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Summary
Malware, also known as malicious code, refers to a program that is covertly inserted into another program with the intent to destroy data, ran destructive or intrusive programs, or otherwise compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the victim's data, applications, or operating system. Malware is the most common external threat to most hosts, causing widespread damage and disruption and necessitating extensive recovery efforts within most organizations. This publication provides recommendations for improving an organization's malware incident prevention measures. It also gives extensive recommendations for enhancing an organization's existing incident response capability so that it is better prepared to handle malware incidents, particularly widespread ones.
Executive Summary
Malware, also known as malicious code, refers to a program that is covertly inserted into another program with the intent to destroy data, run destructive or intrusive programs, or otherwise compromise the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the victim's data, applications, or operating system. Malware is the most common external threat to most hosts, causing widespread damage and disruption and necessitating extensive recovery efforts within most organizations. Organizations also face similar threats from a few forms of non- malware threats that are often associated with malware. One of these forms that has become commonplace is phishing, which is using deceptive computer-based means to trick individuals into disclosing sensitive information.
This publication provides recommendations for improving an organization's malware incident prevention measures. It also gives extensive recommendations for enhancing an organization's existing incident response capability so that it is better prepared to handle malware incidents, particularly widespread ones. This revision of the publication, Revision 1, updates material throughout the publication to reflect the changes in threats and incidents. Unlike most malware threats several years ago, which tended to be fast-spreading and easy to notice, many of today's malware threats are more stealthy, specifically designed to quietly, slowly spread to other hosts, gathering information over extended periods of time and eventually leading to exfiltration of sensitive data and other negative impacts.
Implementing the following recommendations should facilitate more efficient and effective malware incident response activities for Federal departments and agencies.
Organizations Should Develop and Implement an Approach to Malware Incident Prevention
Organizations should plan and implement an approach to malware incident prevention based on the attack vectors that...