Fileless Memory Infection, Macro Malware on the Rise: McAfee Labs

While rootkits and ransomware are on the decline, other forms of malware are continuing to grow, McAfee Labs’ most recent Threats Report finds.

Macro malware was a relatively small issue at the end of 2013, but that has changed in the last two years. McAfee Labs saw nearly 45,000 new macro malware samples in the third quarter of 2015.

While macro malware is a global concern, McAfee Labs found that 44 percent of all observed macro malware attacks impacted North America.

While most forms of malware tend to drop a file of some sort onto an infected device, McAfee Labs has observed a trend over the course of 2015 where fileless malware is being used. Fileless malware doesn’t drop any files on a system, but rather relies on memory resident code to infect users.

As has been the trend every quarter in 2015, the third quarter once again saw an increase in the volume of new mobile malware samples.

While some forms of malware are growing, the overall trend in the third quarter was negative for new malware. McAfee Labs reported a 4 percent quarterly decline in the total volume of new malware samples detected in the third quarter of 2015.

In the third quarter, there was a 65 percent decline in the volume of new rootkit malware, marking the lowest level McAfee Labs has observed for new rootkit malware since 2008.

After spiking upward in the second quarter, there was a 40 percent decline in the volume of new ransomware malware samples detected by McAfee Labs in the third quarter.

During the third quarter, the Wapomi botnet was the most prevalent, representing 29 percent of all botnet activity seen globally by McAfee Labs.