Future-Proofing Enterprises Against Evolving Cyber Threats

Since the first file-borne malware appeared, cyberthreat actors have continually sought to create new malware and find innovative ways to embed harmful elements within files. Their objective? To use these malicious or tainted files as a medium to infiltrate and compromise enterprises.

Organisations have adapted and now use various threat detection and endpoint protection solutions to detect and stop these threats. Yet threat actors continue to find gaps in enterprise networks, a situation is worsened by the ongoing convergence of traditional IT networks with Operational Technology (OT) networks.

How can organisations protect their increasingly complex environments from file-borne threats, including those that have yet to be created?
 

The Convergence of IT and OT

It is important to note that IT and OT environments have undergone significant transformations in recent years. Historically, these two domains were distinct, with separate networks, personnel, protocols, and priorities.

IT teams focused primarily on cybersecurity and protecting the organisation's digital assets. Meanwhile, OT engineers were concerned with ensuring the uptime and reliability of industrial systems and machinery, as unscheduled downtime often has direct financial repercussions.

In recent years, there has been a notable convergence between IT and OT networks. This shift is driven by the growing need to easily access data across these environments and enable the transfer of data from OT to IT systems. This data accessibility is vital for optimising production processes and leveraging analytics to enhance efficiency.

However, this convergence also introduces new cybersecurity risks to vulnerable OT systems. Previously isolated OT networks are now exposed to potential threats from IT networks, opening new attack vectors across interconnected IT/OT systems that bad actors may exploit. The urgency to address stop malware for the continued safety and resilience of operations is now greater than ever.
 

Defending Against Unknown Threats

Threat actors use a range of techniques to infiltrate organisations with malware. They exploit common file formats to trigger the execution of malicious content and develop new methods to deliver existing malware. As a result, the threat environment is in a constant state of evolution as malware authors and cyber criminals devise new, unheard-of attacks.

Unknown threats pose a significant risk because they can easily bypass traditional, signature-based detection methods such as antivirus software. It’s not even that difficult. For instance, threat actors could modify existing malware or script to obfuscate their signature and test their work against up-to-date anti-malware software.

More sophisticated threat actors or state-sponsored hackers might create novel attacks using zero-day vulnerabilities. Defending against unknown threats is hence a top priority in the current cybersecurity landscape, and organisations need to implement prevention-based defences that can identify and mitigate previously unseen threats, alongside traditional methods using malware signatures. If relying solely on detection, it’s too late.
 

Clearing Common Misconceptions

While files remain a crucial attack vector that organisations must be vigilant about, many hold misconceptions about traditional attack vectors involving them.

The most common mistaken belief is that a single antivirus solution is enough to protect against today’s sophisticated cyber threats. Although traditional anti-malware applications and sandboxes can detect and block most threats, it is important to note that no single anti-malware engine claims to catch and prevent all threats.

Another misconception is that simply having an antivirus software installed is sufficient. While antivirus solutions are designed to detect existing malware based on their signatures, they often fail to catch new threats constantly being developed by malicious actors.

In addition, many companies mistakenly believe that siloed technologies focused on a single vector, such as email, can effectively address their cybersecurity needs. However, threats often come through multiple vectors, from file downloads and thumb drives, to novel ways of embedding new malware into existing files or documents.

Taken together, this means implementing a proactive, multilayered cybersecurity approach is crucial for organisations to stay ahead of the varied attack vectors and evolving tactics of threat actors.
 

Breaking the Mould

Addressing file-based attack vectors is essential for an organisation's overall cybersecurity strategy. But traditional anti-malware software based on a single detection engine simply cannot offer the breadth and depth needed to defend against the latest threats. An alternative is necessary.

OPSWAT offers a unique approach to threat detection. For a start, it uses up to 20 anti-malware engines, scanning files in parallel to enable much faster threat detection and remediation than sequential scanning.

Rather than depending on a single technology, OPSWAT integrates multiple security capabilities on a unified platform. This includes antivirus scanning, content disarm and reconstruction (CDR), file-based vulnerability detection, and data loss prevention, among others.

CDR provides comprehensive protection against zero-day and advanced malware by proactively dissecting files and removing anything potentially dangerous. This method is highly effective against both known and unknown threats, including zero-day attacks.

To learn more about OPSWAT and how they might help your organisation, click here. You can also visit the OPSWAT booth at GovWare 2024 to learn more.