OpenAVN #ThreatIntelThursday | Malware šŸ˜ˆ

Sarah King
OpenAVN
Published in
3 min readJan 7, 2021
Week 1: Malware

This article is part of #threatintelthursday @OpenAVN, an ongoing series that teaches users about different malware, how they might be vulnerable to attacks, and how to begin protecting themselves. To read past Threat Intel Thursdays articles, click here. Join us as we break down the different genera of digital threats in an easy, digestible, and (dare we say) fun way.

Malware

Stemming from the Latin root ā€œmalā€ meaning ā€œbad,ā€ malware is a catchall term for software that attacks innocent computer users. In this first of OpenAVNā€™s Threat Intel Thursdays series, you will learn a bit about different types of malware, how they work, and what steps you can take to protect yourself from the bad stuff out there.

What is malware?

Malware, the general term for any malicious software, derived from the words malicious and software, refers to any program that intends to do harm. Some malware may even use multiple attack vectors (attack mechanisms) to inflict harm to systems, information or individuals.

What harm can malware do?

Malware is created and used to exploit vulnerabilities in software security defects, insecure system design or user errors among others. Because malware is the broad term for just about any type of malicious software that can infiltrate your computer, the harm malware is capable of is equally broad. A phishing email, for example, could cause you to divulge personal information to people who want to use it to hack your bank account or steal your identity. On the other hand, the newer and much more serious threat of ransomware is used to take control of your entire system ā€” deleting and/or leaking your private files, unless or until a hefty ransom is paid.

just a few of the threats lurking out there in cyberland

Examples of Malware:

The common threat known as malware can take many forms. Like sea creatures lurking in the dark depths of the ocean, different types of malware are always floating around, including: worms, logic bombs, spyware, rootkits, trojans, adware, spyware, and ransomware. All these (and more!) will be discussed in upcoming Threat-Intel Thursdays articles.

Although the idea of malware can be sort of scary, we believe that the first step to a more secure system is knowing your vulnerabilities. Thatā€™s where OpenAVN comes in. Contact our Head of Product, Jonathan Ystad, to schedule a free demo, or just to chat about how our products can work for you.

For more of the latest in cybersecurity, subscribe to OpenAVNā€™s blog right here on Medium. In addition to Threat-Intel Thursdays, we also write about breaking news, thought leadership, and deep-dives into cyber intel.

About the Author: Ted Udelson, PMP, CISSP, Security+, Network+, A+ is the chief learning officer and cofounder of Succinctive Training, LLC. With 35 years of information security, technology and project management training experience, Ted has helped hundreds of students pass the most prestigious Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Project Management Professional (PMP), and Certified Authorization Professional (CAP) certifications. Ted has trained for SecureNinja, the InfoSec Institute, Learning Tree International, IBM and other organizations. Ted has published numerous articles on information security, disaster recovery and technology. He has served as the Director of Information Technology for the American Diabetes Association, Experience Works (a large nonprofit social service organization) and amongst other organizations. He has provided a variety of consulting services including disaster recovery planning, security assessments, writing information security codes of practice, assessing, remediating security breaches and helping organizations attain Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance for a diverse swath of organizations.

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