Malware
Learn about malware, how it works, families and variants, and strategies to protect your organization from advanced threats.
Malware fundamentals
Malware remains an enduring threat worldwide, constantly evolving as cybercriminals exploit new vulnerabilities. As AI-assisted attacks and malware-as-a-service lower attackers' barriers to entry, our connected digital world offers countless opportunities for profit through data theft, fraud, and ransom demands.
Zpedia
Malware: A Serious and Growing Threat
Protecting against malware attacks is not a recommendation, but a survival imperative across all verticals. As cloud adoption grows and remote, mobile, BYOD, and AI trends continue, new vulnerabilities and wider attack surfaces put data and users at greater risk than ever.
Types of Malware
Threat actors use malware to steal or encrypt data, commit fraud, commandeer systems, or gain unauthorized access—usually looking to disrupt operations, turn a profit, or both. New types and variants of malware appear every day as attackers develop new strategies. Let's look at some of the most common types.
Other types of malware
- Adware delivers unwanted ads to infected devices. It may track browsing habits, show pop-ups, hinder device performance, and steal data for profit.
- Trojan horse malware disguises itself as legitimate software. Once installed, it can steal data, grant hackers backdoor access, or install other malware.
- Spyware secretly monitors activity, stealing sensitive data like passwords or financial data. It can track keystrokes, log habits, and compromise privacy.
- Viruses infect systems by attaching to files or programs. When executed, they spread, corrupt files, steal data, and disrupt operations or functionality.
- Worms are self-replicating malware that spreads across networks. Unlike viruses, they don’t need hosts, making them ideal for large-scale infections.
Examples
Specific real-world examples
- HijackLoader expands on common “loader” capabilities with modules that enable it to evade security software, inject and execute malicious code, and much more.
- DeepSeek Lure shows how generative AI tools open many new avenues to cybercriminals, such as easy creation of look-alike domains to lure users to malicious webpages.
- NodeLoader is a family of malware that threat actors can use to deliver second-stage malware payloads, including cryptocurrency miners and information stealers.
- Xloader steals data from web browsers, email clients, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) apps, and more, and can be leveraged to download and execute second-stage payloads.
- RevC2 steals cookies and passwords, proxies traffic, and enables remote code execution. Venom Loader employs advanced obfuscation and encryption to evade detection.
- Anatsa (TeaBot) is an Android banking malware that uses a benign-looking “dropper” app to deceive users into unwittingly installing malicious payloads.
- Black hat SEO techniques can be used to elevate a malicious website in Google search results, increasing the chances of a user visiting the site and downloading malware.
- CoffeeLoader uses numerous techniques to bypass security solutions, including a special packer that utilizes the GPU, call stack spoofing, sleep obfuscation, and more.
Prevention & Detection
To effectively reduce risks associated with malware and ransomware, you need to understand the threats you’re up against.
Response & Solutions
Amid new threats and attack vectors, security is evolving past firewalls and perimeter-based approaches. Advanced threat protection (ATP) combines cloud security, email security, endpoint security, and more to strengthen defenses against modern threats.
