Differentiated from hackers, 'advanced persistent threats' spy on high-profile targets for long periods of time An oddly worded e-mail was the first sign of something amiss at Los Angeles firm Gipson Hoffman & Pancione. It didn't read like the messages the firm's attorneys usually sent each other -- didn't pass the "smell test." His suspicions raised, the recipient, associate Gregory Fayer, picked up the phone and discovered that the colleague who supposedly sent the e-mail knew nothing of it. Other attorneys at the firm also received the bogus e-mail, which was eventually traced to China -- where Gipson Hoffman is litigating a $2.2 billion copyright infringement suit against the government. Fayer was well aware that cyberattackers often use fake e-mail messages to break into computer networks. The firm couldn't directly link the bogus messages to its lawsuit -- the FBI is still investigating the matter -- but found it hard to dismiss as mere coincidence. Notably, the episode followed closely on the heels of Google's announcement that hackers had broken into the Gmail accounts of several Chinese human rights activists. Although the public acknowledgement of the attack was unusual, it was hardly the first time that a law firm has been targeted by a sophisticated network of overseas hackers looking to infiltrate computer systems in order to gather data or monitor attorney activity, according to attorneys and technology experts. To Continue Reading: Click Here -------------------------------------------- Source: law.com By: Karen Sloan

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