By itself, the term Malware sounds terrifying, is not it? When we say Malware we mean software that is designed to hurt or disable computers and computer systems. There are many types of malware, viruses, and sophisticated state cyber weapons all designed for a very specific goal.
Some types of malware can be more destructive and more insidious than other malware.
Below we mention 4 of the most terrifying types of malware currently in circulation:
Rootkit Malware
Rootkit is a type of software that is "invisible" and malicious. The purpose of a rootkit is to give administrator privileges (hence the name Root) to the hacker, allowing full control of the infected system. Another goal of rootkit is to avoid detection by antimalware in order to maintain control of the system.
Rootkits usually have the ability to hide their existence and are thus very difficult to detect. Detection and removal can be difficult or virtually impossible, depending on the type of rootkit installed. Recovery can sometimes require deletion of the entire operating system.
Ransomware
Ransomware is malware that infects a system, often encrypting it data, and then demands money to unlock the victim's files.
If the money is not paid within the deadline set by the criminals, they are in danger of keeping the decryption key, making the data of the computer useless.
One of the most famous variants of Ransomware is the well-known CryptoLocker. It is believed that to date, fraudsters using this malware have managed to collect around 3 millions of dollars from their victims around the world.
Ransomware is a branch of Scareware that is another form of malware that attempts to extract money from victims through threats and deception. Some Ransomware can be removed even without paying money, but it is still impossible to remove them and if the victim has data he does not want to lose, the only way to save them is to pay the ransom.
Persistent Malware (Persistent Malware (Advanced Persistent Threat Malware)
There are some malware that are very difficult to remove. Where you think your anti-virus has managed to delete them, they seem to be coming back. This is why these malware are called Advanced Persistent Threat Malware. They usually infect a system with many malware applications. Malware leaves its "pieces" everywhere and so it is almost impossible to clean.
Even if security programs are able to remove malware from the settings they have made to the system, they make web browsers redirect users to malware sites where they can be re-infected, causing a vicious cycle of infections.
Other forms of Persistent Malware penetrate the hard disk firmware, where anti-virus can not detect them.
Malware Firmware
But probably the scariest of all forms of malware is the malware installed on the hardware and components of. For example on hard drives, system BIOS, and other peripherals. Sometimes the only way to fix such an infection is to completely replace the infected hardware, an extremely expensive process, especially if the infection has spread to multiple computers.
Malware Firmware is also extremely difficult to detect because traditional anti-virus programs do not detect firmware threats.
