The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) launches the Anti-Malware Support Service (AMSS), an Industry Connections Security Group (ICSG) initiative to provide better protection against malware authors.
“Software packer and obfuscator companies often feel abused by malware authors,” the IEEE-SA says. “By working collaboratively, the security industry can apply economic pressure to the malware industry that couldn’t be achieved independently... AMSS provides a robust set of shared support services that will help mitigate the spread and effects of rapidly mutating malware threats.”
Currently the AMSS offers two services-- the Taggant System and the Clean file Metadata eXchange (CMX), with more to follow in the future.
The Taggant System places cryptographically secure markers in packed and obfuscated files generated by commercial software distributor packers. It detects the license keys used to create packed software, included packed malware, for easier tracing of the origin of obfuscated programs.
Once detected and identified malicious license keys are blacklisted to prevent further use.
Meanwhile the CMX provides real-time information on clean files via metadata like hashes, filenames, directory paths, signature and version information. It uses a pas-through model to authenticate data and allow security products and services to retrieve verified data for use in their own ecosystems.
This single, shared repository streamlines the verification of clean files, and reduces the false positives detected by anti-virus software and the delay between threat discovery and whitelist updates.
“The global malware problem continues to escalate in terms of size, complexity, and frequency of attacks,” the IEEE-SA says. “Malware creators are also becoming increasingly sophisticated in the art of evasion, allowing 0-day and targeted attacks to slip by undetected. To help counter these threats, AMSS gives software providers efficient and cost-effective tools, enabling them to reallocate their valuable resources to other business activities.”
The AMSS is available now on an annual subscription basis.
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