The levels of complexity that the average computer system has these days is pretty impressive.
Most people do not realize that when they interact with one part of the system there may be up to a dozen other parts that are quietly spinning their wheels.
The speed that the average computer runs these days makes all of this complexity possible.
The faster that a computer runs, the more features that you can add to it.
The more features that are added to it, the more complex the system becomes.
Hackers take advantage of this complexity all of the time.
They are able to hide exploits among the different layers of the computer.
They sometimes pit one layer or piece of software against each other.
This is called a Blended Threat.
When people say a “Blended Threat” they can mean one of several meanings.
They can mean that the hackers are using different pieces of legitimate software to attack the overall system.
Or it can also mean that the hackers are using a multi front attack to propagate an infection throughout the system.
Either way both definitions reflect the use of the complexity of the average computer to take down the whole system.
An example of a blended attack that was used between trusted software on a system is when Microsoft reported that their competitor Apple window’s version of their browser Safari had an exploit.
This exploit when combined with an exploit in the Windows operating system would cause a high risk attack to occur and damage the system.
The exploit on the Safari browser alone would not do the damage.
Nor would the exploit in the Windows operating system do it either.
The exploits had to be combined together to create a disruption on the computer that was being attacked.
When people describe the other form of blended threat they are usually talking about an exploit that is passed through the Internet.
The blended threat will not be able to be categorized underneath a virus, Trojan, or a worm.
It will use elements of all three to be able to propagate its attack.
For example, it can coordinate its attack through the email system and then commence to spread on a server and replicate itself that way.
This type of threat is hard to pin down and can cause a lot of damage as security researchers try to figure out how to stop it.
As you see both of the ways that the term blended threat is used can have serious consequences to your systems integrity.
The normal precautions such as an updated antivirus and a good firewall on your system will help prevent this.
More importantly, regular patching your operating system of choice would go a long way in stopping these kinds of attack.