Recent Trends in Malware

Question: Discuss about theRecent Trends in Malware. Answer: Introduction Malware is defined as any software that interrupts normal operations of a computer, collect some or all sensitive information and get access to individuals computer systems or display unrequired advertising. Malware propagation work like parasites that get attached to some or all existing user content especially the executable ones. These fragments may be codes generated in the machine in machine-readable formats and infect some of the existing application, system program or the booting codes of a computer system. Malware may be secret, designed to steal specific information or to spy on users for some period without their consent like Regin. It may be designed to destroy or weaken like Stuxnet or to implore monetary gain like Crypto Locker. It is, therefore, is an umbrella term to describe hostile or intrusive software (Stallings, 2012). Over the years, malware has been developing in different ways which hinder information security. This study will focus on the recent trends in malw are. There are three most common malware in the world today. First is the Citadel Trojan. It is the most discussed malware and has its roots from the Zeus lineage of malware. Citadel Trojan was rediscovered in 2013 with a feature of how it localizes the credentials it gather from victims to appear like its own. Attackers now use mobile malware especially through means of collecting applications to spread this malware (Edwards, 2007). Google Play Store and App Store from Apple have tried but often fail to completely check what is offered. SMS is another way used to spread Citadel Trojan. Attackers often send spam SMS to individuals through a click-through and should one click on the SMS, the computer automatically get infected by the malware. It is, therefore, important to make sure the sender is known before clicking on any SMS received. Also, before getting and installing any application, it is prudent that it is thoroughly scanned for any malware that may be attached to it. Another malware is Uapush.A. It is most common in Android pieces. It works through the backdoor. It affects backdoor apps, sends quality SMS to the user then get information from infected devices. It works using unethical marketing and spam. It, however, has lower effects on gaining access to users personal information like other malware and in destroying the device (Stalmans and Irwin, 2011). This fact should however not lead to ignorance, and all computer users should be on the lookout to destroy this form of malware. Thirdly is the ObadH or Backdoor AndroidOS Obad.a. It is also an Android malware and is debated to be the most violent. It sends SMS without the user consent and shows sophistications similar to malware common on a Windows operating system (Stalmans and Irwin, 2011). Apart from abusing the SMS feature, it also downloads other forms of malware which can then be distributed to other neighboring devices through applications like Bluetooth. It can also perform some command based activities remotely thus making it the most dangerous malware. ObadH takes the administrator privileges which means users have to take some responsibilities which may include; users who do not root their phones should not give the malware privileges to proceed past the point device administrator while those who root their phones should not give obadH total root privileges. There are four malware trends IT professionals should look out for since they impact both organizations and individuals (Engin 2015). First, malware has become increasingly aggressive and evasive over the years. Evasive Malware like odadH fails traditional security technologies like sandboxes and signature-based security systems. IT professionals have already observed a trend towards the development of more sophisticated and devious malware behavior. Traditionally, these devious movements are bringing the shift from static to dynamic malware analysis. This is making malware writers focused more on making malware resistant to the dynamic analysis. People should now be looking for automated detection of a devious behavior of malware to help reduce the damage already caused. Secondly, there is the vulnerability of two-factor authentication (Engin 2015). A smartphone is the user's secure devices which give them the ability to offer certain credentials to access some services like email, banking, and photo sharing. This makes malware attacks difficult as they provide an obstacle to access the apps on mobile devices in protected format. It is possible especially for malware creators to compromise two-factor authentication for smartphones just like in laptops and desktop since they have similar computing platforms. More people should, therefore, adopt two-factor authentication since they are always difficult in the long run to completely overcome them even by malware creators. Widespread adoption of two-factor authentication should be the talk in the current situation. Thirdly, there is the risk of targeted attacks leading to customized mass exploitations. For attackers to identify victims, they require more manual work and come up with tactics that the users are not able to easily identity. They, therefore, have to come up with customized tactics to attack identified victims (Engin 2015). Malware developers are however bound to discover these steps and therefore automate them which then will bring targeted attacks to opportunistic attacks. Attackers will then compromise victims with little or no manual work which will hinder security of signature updates and manual works. The security team should, therefore, automate their activities to keep up with the recent changes since the attackers are becoming more sophisticated. Newer methods of information security should be adopted in all units in every organization. Lastly, there are increased consumer and enterprise data leaks through cloud applications (Engin 2015). Currently, there is more dependence on cloud services today than before. Due to more information on the cloud, attackers are getting more aimed in the cloud than any other platforms. There should be me more awareness on the negative effect of providing their personal information and commercial data on the cloud such as security breaches which widens the security gap of the cloud. It is possible that the cloud breaches may go unnoticed for a long time and therefore may end up not reported and corrected. As users of the cloud, ensure that the day posted therein are well protected and that not all data posted especially personal data since you never know who sees the data in the cloud. Malware affect organizations and individuals in their day to day life. There is, therefore, need to mitigate the effects they cause using anti-malware software. On-access or real-time scanners should be installed into the operating system. This software functions in a similar way to how the malware attempt to function but with the users knowledge. The scanner checks any file when operating system access it to check if it is malware free. If the scanner identifies the file as malware, the operation is stopped immediately, and the user is notified. This help stops malware from performing any operations before they occur Anti-malware work by either providing real-time protection by scanning incoming data and scanning any threat that may be attached to it during installation onto the computer. This, therefore, prevents any malware from entering the computer the same way antivirus works. It then blocks the threat completely giving no room for installation. Anti-malware can also work by detecting already installed malware and to remove it. This is done by scanning the whole computer system to check if there is any malware present in the Windows registry or the operating system. The user then chooses the files that are to be deleted, match them with the well-known malware then delete those that qualify to be malware. In addition to the above, with the adoption of online usage by a large number of people on the planet, malware developers are at a point where they are bound to introduce this malicious software in areas where no one can ever think of or consider. People should be on the lookout as they take their own connected devices in public places like in the office and also when taking their office equipment to their homes. It is during these transfers that the attackers can use to place malware into their devices which will hinder the security of their business which in turn have a greater effect on information security. In conclusion, malware or malicious software is computer programs that disrupt computer operation. It is, therefore, important that the computer is protected against any form of malware. The different types of malware include ObadH, Uapush and Citadel Trojan. They can be mitigated during installation or after they are detected. In the recent past, there are trends that have been on the rise which include; malware is becoming increasingly aggressive and evasive, the vulnerability of two-factor authentication, targeted attacks giving way to mass exploit customization, increased data leaks via the cloud applications. Malware, like viruses, hinder information security and therefore the need to be keen as a user of any electronic gadget. It is important that before accepting any new information and installing it, the information goes through scanning to make sure it is malware free. Also, make sure that operating system is regularly scanned since there is some malware that usually hides i n some files. Install and update regularly anti-malware software in computers and when sharing files, both the sending and receiving machine is malware free. Finally, avoid sharing so much personal information especially on the cloud. References Edwards J (2007). Top Zombie, Trojan Horse and Bot Threats. IT security Engin Kirda (2015). Top 5 Malware Trends on the Horizon. retrieved from www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/cyber-security/top-5-malware-trends-on-the-horizon on September 19, 2016 Kagan L. (2013). 3 Malware Trends You Need to Know About. Retrieved from https://www.recordedfuture.com/malware-trends on September 19, 2016 Stallings W. (2012). Computer security: Principles and Practice. Pearson. Boston. Stalmans E. and Irwin B. (2011). A framework for DNS based detection and mitigation of malware infection on a network. IIEE. South Africa