Fileless Malware: An Evolving Cyberthreat

Fileless Malware is one of the more challenging cyber threats facing businesses today, and far too many people are unaware of it. Without realizing it, we can allow attackers to execute cyberattacks by exploiting administrative tools built into the operating system. Unlike common malware, this attack avoids installing traditional files onto a device, making it significantly more difficult for security tools to detect.

Because nothing gets installed on the computer, this type of malware evades most antivirus and security programs. Even worse, primarily carried out by phishing attacks, cybercriminals do not need to target organizations or individuals. Truly opportunistic, they send out mass emails to lists purchased off the dark web and wait to see who falls for the bait.

But that’s not all.

When they target with spear-phishing campaigns, using personal information from victims or organizations, these attacks have a nearly 70% open rate.

How Fileless Malware Works

While Fileless Malware has existed for years, the techniques used to deliver it continue to evolve. Today, cybercriminals commonly use phishing emails, malicious websites, compromised documents, and legitimate system tools such as PowerShell and Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to execute attacks. By leveraging tools already present on a system, attackers can often avoid triggering traditional security controls.

The scripts initiate specific processes that run a sophisticated registry manipulation, using threads with persistent effects and temporary storage to bypass security. All of that means that they make changes to system files to gain control over the device without installing any software. In addition, the executable script is encoded to execute before runtime, meaning that it returns after a reboot without ever being permanently written to a disk.

A Sophisticated Attack

The creators of this registry attack know their way around system files, taking advantage of the complexity of the operating system to work underneath or around security tools. Of the numerous ways attacks can be carried out, one of the more dangerous is the first stage for ransomware attacks.

The mass exposure nature of the attack allows advanced cybercriminals to distribute the Fileless Malware to less capable colleagues to gain a foothold in vulnerable systems. Once access is gained, the code automatically communicates back to the domain operator controls set by the creator. In this way, the workload of infecting systems and operating the ransomware is shared, allowing for more effective and numerous attacks.

Fileless Malware is an effective attack technique because it allows cybercriminals to blend malicious activity with legitimate system processes, making detection and investigation far more difficult.

Defending Against Fileless Attacks

Just as cybercriminals evolve their attacks, the cybersecurity industry learns how to defend against them. One of the most important ways to stop Fileless Attacks is to run software updates and perform regular maintenance. The most often breached systems are those that run older software or are missing security updates.

Another key to stopping these attacks is managing user rights;no one should ever use an admin account to do business or surf the net. A mindset of ownership often tempts users to elevate themselves to admins on personal devices, as does a lack of structure and security awareness in small businesses. Using an admin account leaves no room for error; one wrong click can destroy an entire network.

Finally, we have security awareness training. Security is only as good as the most unaware user. Because these attacks rely on phishing and spear-phishing to gain access to the network, educating users on how to spot these attacks is imperative to stop them.

Each phase of these campaigns requires a vulnerability to be exploited. By closing off these vulnerabilities, we protect the systems from attack.

Understanding How The Attacks Work Is Your Best Defense

Cybercriminals rely on deception, using tactics such as distraction, urgency, and stress to trick people into compromising their systems. The more aware we are of how these attacks work, the harder it becomes for attackers to succeed. We are seeing more examples of cybercriminals breaching businesses with existing tools, which means cybersecurity can’t be only about firewalls and antivirus software; we need people to be cybersecurity aware.

If you would like help with Security Awareness Training, Email Security, or protecting your business from evolving threats, give us a call at 301-456-6931 or send an email to [email protected] and see why Clark Computer Services is simply the best choice in Cybersecurity services.