Understanding fileless malware

Though fileless malware has been around much longer, it only became a mainstream method of cyberattack in 2017. With fileless malware, cybercriminals are able to use legitimate tools and services, such as existing software, applications, and authorized protocols, to carry out malicious activities like unauthorized data retrieval or data damage. Left unchecked, these types of malware can adversely affect your business processes and the infrastructures that run them.

Fileless malware is malicious software that doesn’t rely on executable files to infect your infrastructure. Rather, it hides in your computer’s random access memory and uses trusted, legitimate processes, such as Microsoft Office macros, PowerShell, and Windows Management Instrumentation.

Fileless malware isn’t as visible as traditional malware. It uses a variety of techniques to stay persistent and can adversely affect the integrity of a business’s processes and the infrastructures that run them. Because there are no files to trace, fileless malware escapes detection by most anti-malware programs, especially those that use the databases of known threats. Most automated sensors cannot recognize illicit scripts, and cybersecurity analysts who are trained to identify them usually have a hard time determining where to look.

If it is not detected and removed, fileless malware can do a lot of damage to business systems, such as:

• Steal or destroy data
• Modify files without authorization
• Act as a backdoor for other types of malware
• Cause system crashes and instability
• Disrupt normal operations by taking up CPU time or memory

Examples of high-profile fileless malware attacks include theDemocratic National Committee hacking in 2016 and the Equifax data breach in 2017.

Cybersecurity provider WatchGuard Technologies’sInternet Security Report for Q4 2020found that fileless malware attacks during the year jumped by 888% from 2019. Worse still, theirQ2 2021 reportrevealed that just halfway through 2021, the number of fileless malware detections originating from scripting engines like PowerShell was already at 80% of 2020’s total script-initiated attack volume.

Your business should practicedefense in depthin which you implement multiple safeguards to reduce exposure and mitigate damage. Such safeguards include keeping your systems updated, limiting user access rights and privileges, cultivating a security-aware workforce, and utilizing advanced security solutions that analyze behavioral trends. Lastly, you should also partner with a managed IT services provider that offers 24/7 network monitoring, security audit, and penetration testing. Call us today to get started.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org.Source.