How Does Antivirus Software Adapt To Emerging Threats?

We know that technology is advancing at a rapid rate, but cybercriminals may be moving even faster. Every year, we are seeing new types of viruses and more sophisticated online scams that are becoming easier to fall for. And the consequences are costly, for both businesses and individuals.

So how do antivirus companies keep up? It’s a daunting task to say the least, to work around the clock to protect devices from threats that may not even have existed a few months prior.

The answer is behaviour analysis and cloud intelligence, now combined with the capabilities of machine learning. So what exactly is meant by that? Let’s get into it.

The Evolvement Of Cyber Threats

 

Today, cyber threats are very different from how they used to be. In the past, you may recall that viruses came from email attachments or floppy disks that were infected. For the most part, they were more annoying than anything else.

But now, they’re a bit more sinister. These threats are equally as intelligent as they are damaging and that’s the worst kind of mix.

In fact, 43% of UK businesses reported a cyber attack or data breach last year, according to the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024. Since that’s almost half of all businesses across the UK, it’s certainly a wake-up call.

Since cybercriminals are becoming more creative, it’s up to antivirus software to always stay one step ahead.

 

How Does Antivirus Software Adapt To Emerging Threats?

 

In the past, antivirus software always used signature-based detection. Every virus that had been identified had its own unique signature, almost like a fingerprint that set it apart from others.

The antivirus would then scan your files and downloads to see if there were any matches. If there was, the file would be blocked or removed.

Now this type of detection works well for existing threats but of course you have to ask, what about the new ones? The antivirus had to adapt to other forms of detection.

 

Heuristic Detection

 

Essentially, heuristics is all about taking an educated guess. So instead of looking for exact matches, heuristic detection works by looking at a file’s behaviour to see if anything is off.

If a file were to duplicate itself into multiple folders or attempt to change system settings, that’s an immediate red flag. So even if this particular type of virus isn’t known yet, it’s still regarded as dangerous and stopped.

 

 

Cloud-Based Detection

 

Cloud-based detection has become more prominent in the last decade or so. Back in the day, you had to manually update your antivirus but now, the software is connected to the cloud. This means that any information regarding new threats can be shared with users in real-time.

If one user’s device detects a file that is suspicious, that data is synced to the cloud and the antivirus service provider can check it. If it is malware, millions of devices are then notified. So just by one device picking it up, everyone else around the world can benefit.

 

Monitors Programme Behaviour

 

Modern antivirus software usually watch how programmes act in real-time to pick up anything that doesn’t seem right. If an app begins to encrypt multiple files at once or connects to international servers, it gets flagged.

This type of detection is often referred to as behaviour-based. It’s especially useful for catching malware that doesn’t have any files as these are harder to find since they don’t leave physical traces on your device’s hard drive.

 

Testing Suspicious Files

 

This form of detection is called sandboxing. It happens when the antivirus finds something that doesn’t look right but isn’t 100% sure if it’s actually malware. To test it, the software uses a enclosed virtual environment where the file can be opened in a safe setting.

Once it’s been opened, the antivirus will watch to see what it does. If it’s behaving strangely, it’s regarded as malware and deleted. If it seems to be fine, it’s then marked as safe. Think of it almost as a trial run before letting it onto your device.

 

The Use Of Machine Learning

 

Given how prominent AI is these days in almost every area of our lives, it’s no surprise that it’s being used by antivirus software too. Machine learning is able to teach antivirus systems what good and bad files look like, regardless of whether the virus is new or not.

This is because AI has the ability to study millions of files at once to detect patterns in its code structure or behaviour. From there, it can predict if it’s harmful even before it’s properly confirmed as malware.

This form of detection is particularly useful to catch malware called zero-day attacks. This happens when a threat takes advantage of unknown vulnerabilities in the device’s system. You could almost think of it as AI helping antivirus to think like a security expert, but just much faster than a human would be able to.