Malware includes things like spyware, viruses, worms, and other malicious bugs that try to steal information, extort money, or crash your systems. To thwart malware, companies must implement cybersecurity strategies that include firewalls, email filtering, and antivirus software. However, these are the basic, traditional solutions, and based on a recent study, 68% of US companies don’t feel secure in using traditional security solutions.
Is it possible you're implementing traditional cyber security plans that are insufficient against advanced malware? To determine the robustness of your business’s security infrastructure, it’s important to know the reasons why traditional security solutions may not be enough to combat malware.
Reason #1: Increased malware sophistication
The simplest explanation for successful malware attacks is it's fully capable of bypassing your average off-the-shelf security products.
One of the most commonly used varieties of antivirus tools uses signature-based detection, a technique that involves identifying and blocking known malicious files. But, because malware is constantly evolving, signature-based tools often fail to identify threats.
Fortunately, there are antivirus programs that examine a file’s unusual instructions and suspicious behavior and are therefore better able to detect new malware. These behavior-based detection techniques do not focus on widely known malware characteristics and are more effective in detecting previously unidentified intruders.
Reason #2: Advanced malware is sneaky
Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) may detect and block potentially malicious data packets from entering a network. It observes the behavior of data coming in and out of a network and is capable of blocking them. Although they’re able to block malicious traffic, they can do so only based on a predefined internet traffic anomalies. But malware in 2017 is capable of side-stepping IPS by masking its presence, making it much more difficult to detect.
Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) use similar techniques to keep malicious files out of your network, and they are often used to complement IPS in sniffing out threats such as trojans and backdoor attacks, and are limited in capability. Both are considered indispensable, but they should be considered only part of your defense, not your entire defense.
Reason #3: Millions of malware variants
SophosLabs receives and processes 400,000 previously unseen malware samples each day. And 75% of the malicious files SophosLabs detects are found only within a single organization.
Not only can advanced malware evade most antivirus programs, but their sheer volume may also overwhelm cyber security firms’ countermeasures. They may be adopting new, more sophisticated malware analysis techniques, but cyber criminals are mass-producing malware files to keep pace.
What businesses need to do
Ultimately, traditional security solutions like firewalls, antivirus protections, intrusion prevention and detection systems, and email filtering programs remain indispensable to a business’s security infrastructure. They’re the first line of defense against common threats, but they shouldn’t remain static especially since today's threats are fast-evolving and can easily evade basic security tools.
And while it is certainly wise to always be on the lookout for more advanced malware detection technology, businesses must never neglect one of the best weapons they have: a well-informed group of employees. A properly trained staff would know not to click on suspicious links or attachments from unknown senders and would ensure your security software doesn't need to do all the heavy lifting by itself.
At Fluid Networks, our certified engineers provide end-to-end protection that meets our clients’ demands. But cyber security is an ongoing project. If your business doesn’t have basic cyber security policies, there’s not much that advanced security tools can do. Partner with our experts and we’ll help your business create a tradition of secure IT practices and always-secure operations. Call us now.