· Conceal their actions by modifying system logs.

The JPL breach is still under investigation by the Office of the Inspector General.

NASA is just one of the thousands of companies considered "target-rich," meaning their IP and other sensitive data is ripe for cyberattacks and, more specifically, for APT. In 2011, Lockheed Martin, the country's largest defense contractor, was the when its VPN access system was breached. Fortunately for Lockheed Martin the threat was detected almost immediately, averting potential disaster.

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Since these attacks are customized and targeted, many go undetected by traditional security measures which are only able to blacklist known malware. And the persistent nature of the attack allows the hacker to modify codes and strings until it finds one that can stealthily permeate the enterprises' security system. In fact, the number of APTs detected by antivirus perimeter defenses , meaning the majority are free to continue with malicious activities.