Anti-malware programs can’t even touch this new kind of attack…

“Fileless” attacks became all the rage among hackers in 2016.  According to a report by cybersecurity firm Carbon Black, fourth quarter 2016 saw a 33% rise in these “non-malware” attacks compared to the first quarter.  Experts expect the trend to continue through 2017. Cyber bad-guys carry out these attacks in any number of ways. Their “en vogue” method at the start of 2017 was hijacking PowerShell and WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) to do their dirty deeds.  Brian Kenyon, chief strategy officer for Symantec, said recently, “Fileless infections are difficult to detect and often elude intrusion prevention and antivirus programs.”  Reports show the Democratic National Committee hack last year used a file-less attack. DarkReading.com, 12.27.16