UPDATED 15:13 EDT / SEPTEMBER 27 2018

INFRA

Alphabet’s Chronicle launches a malware hunting service for enterprises

Chronicle Inc., the cybersecurity outfit that Alphabet Inc. spun off in January, today introduced a new platform for tracking down malware inside corporate networks.

Dubbed VirusTotal Enterprise, the offering is based on the search giant’s widely used threat scanning tool of the same name. Alphabet acquired VirusTotal in 2012 from the Spanish security firm that had originally developed it and has been offering the tool as a free service to security experts ever since.

VirusTotal provides the ability to check suspicious files and links against billions of known malware signatures. The tool carries out assessments using more than 100 security scanning engines, as well as a long list of public threat datasets that aggregate information about hacker activity. VirusTotal Enterprise expands upon the free version with capabilities that enable companies to apply the tool to their internal infrastructure.

One of the platform’s main selling points is a feature Chronicle calls Private Graph. It’s an enhanced version of VirusTotal Graph, a paid data visualization capability included with the free version to help security experts uncover patterns in malware infections. Companies can now enhance visualizations with data about their infrastructure, employees, corporate structure and other organization-specific details to identify signs of compromise.

Chronicle said Private Graph can automatically extract certain breach indicators. For added measure, the Alphabet subsidiary has included collaboration features that allow security professionals to loop peers into an investigation.

The capability is joined by a new search function for finding data about malware strands. VirusTotal Enterprise lets security professionals filter results using a broader range of parameters than the free version, which Chronicle said allows for more fine-grained analysis.

A user could, for example, extract a graphic asset such as an icon from a malicious application and use VirusTotal Enterprise to look up other software containing the same image. Chronicle said VirusTotal Enterprise carries out searches 100 times faster than the free version.

Lastly, the Alphabet subsidiary has included features to accommodate enterprises’ internal security practices. Companies can enforce two-factor authentication for VirusTotal Enterprise and connect the platform with their internal user directories to manage employee access.

Chronicle will reportedly make the platform available to companies starting at $10,000 per year. The offering is the startup’s inaugural commercial product, but it’s hardly Alphabet’s first foray into the cybersecurity market. The company provides numerous security tools as part of its cloud services and has an entire team dedicated to finding vulnerabilities in popular software products.

Image: Chronicle

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