What is Next-Generation Antivirus(NGAV)?

Today's attackers know just where to look for security holes and vulnerabilities in a company's network perimeter protection, and can simply circumvent standard antivirus products to exploit them. These attackers use sophisticated tools to exploit vulnerabilities exploited by, memory-based offensives, PowerShell scripting, and Macro-level assaults. And conventional antivirus solutions cannot identify any of these environments from newer attacks that do not introduce new files to the system, since it solely focuses on threats based on signature files or definitions.

Next-Generation Antivirus (NGAV), on the other hand, is the new prevention standard, providing enhanced protection against malware, exploits, malware-free intrusions, and advanced persistent threats. NGAV focuses on events, files, processes, applications, and network connections to determine how activities, or event streams, in each of these domains are connected. Once harmful intent, behaviors, and actions have been recognized via the analysis of event streams, attackers are prevented.

This kind of strategy is becoming more significant today. Antivirus software has little hope of preventing advanced attacks, which are multi-stage, tailored, and substantially riskier. Next-Generation Antivirus has little effect on endpoints and can be fully operational across tens of thousands of endpoints in a matter of hours. Once implemented, administration and maintenance are performed in the cloud, which also allows simple SIEM integration.

In this article, we will explore what a next-generation antivirus is, the essential aspects of a next-generation antivirus, how it operates, why companies need NGAV solutions, and the NGAV solutions now available on the market. We will also discuss why organizations need XDR or EDR solutions in addition to NGAV adoption.

What Does Next-Gen Antivirus Mean?

Next-Generation Antivirus (NGAV) is an endpoint security solution that takes traditional antivirus software to a new, advanced level by combining behavioral detection, artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and exploit mitigation to anticipate and immediately prevent known and unknown threats. Next-Generation Antivirus goes beyond existing file-based malware signatures and heuristics since it is a cloud-based, system-centric approach. Its cloud-based architecture enables NGAV to be implemented in hours rather than months and eliminates the need to manage infrastructure, maintain software, and update signature databases.

Next-Generation Antivirus combines threat intelligence with predictive analytics powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence to:

• Identify malicious activity and TTPs from unknown sources

• Detect and block malware and fileless attacks not classified as malware

• Respond to previously unreported new and evolving threats

• Collect and analyze complete endpoint data to uncover underlying causes

What is the Importance of Next-Generation Antivirus?

Traditional antivirus (AV) solutions employ signatures, which are sequences of characters linked with certain forms of malware, to identify and prevent similar attacks. This strategy is becoming outdated since clever attackers have discovered methods to circumvent classic antivirus defenses, such as by exploiting fileless attacks that use macros, scripting engines, in-memory, execution, etc. to launch cyber attacks.

Conventional antivirus (AV) solutions lock companies into a reactive state where they can only protect against known malware and viruses in the AV provider's database. This method was the best available in the past, but it is woefully insufficient now when unknown risks must be tackled with the same rigor as recognized ones. According to a Ponemon poll, 76% of respondents whose security had been breached claim the assault was a new or undiscovered zero-day exploit. 19 percent of responders who were compromised identified a recognized threat as the source.

The only dependence on signatures to identify malicious activity is eliminated by NGAV's use of more complex preventive approaches, such as behavioral detection, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. NGAV guards against unknown as well as known threats, which is becoming more critical as the prevalence of fileless malware grows. NGAV allows the exposure of both sorts of risks in near real-time and is far more successful at assisting companies in blocking these attacks at a much faster rate than in the past.

In terms of time-to-value, traditional AV falls behind, with the typical deployment lasting three months. This period is important because legacy AV often requires on-site hardware installation. In addition, once deployed, the majority of legacy systems need considerable tweaking and setup to be completely functioning.

The implementation of a real cloud-native NGAV solution, on the other hand, is completed in a matter of hours. Since NGAV is cloud-based, there is no extra hardware or software to acquire, no infrastructure to install, no need to construct a new solution, and continuous maintenance and signature upgrades are avoided.

Due to the inefficient addition of security features over time, which bloats agents and severely impacts performance, the footprint of traditional antivirus on the endpoint is considerable once it is operational. Moreover, its dependence on signatures necessitates continual updating of signature databases to accommodate the most recent additions. These upgrades require a considerable lot of time and money, and as soon as one is done, it becomes obsolete.

NGAV systems are intended to deploy a single, lightweight agent that has a low influence on the endpoint and is inconspicuous.

Without thorough, consistent, and coordinated preventative procedures, a business cannot identify and react to prospective attacks in time to avert major harm. Therefore, typical antivirus software is insufficient to defend businesses against unknown viruses and dangers. Companies need to deploy a next-generation antivirus solution in their IT environment.

What Advantages Does NGAV Offer?

The primary advantage of NGAV is that it is made of many types of modern technology, providing more comprehensive security than typical antivirus software. Together, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and behavior analysis detect and eliminate dangers. Next-generation antivirus protects your employees and systems when conventional antivirus leaves them susceptible. However, advanced technology is not the only advantage of adopting NGAV for endpoint security. Let's recap the other reasons why next-generation antiviral is the best option for organizations:

• Cloud-based NGAV is simple to monitor and manage

• NGAV has no detrimental effect on endpoint performance

• NGAV may be implemented in hours, as opposed to months

• NGAV does not need signature updates

• NGAV reduces operational expenses

• NGAV increases the productivity of the security team

What are the Must-Have Features of NGAV Solution?

A successful NGAV solution uses cutting-edge technology to counter adversaries' quickly evolving tactics, methods, and procedures (TTPs), such as commodity malware, zero-day malware, and even sophisticated malware-free attacks. Here are the must-have features to search for when choosing an NGAV solution:

• Cloud-based: Cloud architecture is essential for delivering truly next-generation AV. Taking endpoint security to the cloud provides a proactive, rather than a reactive, strategy that combines massive amounts of data with potent analytics to thwart the most recent, most dangerous developing attacks.

  Streaming analytics, in which normal and anomalous endpoint behavior may be observed and compared to any unfiltered previous endpoint data, is one example. By evaluating these event streams and comparing them to what seem to be regular ones, the cloud produces a worldwide threat monitoring system that not only identifies attacks but also anticipates never-before-seen ones. This robust technique is not viable with conventional AV systems.

  NGAV in the cloud allows bi-directional communication with endpoints, allowing all unfiltered endpoint data to be analyzed and transformed into predictive analytics that proactively defend businesses from sophisticated attacks.

  In addition, the cloud offers the infrastructure advantages that the majority of businesses now enjoy with other enterprise software - easier, less expensive operations, quicker deployment, and the most advanced and creative technologies. Cloud-based NGAV is completely operational in seconds, without the need for a system restart, signature changes, configuration, or infrastructure acquisitions. Algorithms analyze endpoint activity as it happens, revealing malicious files and suspicious behaviors in near real-time with no performance effect on the endpoint.

• Malware Prevention: An effective NGAV offers signatures-less malware prevention. Protection against malware without signatures uses machine-learning techniques to assess if a file is harmful. New dangers are promptly neutralized, and time-to-value is lowered to zero. NGAV must-have machine learning capabilities. On or off the network, machine learning can identify and block both known and undiscovered malware on endpoints. It allows quicker and more thorough detection of attack indicators, removes ransomware, and addresses the holes left by older antivirus software.

• Threat Intelligence Integration: Integrated threat intelligence allows the instantaneous evaluation of the sources, effects, and severity of threats in the environment and gives direction on how to react and remediate them most effectively.

• AI and Machine Learning Technologies: Integrating endpoint security and protection with AI and machine learning produces a system environment that not only defends against all phases of an attack but also improves as each new threat is identified. Then, artificial intelligence may respond in a predetermined way to these newly discovered and uncovered risks. By adding centralized management and control, this strategy enables enterprises to transition from reactive, blacklist-centric controls to a far more proactive strategy. The next generation of business cybersecurity is a combination of machine processing speed, AI capable of pattern recognition, and human judgment and intuition.

• Protection Against Malware-Free Attacks: NGAV should have Indicators of Attack (IOAs) feature. Indicators of Attack (IOAs) correlate events from endpoints to identify stealthy actions indicative of malicious activity. A system that depends on retroactive offline analysis to identify IOAs is not able to keep up with new threats and needs a substantial amount of resources to administer. Online algorithms that use machine learning and don't need a whole data set to make a worthwhile analysis are more effective, efficient, and rapid.

  NGAV should prevent exploitation in real-time. Malware is not usually distributed via files. On the increase are attacks that use macros, execution, in-memory, and other fileless approaches. Exploit blocking identifies and prevents exploitation in real-time.

How Does NGAV Work?

NGAV employs innovative technologies to defend endpoints in a fundamentally different manner than standard antivirus. Using machine learning algorithms on a cloud-based architecture, NGAV is able to thwart the usual, rapidly-evolving threats of today. Here is how NGAV operates:

• Light Agent: The endpoint is largely unaffected by a cloud-based architecture and a single lightweight agent. Security does not have to be at the expense of performance.

• Innovative Preventive Capabilities: A next-generation antivirus should use advanced preventive tools and approaches that not only block malware, but also prevent malware-less assaults, independent of the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) employed by the attackers. Among these approaches and technologies are machine learning, behavioral indicators of attacks(IOAs), exploit blocking, attack attribution, custom whitelisting and blacklisting, and adware blocking.

• Integration: NGAV products interface seamlessly with current SIEMs. It draws in events gathered from endpoints, and integrates with third-party intelligence and indicators of compromise (IOCs), enabling enterprises to maximize the value of their whole security investment.

• No Need to Update Signatures: Using advanced algorithms, machine learning can analyze millions of file properties in real time to identify whether a file is harmful. Even when the endpoint is not linked to the cloud, signatureless technology allows NGAV solutions to identify and block both known and unknown malware.

• Online and Offline Security Measures: Intelligent agent protects whether online or offline and facilitates data processing and endpoint-based decisions. This not only provides very precise detection and prevention, but it also protects the endpoint everywhere, online and offline.

• No Managerial Burden: NGAV solutions are intended to integrate without adding complexity to their settings. It needs no on-premises management infrastructure.

• Immediate Time-to-Value: NGAV systems should be installed and operational in a matter of hours, with no further hardware or software, tuning, or setup required.

What are the NGAV Solutions?

Some next-generation antivirus (NGAV) solutions available in the market are listed below:

• Blackberry CylancePROTECT: Signatureless anti-malware from Blackberry Cylance is an alternative to standard signature-based technology. It has built its name on proactive and preventative antiviral technologies using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and algorithmic science. In addition, Forrester identified it as a Strong Performer in its Cybersecurity Incident Response Forrester Wave study.

• CrowdStrike Falcon Pro: CrowdStrike Falcon Pro is a market-leading NGAV solution to stop malware with integrated threat intelligence and immediate response. It has a single lightweight agent that operates without the need for constant signature updates, on-premises management infrastructure, or complex integrations.

• GoSecure Titan Next-Gen Antivirus (NGAV): GoSecure introduced Next-Generation Antivirus to its Managed Detection and Response offering in 2019. GoSecure EDR employs EDR, machine learning, and behavioral analysis to discover threats that signature-based detection approaches miss. In addition, Memory Analysis watches the activities of a malicious process and scans it whenever it reveals itself in memory. This aids in the identification of fileless malware threats.

• McAfee Endpoint Security: McAfee Endpoint Security offers an endpoint protection platform (EPP) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) features. It prevents attacks and reduces risk across the whole network. The system employs automation and AI techniques to monitor every device inside the system. The integrated EPP/EDR reacts to and neutralizes any cyber threats encountered in real-time. It also employs antimalware technologies to protect your organization from viruses, adware, and malware. McAfee Endpoint Security is a subscription-based software as a service (SaaS) offering (SaaS).

• SentinelOne Singularity XDR: SentinelOne Singularity XDR combines and extends detection and response capabilities across different security layers, offering security professionals consolidated end-to-end enterprise visibility, robust analytics, and automated reaction throughout the whole technological stack. With Singularity XDR, IT teams can get unified and proactive security solutions to protect the entire technological stack, making it simpler for security analysts to spot and thwart attacks in progress before they harm the company.

Do You Need Both NGAV and EDR?

Yes. NGAV is an essential first line of defense for enterprises, but regardless of how sophisticated it is, it cannot provide perfect security. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) is necessary since certain attacks will eventually evade the NGAV solution. NGAVs evaluate the behavior of a single endpoint, while EDR solutions gather data from all endpoints throughout the corporate network. EDR can identify activities and repel the attacker before the onset of network compromise.

When NGAV and EDR are coupled, enterprises can detect suspicious behavior more precisely, stop malicious actions on endpoints, and react to serious threats more quickly and easily. EDR identifies minute modifications to files, registries, and networks, allowing security teams to spot malicious activities. From there, EDR assists responders in containing recognized risks and preventing previously unknown assaults.

Additionally, EDR enables access to significant forensic data on endpoint devices, enabling security professionals to understand what occurred on the endpoint and how to counteract the attack. This feature is not supplied by NGAV, which from a security analyst's viewpoint is effectively a black box.

Moreover, the combination of NGAV with EDR reduces the number of false positives generated by NGAV alone, since the enterprise-wide context provided by an EDR assists in determining if anomalous but benign actions are harmful.

The ultimate endpoint security platform combines NGAV with an endpoint detection and response (EDR) system for identifying and reacting to dangerous activity that may circumvent the antivirus.

How are NGAV and XDR Different?

While NGAV is an AI-based and machine learning system with a focus on threat prevention and can defend against fileless threats, Extended Detection and Response (XDR) is an evolution of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) that is aimed at evaluating information beyond particular endpoints. EDR alone is ineffective if an attack bypasses NGAV and expands beyond a single endpoint. On the other hand, an XDR system encompasses the whole infrastructure, including networks, cloud systems, and email systems, not just the endpoints, and identifies patterns and threats.

NGAV is excellent for endpoint security, however, it may be difficult to implement on numerous endpoints. This is where XDR comes in, since its breadth is broader. XDR aggressively looks for dangers and automatically reacts to them or offers actionable information that security analysts utilize to control the threat. With XDR, security professionals get a comprehensive view of an attack's footprint throughout the IT environment and respond to attackers wherever they strike.

The combination of NGAV and XDR offers formidable protection against complex, clever, and elusive cyber threats. Combining NGAV with XDR is advised to optimize safety and security as the complexity of cyberattacks increases.

Is McAffee NGAV?

Yes. McAfee Endpoint Security software offers all enterprises and organizations next-generation antivirus (NGAV) features. It has been implemented in several areas, including information technology, retail, software development, marketing, education, and media.