#Traps and wildfire antivirus code#

#Traps and wildfire antivirus code#

The problem is, there are many ways to circumvent this, whether by using Do-it-Yourself malware encryptors, polymorphism, or generally any technique which can obfuscate the code and render it incapable of being matched against the signature database. This signature is then pushed out to customers in the form of a signature update. Signature-based threat detection essentially works when the vendor creates a signature after a new virus or malware variant is discovered in the wild. These vendors to a large extent focus on using signature based methods to detect malware and exploits. But in the world of dealing with breaches and exploits, they are the dinosaurs, a dying breed. And to a certain extent, they still are, largely due to their huge installed base. This is the home of traditional mainstays such as Symantec, McAfee, Norton and others. While the industry as a whole has focused on Antivirus (AV) mechanisms and more recently, Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Palo Alto is taking an altogether different approach an approach that in my opinion will ultimately leave these legacy approaches in the dust.īefore taking a deep dive into Traps and what makes it so different, let’s take a look at the comparative landscape: Antivirus As someone who has worked in the network and cybersecurity industries over the last 20 years, I can tell you, it’s a revolutionary approach to the problem of dealing with these types of attacks. For the last few months I’ve been learning and playing with Palo Alto’s Endpoint Protection solution, aptly entitled Traps. We are in an arms race, and the traditional, legacy ways of dealing with these types of problems just doesn’t cut it anymore. Threats continue to evolve, from the first viruses seen in the wild back in 1982, to the modern day malware of today that’s capable of spreading laterally in the blink of an eye. The world of malware and exploits has a long history, and anyone involved in this industry knows that we are at a tipping point.