APT: a buzzword and a reality - A bibliometric review of the literature (2010–2020)

Abstract

This paper performs a bibliometric analysis of the peer-reviewed literature on Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) taken from 2010–2020. APTs being a complex and tactical attack, require a multi-disciplinary perspective. In this study, we reveal several emerging trends based on 1205 literature papers. We report many popular bibliometric indicators, for example, publication trends, prolific authors, citation analysis, co-author analysis, and publication forums. An important indicator reported in our study is to find common research themes. To do that, we utilize the unsupervised Louvain algorithm. We believe our work will give insights into the current development in APT work, identifying common research themes and promote collaborations between researchers.