It’s a word that sounds heavy. Old. Like something you’d read in a history book about Roman legions crossing a river they weren’t supposed to cross. But honestly? If you’re working in cybersecurity or sitting in a high-level military briefing today, hearing the word "incursion" usually means someone’s morning is about to get very, very bad.
So, what is an incursion? At its simplest, it’s a sudden, hostile entry into a territory or domain where you aren’t welcome. It’s not an invitation. It’s not a mistake. It’s an intentional breach of a boundary. While we used to talk about this mostly in terms of boots on the ground, the 2020s have shifted the definition into something much more invisible and, frankly, much more dangerous.
The Physical vs. Digital Divide
Think about the physical world first. A border incursion happens when a drone from one country drifts over the fence of another without asking. We saw this extensively throughout 2023 and 2024 in Eastern Europe. It’s quick. It’s usually meant to test the "tripwire"—to see how fast the other guy wakes up and grabs his gear.
Digital incursions are different. They’re quieter.
When a hacker group like Lazarus or a state-sponsored actor slips into a power grid's control system, that’s an incursion. They aren't always there to steal your credit card numbers. Sometimes, they just want to sit there. They want to see how the pipes are laid out. They want to know where the "off" switch is for when things get real. This kind of incursion is what keeps infrastructure experts like Kevin Mandia, the founder of Mandiant, awake at night. It’s the "living off the land" technique where the intruder uses your own admin tools against you.
Why "Incursion" Isn't Just "Attack"
People use these words interchangeably, but they shouldn't. An attack is loud. An attack is the fire. An incursion is the guy slipping through the window to set the timer on the bomb.
If you look at the SolarWinds breach—which remains one of the most sophisticated examples of a digital incursion in history—the "incursion" phase lasted for months. The attackers didn't just smash the door down; they became part of the software update process itself. They weren't just in the building; they were the building.
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The Psychology of the Breach
Why do they do it? Usually, it's about leverage.
In a business context, an incursion into a competitor’s proprietary research isn’t about shutting them down today. It’s about winning ten years from now. If you can see what the other guy is building while it’s still on the drawing board, you’ve already won. It’s a quiet theft of the future.
There’s a certain "kinda" blurry line here between espionage and a full-blown incursion. Espionage is watching. Incursion is occupying.
The Three Stages You’ll Actually See
Most people think a breach happens in a heartbeat. It doesn't.
- The Probe. This is the digital equivalent of walking around a house and checking if the back windows are locked. You might see thousands of "pings" on a server every hour. Most are noise. Some are the probe.
- The Foothold. This is the actual incursion. The moment a malicious script executes. The moment a credential is stolen. The intruder is now inside the perimeter. They haven't done anything yet, but they are there.
- Lateral Movement. This is where it gets scary. Once the incursion is successful, the actor starts moving sideways. They go from the receptionist's computer to the server room. They hunt for the "crown jewels."
Real-World Messes: When Incursions Go Viral
Remember the Colonial Pipeline situation? That started with a single leaked password. One. That was the point of incursion. Because that one account didn't have multi-factor authentication, an entire region of the United States suddenly couldn't find gas for their cars.
It highlights a weird truth about modern security: the wall is only as strong as the guy holding the key. You can spend $40 million on a firewall, but if "Steve" in accounting uses "Password123" for his VPN, the incursion is basically a formal invitation.
The Military Reality
In geopolitical terms, we see incursions used as "gray zone" warfare. This is stuff that stays below the level of an actual declared war but makes everyone nervous. Think about the South China Sea. Ships "accidentally" drifting into territorial waters. It’s a constant dance of incursion and retreat.
The goal isn't always to start a fight. Sometimes the goal is just to make the other person get used to you being there. If you cross the line every day, eventually, the line doesn't matter anymore.
How to Spot an Incursion Before the House Burns Down
If you're running a business or even just a tight ship at home, you have to look for the "ghosts in the machine."
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- Logon anomalies. Why is the CEO logging in from a basement in a country he’s never visited at 3 AM?
- Data exfiltration. Your internet speed looks fine, but your "upload" traffic is spiking. That’s usually the sound of your data leaving the building.
- New "Admin" accounts. If a new user named "System_Test" shows up and nobody remembers making it, you have an incursion.
It's sort of like tracking a predator in the woods. You don't always see the wolf. You see the flattened grass. You see the disturbed dirt. In digital terms, you see the logs that don't quite add up.
The Cost of Being Slow
The "dwell time"—the time between an incursion starting and it being found—is the most important metric in security. In 2022, the average dwell time was somewhere around 20 days. By 2024, it dropped, but not because we got better. It dropped because hackers got faster at smashing things.
If you don't catch an incursion in the first 48 hours, you're usually not looking at a "fix." You're looking at a "recovery." There is a massive difference between the two.
Actionable Steps to Harden the Perimeter
You can't stop every attempt. You just can't. If a nation-state wants to get into your network, they probably will. But you can make it so annoying and so expensive for them that they go find an easier target.
Implement Zero Trust. Basically, stop trusting everyone. Just because someone is "inside" the network doesn't mean they should have access to everything. Every single move should require a "handshake."
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Update Your Stuff. It sounds boring. It's the "eat your vegetables" of the tech world. But most incursions exploit old bugs that already have patches. If you’re running Windows 10 and haven't updated since the Obama administration, you're asking for it.
Segment the Network. Don't put the guest Wi-Fi on the same system that handles your payroll. If a guest's phone has an incursion, it shouldn't be able to "see" the company's bank accounts. Keep the rooms separate.
Audit Your Credentials. Use a password manager. Use physical security keys like YubiKeys. Stop using your dog's name followed by an exclamation point.
The reality of an incursion is that it’s rarely a "Matrix" style screen of falling green code. It’s usually a quiet, boring mistake that someone didn't catch. Being an expert in this field isn't about having the flashiest tools; it's about being the most disciplined person in the room.
If you find yourself facing an active incursion, the first move is always the same: Isolate. Pull the plug on the affected machine. Don't try to "fix" it while it's still connected. You stop the bleeding before you try to figure out why the cut happened. That's how you survive.