Malware Analysis: Malicious Software

Malware Analysis Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Malware Analysis In the current era of modern forms of technology, malware and malware protection has become one of the significant aspects of computer security. Cybercriminals utilize different strategies to interfere with networks and computers. Arguably, most organizations or individuals use computers to pass information. The devices used by institutions and organizations are vulnerable to different forms of attacks and may result in the exposure of sensitive data. During the last decade, the lack of effective protection has resulted in an increased number of hackers stealing sensitive data. Besides, some cybercriminals set up spam as a way of trying to access the available systems. For that reason, most organizations develop different types of policies and procedures to address the prevailing issue of malware attacks. Malicious software is one of the sophisticated strategies that cybercriminals use to accomplish their set objectives, thus creating the need to conduct an analysis to determine the purpose and characteristic of an attack. Arguably, technology has influenced people to use computers in executing most of their activities. In fact, some companies use computer systems to replace workers in organizations. Although innovation in computer technology is imperative to the lives of humans, studies suggest that it might marginalize people’s role in life (Bazrafshan, Hashemi, Fard, & Hamzeh, 2013, p. 114). A computer virus can affect the functionality of a computer’s hard drive, thus causing the deletion of the directory information or files. Most cyber attackers take advantage of the availability of the internet to gather data from a system without credit cards or personal information. Accordingly, organizations and individuals should be aware of developers with the wrong intentions to their sensitive information on their computer systems. Computer malicious software has been in existence even before the emergence of the internet. For example, the Vienna malware developed in 1987 caused different forms of attacks on computers. Ralph Burger was the first person to conduct an investigation on computer viruses and even composed a publication titled “Computer Viruses: A High tech Disease.” Because of his comprehensive research, it was easy for people to gain an in-depth understanding of the viruses. Ralph’s research helped most people to understand the nature of malware and how it works. In fact, Ralph’s publication was significant guidance on creating and using malware. The invention of the internet in the 1990s caused a tremendous computer security breach. For instance, the new types of viruses, such as Mellissa and Michelangelo signified new dawn of different virus activities. For that reason, the formation of new virus-control technologies, such as botnets and bots began to take shape. The use of malware by cybercriminals caused different forms of security breaches in business and home environments (Bazrafshan et al., 2013, p. 116). In fact, the attackers would expose private details and user credentials on the internet. Because of this breach, the capability of hackers to assess network activities in real time and trace cookies became a major problem...