How Does Malware Protection Work?
Because of the variety of strains of malware, malware protection systems need to take several perspectives into account when assessing a file or code’s legitimacy.
To achieve this, modern software assesses file behavior across five different axes.
#1. Threat Intelligence
Threat intelligence involves gathering data on global malware trends to enable faster responses to attacks.
Sharing this intelligence with global malware protection platforms helps organizations stay updated on the latest threats that have been circulating. This allows for entire industries to remain ahead of attackers, as Tactics Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) are packaged into recognizable signatures that can then be identified by threat intelligence-driven tools.
This signature-based approach defends against the more common and replicable malware strains like infostealers and basic ransomware.
#2. Network Protection
Given malware’s reliance on breaching sensitive networks, malware protection needs to be able to identify malicious traffic and stop it at its source.
Many malware types leave noticeable footprints across a network they’re targeting.
- The ongoing communication between a trojan and its creators can create noticeable spikes in network activity.
- Ransomware attacks and spyware exfiltrate data out of an organization’s own network, and repeatedly establish a connection with their respective Command and Control (C2) servers.
That’s not the only way that network traffic monitoring can unveil malicious behavior.
Early-stage attacks can take the form of port scans coming from inside your network – this is one way that attackers move laterally while on the hunt for the ideal database or vulnerability to target. And it’s not uncommon for attackers to create a backdoored account that lets them return at a later time.
This manifests as the creation of new, privileged accounts within the network.
When monitoring this suspicious network activity, malware protection should also take immediate action to shut it down – this is where close interreliance on a firewall can stop suspect behavior before malware is deployed.
#3. Endpoint Protection
While a network perspective is vital, it’s worth noting that endpoint devices are often the initial infection vector in attacks. This is why malware protection also needs to routinely scan endpoints for malware and suspicious activity – and forms the basis of Endpoint Detection and Response tools.
For the resource-heavy strains of malware, infection can be very obvious:
- A sudden decrease in system speed
- Delayed startup times
- Slow file access
- Sluggish application performance
All of these can indicate an ongoing malware infection. Worms are particularly greedy, often using up considerable computing power when repeatedly replicating themselves.
#4. File Analysis
Sandboxing is one way that malware protection verifies a file’s legitimacy. Here’s how it works:
- Before a new file is downloaded onto an enterprise device, it is sent to a sandbox – a secure, isolated space that mimics the operating system and hardware of a real endpoint. Here, the file is executed as normal.
- The tool then monitors the file’s behavior to check for suspicious actions, such as attempts to modify system files, create network connections, or inject malicious code.
- Any unusual system calls lead to the file being flagged as malware, and quarantined.
While traditional sandboxing was intensely resource-demanding, newer approaches have made it more available to smaller organizations, thanks to the higher compute power of providers’ analysis engines.
Now, files with concerning code can have the malicious chunks snipped out – a content disarm and reconstruction.
#5. Behavioral analysis
While file analysis aims to establish the malicious actions of a piece of malware, behavioral analysis seeks to establish a baseline of normal behavior across trusted networks, devices, and users. It’s a critical piece of the malware protection puzzle, as account behavior is one of the clearest indicators of attack.
By building a picture of a typical user journey, machine-learning algorithms are able to notice when account behavior becomes erratic or begins accessing resources and databases not usually seen in day-to-day use.
By integrating with the wider suite of malware protection tools, behavioral analysis allows for the discovery of brand-new zero days and account takeover attacks: representing a step above and beyond signature-based identification.
Types of Malware
Malicious software is designed to violate one of the three triads of cybersecurity:
- 保密性
- 誠信
- 可用性
The individual motives for unleashing attacks span the width of financial greed, political disagreement, and general disregard for the law. Understanding is the first step toward prevention: this section identifies malware’s biggest threats and the approaches that malware protection takes to thwart them.
病毒
Viruses are some of the oldest forms of malware; they’re pieces of code that’s capable of copying itself to a device when a user downloads a file or otherwise interacts with it.
This is usually achieved by a virus attaching itself to a legitimate file or program. Viruses can:
- Corrupt files
- Slow down systems
- Cause extensive damage by modifying system function
Note the subtle distinction between virus and malware – ‘virus’ specifically refers to the replication mechanism, whereas malware is simply an umbrella term for any software that seeks to cause harm.
So, a virus is a form of malware – but not all malware is a virus.
蠕蟲
Unlike viruses, worms do not require user interaction to spread.
They take advantage of replicating themselves across networks, exploiting their ability to alter or delete files and cause chaos within networks and resource usage.
Trojans
Trojans disguise themselves as legitimate software but contain harmful code. To distinguish between the two halves of a Trojan attack, it’s split into the dropper, and the trojan itself.
- The dropper is the protective ‘shell’ around the malicious code
- The trojan is the piece of malware that actively infects a victim’s device and inflicts harm.
勒索
Ransomware relies on an encryption mechanism being downloaded onto a victim’s database and sensitive devices.
Once they’ve been scrambled, the criminals offer a decryption key – for a price. It’s no longer just organizations being held ransom, either – double or even triple extortion attempts have seen customers being hit with further ransom demands.
Spyware & Adware
Spyware, sometimes called infostealers, aim to rampantly steal as much data as possible.
Once on a victim device, this malware takes usernames and passwords, cookies, search history, financial information, and places it in the attacker’s database. In an enterprise setting, it’s common to see remote workers have work-based account logins stolen thanks to infostealers on at-home devices.
Adware is the opposite: they flood victims with unwanted advertisements, redirecting users to malicious sites or using them to inflate the attacker’s fraudulent ad revenue.
Rootkits
Rootkits are used to hide the existence of malicious software on a system, allowing attackers to maintain persistent, undetected access. Rootkits are notoriously difficult to detect and remove.
5 Malware Protection Best Practices
Safeguarding systems against malware demands ongoing commitment.
Thankfully, even relatively small amounts of prevention can go a long way to keeping attackers at bay. The best malware protection is multi-layered combinations of threat prevention and ongoing vigilance.
#1: Establish a Strong Baseline
Begin by installing reputable antivirus and anti-malware software across all endpoint devices; ensure these tools are updated regularly to recognize the latest threats.
#2: Keep on Top of Patch Management
Applying software patches promptly is key to removing vulnerabilities in operating systems and applications; these are otherwise common entry points for malware.
#3: Invest in End-User Training
Training sessions let employees understand the risks associated with their day-to-day browsing habits and activities. Phishing, suspicious links, and unknown downloads can all be blocked at a network’s perimeter if a user recognizes them successfully.
#4: Implement Network Segmentation and Strong Access Controls
Network segmentation creates internal barriers within the network, making it harder for malware to spread if it does gain entry. These access controls funnel users into the specific resources they’ll need day-to-day; a form of segmentation that can be implemented across wider networks.
Supporting the wider process of malware prevention should be a strict set of user access controls, reinforced by Multi-Factor Authentication – these limit user privileges to only genuine users.
#5: Monitor Continuously and Create Regular Backups
Regularly backing up data and storing it separately from the main network ensures critical information can be restored in case of an attack.
Plus, continuous monitoring allows for quick detection and response to unusual activity.
Gain Effective Malware Protection With Check Point
The number of risks facing your endpoints is only growing in scale and complexity. Between opening this page and reading this sentence, 12 more companies will have fallen victim to ransomware attacks.
However, this guide makes one thing clear: there’s an antidote to every common attack.
Check Point Harmony exemplifies this approach – it’s our endpoint security solution that boasts advanced cross-channel analysis and behavioral AI to protect the remote workforce from tomorrow’s complex threat landscape. It deploys easily across on-premises, hybrid, and remote architectures, with market-leading threat intelligence and threat AI that blocks even zero-day threats.
Request a demo to see Check Point Harmony’s next-level endpoint clarity.
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