New Tool Promises To Stop In-Memory Attacks

Triumfant Monday launched a new product designed to prevent the growing number of cyberexploits that elude current defenses by attacking computers in their volatile memory.

The Memory Process Scanner, which is bundled free with Triumfant's newly available 5.0 anti-malware product suite, combines Triumfant's patented malware detection software with new tools that can accurately track malware functionality operating in the volatile memory of the endpoint machine.

Advanced Volatile Threats are malware attacks that take place in a computer's random access memory (RAM) or other volatile memory and are difficult to detect because they are never stored to the hard disk.

Unlike advanced persistent threats (APTs) that create a pathway into the system and then automatically execute every time a machine is rebooted, an advanced volatile threat enters a machine in volatile, real-time memory, exfiltrates the data, then immediately wipes its fingerprints clean -- leaving no trace behind as the computer is shut down.

"We can detect processes that manipulate objects in memory, such as the installation of a rootkit, and stop them before any damage is done," says John Prisco, CEO of Triumfant.

A key aspect of the Memory Process Scanner is its ability to detect volatile exploits. In the case of an exploit, the malware injects itself into a normal process. Once the malware is running, it may migrate to a different process and download other tools to be used by the attacker. Catching the initial exploit allows the earliest possible detection and identifies the vulnerable process that is being compromised, Triumfant says.

The Memory Scanner also offers the ability to detect the installation of anomalous applications and can detect in-memory delays that may indicate irregular processes.

"Innovations like Triumfant's memory scanning approach are an important and significant step forward in fighting the battle where it occurs -- on the endpoint," says Adrian Sanabria, senior security analyst at 451 Research. "The industry desperately needs more approaches that address problems at the root, and will force attackers to spend significantly more time and effort to achieve their goals."

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