// THREAT DETECTION AND DATA PRIVACY TERM
Fileless Malware
Fileless malware is a type of malicious software that doesn't store any part of itself as a file on a computer's hard drive. Instead, it operates entirely within the system's memory and uses legitimate, built-in tools already present on the machine.
TECHNICAL DEFINITION
Fileless malware is a sophisticated cyber threat leveraging memory-resident execution and legitimate operating system tools (Living Off The Land Binaries and Scripts, or LOLBAS) to evade traditional disk-based endpoint detection and response (EDR) and antivirus solutions, making it challenging to detect and remove.
BACKGROUND
Malware is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption or destruction to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, deprive access to information, or interfere with the user's computer security and privacy without their knowledge. Researchers tend to classify malware into one or more sub-types.
READ MORE ON WIKIPEDIASYNONYMS & ALIASES
- Memory-resident malware
- Non-malware attacks
- In-memory malware
- LOLBAS attack
- Script-based malware
USAGE NOTE
This advanced attack technique is increasingly used by threat actors to bypass conventional security defenses, often making post-infection forensics more difficult.
DEVELOPERS
Organizations developing technology related to Fileless Malware.
CrowdStrike offers cloud-native endpoint protection, EDR, and threat intelligence that specializes in detecting and preventing advanced threats, including fileless malware, by focusing on behavioral analytics and in-memory activity.
SentinelOne provides AI-powered endpoint security (XDR) that uses behavioral AI and autonomous threat prevention, detection, and response to combat fileless attacks, script-based attacks, and in-memory threats.
Palo Alto Networks, with its Cortex XDR platform, provides extensive endpoint protection capabilities, including advanced threat prevention and detection for fileless and script-based attacks through behavioral analytics and machine learning.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, part of Microsoft 365 Defender, uses behavioral detection, memory scanning, and advanced analytics to identify and stop fileless malware and in-memory attacks across Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS devices.
Sophos Intercept X uses deep learning and exploit prevention technologies to identify and block fileless malware, ransomware, and other advanced threats by monitoring memory and application behavior.
Cybereason's Defense Platform utilizes an operation-centric approach to detect and prevent complex threats, including fileless malware, by analyzing behavioral patterns and in-memory activities across the entire attack surface.
VMware Carbon Black Cloud offers advanced endpoint and workload protection that leverages behavioral analytics and threat hunting to detect and prevent fileless attacks and other sophisticated threats in real time.
Trellix, formed from the merger of McAfee Enterprise and FireEye, provides XDR solutions that focus on detecting and responding to advanced threats, including fileless malware, through a combination of endpoint protection, network security, and threat intelligence.