I thought I was the only one with fifty thousand unsecured desktops on my network. It's nice to know I have company.

Not really.

> If the anti-botnet vendor's assertion is true, that the botnet was ordinary/amateur, then the much of what the media called 'advanced persistent threats' and 'state sponsored' attacks would be incorrect.

That conclusion doesn't follow from the premises offered.

Govts use amateur tools all the time. Govt does not imply competent or well-run - see your local DMV for an example.

'advanced persistent threats': Also means having the discipline to use just the right amount of force. "Advanced" in APT could just be the mindset of the threat not necessarily the sophistication of exploit.