Massive rise in polymorphic malware
By Joe Elvin
29/09/2011
The amount of polymorphic malware being spread by email has dramatically risen over the past month.
A report by Symantec has revealed that 72 per cent of email-based malware was sent in polymorphic form, up from just 18 per cent in August.
Furthermore, the amount email-borne viruses being sent has increased to 0.53 per cent, which is around one in every 189 emails sent.
This indicates an increasing intelligence amongst cyber-criminals and highlights the need for businesses to invest in high-quality IT management software.
Responding to the report for SC Magazine, Symantec senior analyst Paul Wood explained how difficult it can be for basic anti-virus programmes to detect polymorphic malware.
He said: "The anti-virus industry's response to polymorphic malware has been the use of behavioural analysis in a virtual sandbox. This allows the code to be run in a tightly controlled environment where the anti-virus software can perform some analysis of its functionality.
"However, the new malware includes ways that attempt to defeat these emulators, including changing the start-up code in every version, subtly changing the structure to make it harder for emulators to identify it as malicious."
According to cbronline.com, the report also revealed that the UK remains the second most targeted nation for phishing attacks behind South Africa.
