Advanced Malware is Targeted, Stealthy, Evasive, and Adaptive

The online world is a scary place. Viruses, malware, spyware, adware, and more are all out there trying to get at your network. These threats are almost always prevalent, but compared to each other, some are vastly superior and far more dangerous and advanced than the others. Advanced malware has the potential to disrupt your business’s operations, cause extensive data loss, and more.

Processor magazine digs deeper into what makes advanced malware so much more dangerous than the typical malware you encounter most of the time. Robert Clyde, the international vice president of ISACA, explains how advanced malware operates: “The nature of advanced malware is that it’s targeted, it’s stealthy, it’s evasive, and it’s adaptive.” All of these traits combined turn the traditional malware variety into a lethal, targeted dose of annoyance designed to bring down even the largest targets.

Generic malware is typically created to disrupt a system and wreak general havoc. Unfortunately, advanced malware is far more complex than that. It’s usually designed with a specific target or goal in mind. More often than not, the purpose of this advanced malware is to collect information, infect key systems, or sabotage particular data, and it’s designed to fulfill this purpose in the most convenient and reliable manner possible. The term, “Advanced Persistent Threats,” might come to mind, and it’s often used to describe threats which aim to meet their goals over an extended period of time, rather than immediately.

Defenses put into place against standard malware varieties aren’t the best way to combat these dangerous strains. It’s not uncommon for these threats to cause more trouble as soon as they’re identified, and they can spread the contagion throughout your network by jumping from system to system. This makes it far more difficult to corner and eliminate them.

The easiest and most practical way of dealing with these kinds of threats is by taking advantage of Directive’s Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution. This is a four-pronged offensive against malicious entities that can be found online. The first step is to protect your business’s network from getting infiltrated in the first place, and that’s where a powerful firewall comes into play. This acts like a bouncer, keeping only safe and secure data from accessing your network. It also keeps threats from leaving your network if they’ve been detected, allowing for a prompt deletion.

Other preventative measures that are taken include integrating a powerful spam blocking solution, as well as a content filtering protocol. This keeps dangerous and persistent spear-phishing threats from targeting you by eliminating the majority of time-wasting and annoying spam, and protects your team from accessing sites which hold potentially malicious code.

And, finally, the UTM integrates an enterprise-level antivirus software into your IT strategy which is capable of detecting and eliminating the nastiest threats on the Internet. This helps you maintain control of your network at all times. If you’re not sure about your current network security situation, Directive provides free network security audits that are liability-free. This lets you confirm your suspicions and take steps to prevent the situation from getting worse.

If you’re not sure how to proceed, calling Directive is the best decision you can make. We’ll help you locate and exterminate current threats, and take proactive steps toward securing your network from new ones. Just call 607.433.2200 for more information.