How can behavior-based detection identify new and unknown malware threats?

1 What is behavior-based detection?

Behavior-based detection is a technique that analyzes the actions and interactions of a program or process, rather than its code or signature. Behavior-based detection can identify malware by looking for suspicious or abnormal patterns of behavior, such as modifying system files, accessing network resources, creating new processes, or injecting code. Behavior-based detection can also monitor the system's performance, such as CPU usage, memory consumption, disk activity, or network traffic, to detect any anomalies caused by malware. Behavior-based detection can be more effective than signature-based detection, which relies on predefined rules or databases of known malware samples, in detecting new and unknown malware threats that can evade or change their signatures.

2 How does behavior-based detection work?

Behavior-based detection works by using various techniques and tools to collect and analyze behavioral data from the system. Heuristics, for example, can compare the behavior of a program or process to a baseline of normal or expected behavior, or to a set of known malicious behaviors, and flag any deviations or similarities as potential indicators of malware. Sandboxing is another technique which isolates a program or process in a controlled and secure environment. Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is also employed for this type of detection; it can automatically and continuously update and improve its models and rules based on the feedback and results of its analysis. This helps behavior-based detection to adapt to the changing and evolving nature of malware.

3 What are the benefits of behavior-based detection?

Behavior-based detection offers several advantages over signature-based detection, such as being able to detect new and unknown malware threats that have not been seen or reported before, or that can change or disguise their signatures. It can also detect zero-day attacks, which are attacks that exploit previously unknown or unpatched vulnerabilities in the system or software. Additionally, behavior-based detection is capable of detecting polymorphic or metamorphic malware, which are malware that can alter or generate their code to avoid detection or analysis. Moreover, it is effective at detecting fileless malware, which are malware that do not rely on files or disk storage, but rather execute in memory or use legitimate system tools or processes.