Quote:Tests in the lab at AV-TEST quickly show that although data stealers and ransomware always pursue the same end goal, they use very different approaches in their attempts to attack successfully. For each type of malware, a variety of attacking techniques used by attackers can be identified. In the latest Advanced Threat Protection test, ten different malware samples attacked the test systems in ten real-life scenarios. In response, the 22 security solutions for corporate users and consumer users were required to also identify the “self-signing of binary files”, “stolen signature identity”, and “misuse of the Microsoft Software Installer” techniques. The test results rapidly show that the security solutions examined are usually extremely well-trained and are therefore able to recognize all attacking techniques and protect the access points under Windows.

When malware strikes a system, it uses a tactic of disguise, deception and attack. Based on this tactic, cyber gangsters have now developed and perfected a variety of different approaches to attacking Windows systems. Some of these special attacking techniques include self-signing binary files and using stolen signature identities. Another sneaky approach involves misusing the Microsoft Software Installer to execute malware. In the latest Advanced Threat Protection test, the experts in the laboratory ran ten real-life scenarios in which the test systems were attacked by five data stealer samples and five ransomware samples.

The 22 security products for corporate users and consumer users were set the task of demonstrating how well they could fend off the ten ransomware and data stealer samples in the test conducted in September and October 2023. For each attack, the lab awarded a maximum of 3 points for the threat prevention of the tested solutions, and the points were added together after all ten scenarios. In the test table, the highest value in the protection score was therefore 30 points. The test on company products examined the solutions by Acronis, AhnLab, Avast, Check Point, Kaspersky (with two versions), Malwarebytes, Microsoft, Seqrite, Symantec, WithSecure and VMware.

AV-Test: ATP Test: Defending Against Data Stealers and Ransomware (October 2023)