Modern malware has changed the way networks are attacked, and enabled criminals to target and steal an enterprise's most valuable assets. By evolving the techniques to avoid traditional antivirus controls, this malware provides attackers with a method for infecting a target and patiently attacking a network from the inside without detection. As a result, finding and controlling new and unknown malware has quickly become one of the most important requirements for enterprise network security teams. To meet this challenge, Palo Alto Networks has developed WildFire, which easily and efficiently extends the power of the next-generation firewall to automatically detect and stop threats from evolving or targeted malware.
Unlike traditional antivirus solutions that look to match known malware, WildFire captures unknown files entering the network and proactively executes them in a safe cloud-based environment where any and all malicious actions and network activity are observed and recorded. Using active analysis, Palo Alto Networks proactively identifies malicious files within minutes based on their actual behavior to conclusively identify new or customized malware that may be unknown to the industry. When new malware is detected, WildFire automatically generates and delivers protections to all WildFire subscribers within an hour of the initial detection. This allows enterprises to not only find unknown or custom malware, but also stop new malware outbreaks before they spread. And as with all Palo Alto Networks analysis, this threat prevention is performed on all traffic, across all ports at up to 10 Gbps.
