Targeted attack refers to intrusions by attackers who pursue aggressively and compromise specific targets often using social engineering and malware. Such attacks maintain a constant presence within the victim's network and move throughout the target's network and extract sensitive information. Such types of attacks are mainly aimed at civil society organizations, business enterprises, government and military networks. As a result, targeted attacks have become a priority threat. In this paper

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... examine the different stages that are involved in a targeted attack from the reconnaissance phase through to the data ex-filtration phase and will explore trends in the tools, tactics and procedures used in such attacks and will conclude with a high-level examination of mitigation strategies.