Next Gen Antivirus (NGAV): Detecting New Threats in Cybersecurity

Next Gen Antivirus (NGAV): Detecting New Threats in Cybersecurity

If you’re like most people, your cybersecurity routine consists of relying on antivirus software you might not be able to name, is probably outdated, and wasn’t that great to begin with. Next gen antivirus is an absolute necessity if a business wants to stay ahead in this never-ending battle of internet security. Tradition antivirus software simply isn’t up to the challenges posed by today’s cybersecurity or ransomware attacks. Luckily for us all, IT Security Services have been successful rising to the challenge with NGAV.

Cybersecurity and antivirus protection is a subject that makes some people want to curl up in a ball and beg the world to stop spinning so fast. We understand. We deal with it everyday as a managed technology service. Every second of every day, we see cybersecurity threats grow in number, sophistication and degree of danger they pose to business operations. Call it high tech goes sinister, if you will.

How is Next Generation Cybersecurity Different?

Next Gen Antivirus (NGAV) is a completely different breed of animal from the traditional ways of detecting cyberthreats and ransomware attacks. It has to be. Cyber criminals have developed radically new techniques for worming their way into our systems, so NGAV is the IT security services answer to the rising threats.

Nextgen cybersecurity threats can accurately be described as deviously brilliant, like they were borne in the mind of a Lex Luther-style villain with an advanced degree in computer science. Nextgen cyberattack tools actually invade and thwart the very systems and processes we had built into our computers and relied on for smooth operation and security! Native system tools such as Microsoft Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), Microsoft PowerShell, your system memory, Flash, Powershell, Microsoft Word, Adobe PDF Reader, web browsers, JavaScript, all of these tried and true tools can now be manipulated by the next generation cyberattacks.

Here is a look at traditional cybersecurity comparatively.

Before, if malicious actors wanted to cause you harm, they’d have to devise a way to sneak some malware onto your machine or website. They couldn’t do their dirty work without placing this malware-bearing file or code directly on your asset or device. Think of a street criminal throwing a brick through a storefront window to get in.

Traditional antivirus software worked primarily by examining signatures of files to known existing viruses, malware or trojan horses. If the anti virus software found a match, then it would quarantine the nasty file so it could do no harm.

circuit motherboard repair technician NGAV

The second traditional way of fighting computer invaders is heuristic analysis, which examines code for suspicious properties and traits commonly used by bad actors, but doesn’t need a specific, previously known signature to assume trouble is nigh. It errs on the side of caution.

Although both signature and heuristic-based antivirus protection work well against the old-style cyber criminal, they are 100% ineffective when it comes to combating the crafty new methods, which have come to be known as “fileless” attacks or “non malware attacks.”

A Completely New Paradigm of Cybersecurity and Ransomware Attack

Never wanting to be outsmarted by the good guys, cybercriminals got creative, and figured out nearly invisible workarounds to traditional antivirus software protection. Now, instead of infecting you with an easily detected file of malware, crooks have figured out ways to silently intrude upon your workflow and surreptitiously infect events in process. You won’t even notice. These are the pick pockets of the cyber world that can.

Here’s some background information to help you understand better.

Your computer has a simple system of trust. For a computer, trust is all or nothing, either yes or no, nothing wishy-washy about it. As your computer hums along obediently while you concentrate on working, multiple files, apps, programs, processes, and network connections all interact, or at least exist at the same time in a friendly way. This is referred to in tech talk as your “event stream.” An “event” is an individual data point, or happening. The “event stream” describes how the whole system is interacting and flowing along.

You computer has been programed to trust certain apps, programs, processes and network connections, so it does. 100%. Which is why the next gen cyber criminals strike those trusted sources. Unless you look extremely closely at this “event stream” and analyze each and every detail, the malicious activity inserted into the event stream will be invisible. To traditional antivirus software that reads files, known signatures and heuristics, it is 100% invisible.

That’s what makes this new generation of internet security so scary. Our traditional virus and malware protection has been outsmarted and turned obsolete. You still need to keep up with traditional antivirus software protection because the old methods haven’t disappeared, but alone, your old routines simply aren’t adequate anymore.

So How Does NGAV Work Better for Internet Security?

taking a phone apart because of a cyberattackNGAV works by shining a harsh light on your event stream so any malicious intent, behavior, or activity can be instantly identified and immediately blocked. When we say immediately, we mean immediately. The speed necessary is absolutely mindblowing. We’re talking about the necessity to respond in one one-millionths of a second, because one one-thousandths of a second is way too slow.

How Can Managed IT Services Help Me Prevent Cyber Attacks?

Technology Managed Services, offers you a full-fledged team of cybersecurity experts and IT specialists, who function like traffic cops and well-armed security forces on the information superhighway. Professional Cybersecurity IT Managed Services allow you to concentrate on running your business and living your life, free from worrying about high-tech bandits intent on causing you headaches, wasting time and money.
Anyone who goes online is at risk and needs reliable methods to stay safe.

The more exposure you have online, and the more complex your IT infrastructure systems are, the more cautious you need to be. Technology Managed Services provide the bedrock of expertise you can rely on for total peace of mind for your critical IT infrastructure.


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