BotNet News

Despite the best efforts of security teams, malware will inevitably infiltrate systems. The good news is that detecting and mitigating the impact of these threats is possible by taking a proactive approach.

Malware is software designed to steal, harm or infect computers, networks, mobile devices and even IoT appliances. Attackers use these malicious programs to accomplish a variety of goals from stealing passwords to ransoming victims for their data. They can also disrupt functions of digital medical devices that keep people alive or rob an organization of its competitive advantage when intellectual property is sold on the dark web.

The most effective malware attacks are designed to exploit weaknesses in the system, either through social engineering or through technical vulnerabilities in hardware and software. Examples of these attacks include computer viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, keyloggers, rootkits and cryptojacking.

Some types of malware spread through email attachments, social media applications or online advertisements, while others can make unauthorized changes on a device without the user’s knowledge. Examples of these include displaying pop-ups, changing search engine results, adding icons to the desktop and redirecting websites.

Infections may cause a noticeable slowdown in performance, or a sudden loss of available storage space. Some malware types, such as worms and Trojans, can also consume a lot of computing power. This is why it’s critical for security tools to check every file against a virtual sandbox – a safe environment that simulates the operating system and hardware of the endpoint device, so attackers can’t hide their malicious code.