Internet Protocol Journal: Understanding fileless malware

I have written for this excellent 20 year-old publication occasionally. My article in this issue is about fileless malware.

Malware authors have gotten more clever and sneaky over time to make their code more difficult to detect and prevent. One of the more worrying recent developments
goes under the name “fileless.” There is reason to worry because these kinds of attacks can do more damage and the malware can persist on your computers and networks for weeks or months until they are finally neutralized. Let’s talk about what this malware is and how to understand it better so we can try to stop it from entering our
networks to begin with. Usually, the goal of most malware is to leave something behind on one of your endpoints: one or more files that contain an executable program that can damage your computer, corral your PC as part of a botnet, or make copies of sensitive data and move them to an external repository. Over the years, various detection products have gotten better at finding these residues, as they are called, and blocking them.

You can read my article here, along with other fine pieces on the state of the Internet in this month’s edition.

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