What Is Malware?
Malware, short for malicious software, is a program or file that is designed to damage or exploit a computer, network, or server.
Malware has existed for nearly as long as computer systems. Over the years, it’s undergone a tremendous evolution in both form and function. The first computer viruses were simple experiments, quirky bits of software that did little beyond displaying a text popup or two.
Modern malware is an entirely different beast. As the weapon of choice for most threat actors, it’s used for everything from extortion to data exfiltration, service disruption, and simple destruction. Whether as toxic code snippets, self-replicating apps, or criminally oriented software-as-a-service platforms, malware reaches virtually every corner of today’s threat landscape.
Diversity is malware’s greatest strength—and the core of the threat it represents to businesses.