Once Malware breaches a business, it goes about whatever activity it has been programmed to undertake to be that CnC, file encryption or just general reconnaissance and infection of other devices and networks. The longer the malware remains undetected, the more potential damage it can do.
Cisco’s inception the Cisco Security report has tracked the time to detection of malware. Time to detection, or TTD, is the window of time between a compromise and the detection of a threat. The industry average for 20 known malware was a staggering 100 days and while it has fallen this year, it still means that for 20 known malware types, cyber attackers have on average a vast amount of time to probe and create maximum damage. Cisco research base on telemetry contained with it’s globally deployed devices has steadily seen it’s own detection time reduce to 3.5 hours as of April 2017.
Increases in the median TTD indicate times when cyber attackers introduce new threats. Decreases show periods where defenders are identifying known threats quickly. Since the summer of 2016, the ongoing tug-of-war between attackers and defenders has been less dramatic, with the latter taking back ground quickly after each attempt by adversaries to gain—and maintain—the upper hand.
Developments in the cyber threat landscape, especially within the past six months, show that cyber criminals are under even more pressure to evolve their threats to evade detection and devise new techniques.
The figure below shows the median TTD for the top 20 malware families by percentage of detections that researchers observed from November 2016 to April 2017. Many of the families that Cisco products are detecting within their median TTD of 3.5 hours are industrialized threats that move fast and are widespread. Old and prevalent threats are also typically detected below the median TTD.
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Increases in the median TTD indicate times when cyber attackers introduce new threats. Decreases show periods where defenders are identifying known threats quickly. Since the summer of 2016, the ongoing tug-of-war between attackers and defenders has been less dramatic, with the latter taking back ground quickly after each attempt by adversaries to gain—and maintain—the upper hand.
Developments in the cyber threat landscape, especially within the past six months, show that cyber criminals are under even more pressure to evolve their threats to evade detection and devise new techniques.
The figure below shows the median TTD for the top 20 malware families by percentage of detections that researchers observed from November 2016 to April 2017. Many of the families that Cisco products are detecting within their median TTD of 3.5 hours are industrialized threats that move fast and are widespread. Old and prevalent threats are also typically detected below the median TTD.
Many malware families can still take a long time for defenders to identify even though they are known to the security community. That’s because the attackers behind these threats use various obfuscation techniques to keep their malware active and profitable. Some of these malware families include —Fareit (a remote access Trojan or “RAT”), Kryptik (a RAT), Nemucod (a downloader Trojan), and Ramnit (a banking Trojan)—use specific strategies to stay ahead of defenders.
Many malware families can still take a long time for defenders to identify even though they are known to the security community. That’s because the attackers behind these threats use various obfuscation techniques to keep their malware active and profitable. Some of these malware families include —Fareit (a remote access Trojan or “RAT”), Kryptik (a RAT), Nemucod (a downloader Trojan), and Ramnit (a banking Trojan)—use specific strategies to stay ahead of defenders.
Their methods are effective: As the Figure above shows, all these families were outside the Cisco median TTD window of 3.5 hours— Kryptik significantly so. Even Nemucod, the most frequently detected among the top families shown, takes longer to identify because it evolves so rapidly.
In many instances, businesses are using outdated modes of protection against these threats and may typically fall in the industry average which days not hours. Many businesses are still dependent on Anti-Virus software and Firewalls rules as their principle means of protection.
Given the evolved nature of threats and their ability to easily evade traditional methods of detection, the traditional approach is akin to using a colander to catch water.
A more sophisticated approach to cyber threat defences involving a combination of adaptive, integrated detection techniques with automated protection is necessary for business today.
Comment (1)
John
10/03/2021We’ve expanded our office this spring and unfortunately our IT department is overwhelmed and overbooked. Do you think a remote solution will work better for a small company with 10 employees or do we need to have an in-house It team? Thanks in advance!