Malware Threat Taxonomy & Categories
The Malware Families Catalog organizes 2,966 threats across 37 primary functional classes. Each category pillar provides deep threat landscape analysis, observed MITRE ATT&CK tactics, SOC containment procedures, and complete family directories.
Track newly observed, weaponized, and resurging malware campaigns under continuous incident investigation: View Emerging Threats Watchlist →
All Threat Categories
Ransomware represents one of the most destructive and financially impactful categories of malicious software. Modern ransomware strains oper...
Trojans represent the largest and most diverse category of cyber threats. Masquerading as legitimate software, software cracks, document att...
Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) encompass specialized, highly resourced malware strains and cyber espionage tools developed by state-spon...
Adware encompasses software designed to forcefully display unwanted advertisements, inject commercial banners into web browsing sessions, re...
Backdoor malware provides remote operators with persistent, unauthorized, and covert access to an infected computer or network. Unlike simpl...
Information Stealers (InfoStealers) are purpose-built malware strains designed to rapidly exfiltrate sensitive local data from compromised w...
Remote Access Trojans (RATs) combine backdoor functionality with real-time interactive administrative controls. Operators utilize RAT interf...
Worms are autonomous, self-propagating malware strains that spread across local networks and the global internet without requiring human int...
Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA), also known as Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP), comprise software that exhibits questionable, mi...
Banking Trojans are specialized malicious implants engineered to intercept, manipulate, and steal financial credentials, corporate banking a...
File infectors (traditional computer viruses) operate parasitically by appending, prepending, or cavity-injecting their malicious code into ...
Downloaders are compact, specialized malware utilities engineered for the sole purpose of fetching and executing secondary, full-featured pa...
Packers and binary obfuscators compress, encrypt, and scramble the machine code of executable programs. While originally developed to protec...
Botnet malware enslaves infected systems into a centrally managed or peer-to-peer (P2P) network of compromised nodes ('bots'). Operated by '...
Spyware covertly monitors user behavior, communications, and system activities without authorization. Keyloggers, a core spyware subtype, re...
Loaders (frequently packaged alongside crypters) are stealth evasion frameworks that decrypt, unpack, and inject malware payloads directly i...
Emerging Threats encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perime...
Potentially Unwanted Applications (PUA), also known as Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP), comprise software that exhibits questionable, mi...
Cryptomining malware (cryptojackers) covertly hijacks victim CPU, GPU, and memory resources to mine privacy-focused cryptocurrencies (primar...
Rogueware encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perimeters, a...
Spam Bot encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perimeters, an...
Click Fraud encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perimeters,...
Bootkits represent an escalation of rootkit tradecraft, compromising code execution before the operating system kernel even initializes. By ...
Browser Hijacker encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perime...
Generic Detection encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perim...
Pos Malware encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perimeters,...
Tool encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perimeters, and ex...
Worms are autonomous, self-propagating malware strains that spread across local networks and the global internet without requiring human int...
Botnet malware enslaves infected systems into a centrally managed or peer-to-peer (P2P) network of compromised nodes ('bots'). Operated by '...
Ddos Bot encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perimeters, an...
Potentially Unwanted Application encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert...
Pup encompasses a distinct class of malicious software engineered to compromise computing environments, subvert security perimeters, and exe...
Ransomware represents one of the most destructive and financially impactful categories of malicious software. Modern ransomware strains oper...
Ransomware represents one of the most destructive and financially impactful categories of malicious software. Modern ransomware strains oper...
Trojans represent the largest and most diverse category of cyber threats. Masquerading as legitimate software, software cracks, document att...
Trojans represent the largest and most diverse category of cyber threats. Masquerading as legitimate software, software cracks, document att...
Wipers are malicious programs created purely for sabotage, denial-of-service, and irreparable data destruction. Unlike ransomware, which pro...