Acronis Asia Pte Ltd -Acronis Active Protection

Name of Organization / Company: Acronis Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore
Category: Award for the Innovation in Technology Development > Computer Industries

Entry Title: Acronis Active Protection: Bulletproof defence against crypto-jacking and ransomware

Essay:

For years now, the fastest growing threat to data has been ransomware: a malicious malware that infects your system, encrypts your data, then demands a ransom in return for decrypting it. In 2018 ransomware hit a business every 40 seconds, and a consumer – every 10 seconds. But then a new factor emerged and shifted the balance – called cryptojacking.

Many have heard of unprecedented global ransomware breakouts, like WannaCry and NotPetya (wiper masking as ransomware). Like ransomware, cryptomining is not a new phenomenon: cybercriminals began developing malware after the boom in cryptocurrencies.

The meteoric rise in ransomware attacks and cryptojacking incidents is still causing disruptions to global business. Ransomware has cost businesses and consumers billions of dollars over the past 5 years, and is projected to rise to $11.5 billion by the end of 2019.

That’s why last year Acronis has upgraded its Active Protection – an AI- powered anti- ransomware defense built to detect and stop cryptojacking. The enhanced defense now automatically detects and stops cryptojackers, ensuring the integrity and performance.

How it works

Acronis Active Protection is an AI- based cyber defense technology that uniquely stops both ransomware and cryptojacking attacks. Unlike typical anti- virus solutions that can only recognise and block an existing malware sample, the AI- based engine powering Active Protection is a self- educating technology that is able to track, recognize and predict the behavioral markers of malicious programs – even the ones that have never been discovered before.

When anti- virus solutions detect cryptominers, it is hard to tell if the process was intentional mining or illicit because they automatically respond to each incident. Acronis Active Protection and the added cryptomining malware blocker, on the other hand, instantly detects the suspiciously high CPU loads. The system then alerts the user to act on each detection, to see if an incident was an attack or an approved process. Acronis Active Protection then terminates the malicious processes before they can form into a full- on ransomware within your system. This saves the machines’ resources, prevents businesses from getting disrupted, but above all – safeguards your data.

Achievements

#1: Acronis Active Protection detected and stopped ransomware attacks on the systems of more than 1.6 million consumers and business users worldwide last year.

#2: Each month, Acronis Active Protection detects and stops more than 20,000 ransomware and cryptomining malware attacks – preventing the systems of consumers and business users from becoming infected.

#3: After just one month, the software had detected tens of thousands of miners. More than 60% of the mining detected in the first month was illicit. Among the well- known standard miners detected were xmr-stak-cpu.exe, Claymore CryptoNote CPU Miner, rhminer, and xmrig Monero miner. Along with those legitimate strains, several new malware samples and legitimate processes were detected as well. 20% unique malware strains never been seen before

Attachments/Links:

https://www.acronis.com/en-us/articles/cryptojacking/

https://www.acronis.com/en-us/articles/how-to-block-cryptomining-scripts-in-your-browser/

http://dl.acronis.com/u/rc/WP_Acronis_Active_Protection_EN-US_172509.pdf