Analysis of 1.3M Emails Unveils Hidden Threats Missed by Other Email Security Solutions
Analysis of 1.3M Emails Unveils Hidden Threats Missed by Other Email Security Solutions
What is Fileless Malware, and How Can It be Stopped?

What is Fileless Malware, and How Can It be Stopped?

Fileless malware attacks computers with legitimate programs that use standard software. This challenging malware lives in Random Access Memory space, making it harder to detect. Users clicking on malicious files or downloading suspicious attachments in an email will lead to a fileless attack.

This article discusses the continuous challenges organization have in dealing with the attack chain caused by fileless malware and how the critical cloud-based email security solutions from Trustifi have become an essential partnership to stop the fileless threat.

Deciphering the Anatomy of Fileless Malware

Even though a fileless malware attack requires no code, an attacker still needs access to its environment to change its native tools.

In previous attack methods, malware relied on files on a device to execute an attack, but fileless malware does not engage with the target’s disk. Instead, a hacker might use current computer applications to load malicious code instructions only into memory. This attack method is complicated to detect, even with antivirus scans.

Fileless attacks and traditional malware attacks share a starting point, where a user takes an action that triggers the infection, such as downloading a contaminated attachment or clicking on a harmful link. Subsequently, an exploit kit scans the computer to identify any weaknesses that can be exploited to infiltrate the system.

Fileless malware can control vulnerable applications and protocols on the same device. These applications include Java, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and native tools such as Windows Management Instrumentation and Microsoft PowerShell.

PowerShell is frequently used in about 89 percent of fileless malware attacks.

What is the Various Attack Vectored Exploited by Fileless Malware?

  • Exploit kits – Advertisement uses malware or adware to code into the endpoints and browsers to help promote their products and services. This also is an exploit vector used by hackers.
  • Memory code injection: Malware uses memory injections to insert insufficient data into any file system. Fileless attacks take advantage of security flaws in web browsers, such as Adobe Flash, or through phishing to access software in a computer’s memory.
  • Fileless ransomware: The adversaries can execute various attacks and use any device to deliver their desired payload. Ransomware is one common attack vector through fileless techniques. This allows native applications like PowerShell to encrypt victims, leaving no trace on the disk.
  • Stolen credentials: A hacker who gains access to unauthorized passwords and password-based information can conduct a fileless attack on a legitimate user by hacking into their target account.

You May Have Been Targeted in Fileless E-Mail Advanced Attack.

Please don’t panic.

Antivirus solutions are commonly used when dealing with phishing emails that contain malicious attachments or downloads. However, threat actors are now utilizing “fileless” malicious payloads that can operate directly in memory or use pre-installed system tools for code execution, making it difficult for antivirus software.

Security researchers recommend the following initial steps:

  • Restart the device first. This removes all memory-associated malware.
  • Install free antivirus software to remove viruses and fileless malware.

What is the Role of the Email Security Platform from Trustifi?

Preventing fileless malware starts with stopping the phishing email from getting to your user’s inbox. Once the malicious email passes through legacy email security devices, most end-user devices will become infected.

Trustifi, a global leader in cloud-based next-generation email security, understands the complexity of malware and its effect on its clients. By leveraging their AI-powered maturity engines and machine learning, Trustifi can identify malicious emails containing embedded code, rogue attachments, and malicious URL links in a fileless attack. Their email security is a trustworthy multi-layered security platform. Trustifi prides itself on delivering several security protection layers in one integrated platform, including:

SecOps and email engineers must learn the extent or intent of most fileless malware attacks originating from phishing emails. Access to the Trustifi email security platform gives the organization plenty of options regarding which adaptive security control to deal with challenging attacks, including malware, ransomware, and fileless attacks.

With a “one-click,” clients can enable the various protection layers in minutes without rebooting. To help meet the client’s compliance and privacy mandates, Trustifi also supported the “one-click to comply” strategy.

Supporting all Compliance and Privacy Mandates

Trustifi’s consolidated email security strategy for anti-phishing also supports many compliance and privacy mandates out-of-the-box with no additional cost, including:

Why Trustifi?

Trustifi is a cyber security firm featuring solutions delivered on software as a service platform. Trustifi leads the market with the easiest-to-use and deploys email security products, providing both inbound email and outbound email security from a single vendor built to stop fileless malware, ransomware, and data exfiltration.

As a global cybersecurity provider of both inbound and outbound email protection, Trustifi currently supports customers from countries including the USA, Canada, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, the UK, the Netherlands, India, the UAE, China, and Japan, Cyprus, the Philippines, and more. The company has also developed “One-Click Compliance” capabilities that cater to world security regulations, including PDPO for Hong Kong, POPI for South Africa, GDPR for Europe, and LGPD for Brazil.

Related Posts