TY - JOUR
T1 - A review of state-of-the-art malware attack trends and defense mechanisms
AU - Ferdous, Jannatul
AU - Islam, Rafiqul
AU - Mahboubi, Arash
AU - Islam, Md Zahidul
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2013 IEEE.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - The increasing sophistication of malware threats has led to growing concerns in the anti-malware community, as malware poses a significant danger to online users despite the availability of numerous defense solutions. This study aims to comprehensively review malware evolution and current attack trends to identify effective defense mechanisms. It reviews the most recent journal articles, conference proceedings, reports, and online resources published during the last five years. We extensively review the malware landscape from 1970 to the present and analyze malware types, operational mechanisms, attack vectors, and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, we explore different defensive strategies developed in response to these evolving threats. Our findings highlight the increasing sophistication of malware attack trends, including a surge in cryptojacking, attacks on mobile devices, Internet of Things devices, ransomware, advanced persistent threats, supply chain attacks, fileless malware, cloud-based attacks, exploitation of remote employees, and attack trends on edge networks. Defense strategies have also evolved in parallel, emphasizing multilayered security measures to counter these dynamic threats. This study highlights the critical need for robust, multilayered security measures to combat dynamic malware. Despite these advancements, some open challenges and significant research gaps remain, which require further innovation. This review serves as a valuable guide for cybersecurity professionals by identifying the key trends, challenges, limitations, and future cybersecurity research opportunities.
AB - The increasing sophistication of malware threats has led to growing concerns in the anti-malware community, as malware poses a significant danger to online users despite the availability of numerous defense solutions. This study aims to comprehensively review malware evolution and current attack trends to identify effective defense mechanisms. It reviews the most recent journal articles, conference proceedings, reports, and online resources published during the last five years. We extensively review the malware landscape from 1970 to the present and analyze malware types, operational mechanisms, attack vectors, and vulnerabilities. Furthermore, we explore different defensive strategies developed in response to these evolving threats. Our findings highlight the increasing sophistication of malware attack trends, including a surge in cryptojacking, attacks on mobile devices, Internet of Things devices, ransomware, advanced persistent threats, supply chain attacks, fileless malware, cloud-based attacks, exploitation of remote employees, and attack trends on edge networks. Defense strategies have also evolved in parallel, emphasizing multilayered security measures to counter these dynamic threats. This study highlights the critical need for robust, multilayered security measures to combat dynamic malware. Despite these advancements, some open challenges and significant research gaps remain, which require further innovation. This review serves as a valuable guide for cybersecurity professionals by identifying the key trends, challenges, limitations, and future cybersecurity research opportunities.
KW - deep learning
KW - defense mechanisms
KW - machine learning
KW - malware attack trends
KW - malware detection
KW - Malware evolution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85176789676&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85176789676&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3328351
DO - 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3328351
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85176789676
SN - 2169-3536
VL - 11
SP - 121118
EP - 121141
JO - IEEE Access
JF - IEEE Access
ER -