It’s Sanjay Seth here and I’m typing this at my desk, high on caffeine from three Advil coffees. I’ve been up to my ears in cybersecurity since the early 2000s (and networking even longer before that – back when we were still working out how to stuff voice and data down PSTN lines). Once in a while, I reflect back on those simpler times and notice how much we have made progress — and how much scarier the threat landscape has become.

And one subject that’s been rising on my own priority list lately? Cyber attacks sponsored by the state. They’re not simply the stuff of movies anymore; they’re happening — daily. Not only against government entities, but against private organizations, banks, critical infrastructure and even hospitals. If you’d told 20-something me in 1993, when I hadn’t yet graduated from plugging in local networks, that we were one day going to be battling hackers at nation-state level… I would have laughed. But here we are.

Here’s the secret — these attacks don’t follow typical cybersecurity playbooks. They’re more sophisticated, more relentless and they have a terrifying goal: geopolitical control.

What Are State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks?

So first let’s get on the same page. So what exactly are state-sponsored cyber attacks? These are state-backed cyber operations (financially, strategically, or otherwise). The goal? A little bit of espionage, a little bit of sabotage, a whole lot of good old-fashioned intelligence gathering.

The attackers have considerably more resources than your average hacker cohort. Unlimited time. Unlimited money. And they’re often backed by the intelligence agency of their government — yes, I mean the type James Bond would have worked for had he turned in his gadgets for Python scripts.

We call it a “global cyber cold war” because much of this battle occurs under the hood — covert operations in which countries flex their digital muscles without technically going to war.

Pattern of State-Sponsored Attacks

I’ve tracked these trends for years, and frankly, they’re terrifying in their sophistication. The tactics these attackers have been using vary greatly from your stereotypical phishing campaign. Instead, they employ tactics such as:

1. Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs):

   • Keep the network for months — or years.
   • Lateral movement in the environment without being detected and gathering sensitive data.

2. Zero-Day Exploits:

   • Software vulnerabilities that remain unpatched.
   • These are golden tickets for attackers — they’re on the black market worth a fortune but nation-state actors can invest in them.

3. Supply Chain Attacks:

   • Remember SolarWinds? Yes, that’s what I’m trying to say. Compromise everyone downstream by hacking the supplier.

4. Data Wipers / Sabotage:

   • These aren’t about money, unlike ransomware. They simply erase data to cripple the networks.

And since most of these attacks are tailored to leave only a thin trail of crumbs, credibly assigning blame to a particular country is absurdly difficult. Finding a single footprint in the Sahara Desert — that’s how attribution often feels in cybersecurity.

High-Profile Incidents

SolarWinds (2020)

Perhaps the biggest supply chain attack of all time. Attackers (which are allegedly tied to a nation-state) broke into SolarWinds’ Orion software, sending malware directly to its customers — including government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

What ultimately angered me—most of the victims didn’t even know they’d been compromised until a third-party security company alerted them to it. It pains me to say that, but I have witnessed businesses turning a blind eye to significant red flags to avoid operational downtime.

NotPetya (2017)

Allegedly just ransomware—but vastly more destructive. It is one of the most powerful cyber weapons that infected systems around the globe and caused billions (yes, $1,000 million) of dollars damages. Banks. Shipping companies. Critical infrastructure. Everything was affected.

I will always recall when I spent a whole weekend assisting one of my clients (a logistics company) rebuild his firewalls and domain controllers after his system was caught in the crossfire. The lesson? And don’t forget how far collateral damage ripples.

International Relations: What Happens Next

Economic Fallout

• The cost of a single attack can run into the millions, or even billions.
• Businesses lose trust, customers and money.

Political Tensions

• Attacks that are perpetrated with state sponsorship usually trigger tit-for-tat responses.
• Cyber espionage can quickly spill over into real-world conflicts.

Critical Infrastructure Risks

• Utilities, hospitals and transportation systems are sitting ducks.
• Let’s not sugarcoat this: we’re talking about life-and-death scenarios here (and yes, it’s terrifying).

But let me be clear — this isn’t a back-burner issue. It’s top of mind for CISOs, government agencies and even insurance companies (have you checked the costs on cyber insurance policies recently?).

Defense Strategies

1. Zero-Trust Architecture

   Let me say it louder for those in the back: Trust no one. Verify everything. I recently helped three banks to move to a zero-trust model, and while I’ll grudgingly admit that the process was a total pain (especially migrating legacy systems)—it’s absolutely worth it. Once you implement it, you reduce your attack surface by a lot.

2. Threat Hunting

   Don’t wait for an alert — seek threats within your network. Imagine you lock your car doors, but never check the backseat. Sound crazy? And that’s sort of how I feel about not doing threat hunting.

3. Patch Management

   It’s 2023, and we are still dealing with attacks that could have been avoided through routine patching. If I had a cent for every time someone said “don’t patch, it’ll disrupt operations,” I would have retired by now.

4. Incident Response Plans

   When — not if — you’re breached, how do you respond? This cannot be a dusty document in a drawer. Do regular drills. Simulate breaches. Update plans frequently.

Quick Take: Why You Should Care

Here’s the TL; DR if you’re skimming:

• What’s new: State-sponsored hackers are attacking businesses, not only government.
• Why it’s important: The aftermath has repercussions for everyone — economically and politically.
• What to do: Build zero-trust, hunt threats proactively, and dear God patch your systems.

Final Thoughts

So let me leave you with this: The global cyber cold war isn’t something coming down the line — it has already arrived. And it’s not some distant concern that only impacts governments and tech behemoths. It’s striking businesses of all sizes and industries.

I thought that the state of play in the early-2000s, when the Slammer worm was tearing through computer systems, was as bad as it could get. I was wrong. Cybersecurity has transformed into yet another key arena in modern-day geopolitics, and every business is part of that ecosystem, forced or not.

So, take it seriously. Invest in your defenses. Educate your teams. And if you are getting lost or overwhelmed, get help from the right experts — people like us here at PJ Networks.

Until we meet again, be safe out there.

—Sanjay Seth, still buzzing from DefCon and brainstorming new ways to make tomorrow’s digital world just a little bit safer.