What Is Malware and How Does It Affect Your Network?
A malicious piece of software or firmware that is designed to cause unauthorized processes to run on a host with adverse effects on the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of data or applications. Examples include viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, and some forms of adware.
The goal of malware is to steal sensitive information or disable a device or network so hackers can control it. Attacks are increasingly targeting organizations rather than individual consumers because it’s more lucrative to hackers. They can disrupt digital medical devices that save lives, steal industrial secrets that cost decades to develop and erode competitive advantage, or expose personal data for identity theft and sales on the dark web.
Symptoms of malware infection can be hard to spot. The infected system may run more slowly, crash frequently, or flood users with pop-ups. IT support teams may notice an influx of tickets for performance issues. Security solutions like SIEM platforms can help flag anomalies in network activity by correlating alerts from disparate tools and aggregating them in one place.
Once malware infects a device it will typically try to establish communication with the hacker’s command and control server. This enables the attacker to send commands that can perform a variety of actions including stealing data, downloading additional malware files, changing device configurations, or mining cryptocurrency. Trojans can also reach out to download other malware from a command and control server, which can explain sudden increases in Internet activity.