SonicWall Secures Microsoft Office Files, PDFs

SonicWall – which next month will be represented on a security panel at ITEX/MSP Expo – today announced the expansion of its Real-Time Deep Memory Inspection technology. It now protects against malicious Microsoft Office files and PDFs.

The company, which introduced RTDMI in February, points to the growth in PDF- and Microsoft Office-related attacks. These applications represented five of the top 10 attacks last year, according to the 2018 SonicWall Cyber Threat Report.

RTDMI identifies and blocks malware – even when it would otherwise be undetectable due to encryption – using real-time, memory-based inspection techniques. That enables it to stop mass-market, zero-day threats, and unknown malware. It analyzes documents with proprietary exploit detection technology as well as via static inspection.

This technology and these techniques can be applied to identify: 

• Dynamic Data Exchange-based exploits and malware inside Microsoft Office files,

• JavaScript-based exploits in PDF documents,

• Macro-based malicious files,

• Malevolent shellcode-based and multi-layer files,

• Malicious Flash-based Microsoft Office documents,

• Malicious, phishing-based PDF documents leading to both phishing and malware hosting websites,

• Microsoft Office and PDF files containing malware or other malicious executables, and

• PDF documents with JavaScript infectors.

“Cybercriminals are executing with extreme agility to exploit any and all vulnerabilities in both technology and user behavior,” said SonicWall President and CEO Bill Conner. “Memory regions are the next key battlegrounds where organizations will combat cybercriminals. If left unmitigated, they’ll leave a key attack vector vulnerable to new waves of modern cyberattacks.”

SonicWall’s Scott McCrady will be a panelist on the session “Addressing Security as an MSP. Want to be an MSSP?” on the security track at the upcoming ITEX event. MSP Expo will be collocated at ITEX, which will take place May 16 and 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.