Security

Macro Malware, Aging Worms Continue to Pose Threat to Present Day

Macro malware, which is so 1990s, has made a comeback, joining other aging cyber-threats, such as PHP scripts and the Microsoft Slammer worm continue to top some favorite attack tools lists.

Old Malware Threats

Macro malware and worms, which were prominent in the 1990s, remain significant security threats to the present day and event top some top security threat lists.

While attackers are increasingly turning to new techniques, such as ransomware and denial-of-service attacks fueled by the Internet of Things, older types of malware have persisted and are even making a comeback, according two reports released by network-security firms.

Macro malware, which uses the scripting language in Microsoft Office to infect and attack applications, accounts for three of the Top-10 malicious programs detected by network-security firm WatchGuard in Q4 2016. Other oldie-but-goodies that made it into the company’s top threat list include two malicious JavaScript programs—at No. 3 and No. 4—and a PHP backdoor at No. 5.

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Robert Lemos

Robert Lemos

Robert Lemos is an award-winning freelance journalist who has covered information security, cybercrime and technology's impact on society for almost two decades. A former research engineer, he's...