Malware protection leader, FireEye, has confirmed that the FireEye Analysis & Control Technology (FACT) engine provided pre-emptive protection to federal, higher education, and enterprise customers against the current Internet Explorer (IE) zero-day vulnerability. The protection was provided without any content updates or changes to the company’s product.

There were several cases that showed that 'Operation Aurora' had targeted several customers’ networks, but the FireEye technology identified malware attacks. Multiple production sites noted attempts to exploit the IE zero-day vulnerability. Numerous corporations were breached in light of them having traditional network security and antivirus software deployed. FireEye’s success is attributed to real-time, multi-protocol content analysis within virtual machines that is proving it to be the only defense that has accurately identified the attacks.

The FACT engine identifies machines that were previously infected as well as those that are under attack. FireEye offers its customers next-generation malware protection alongside an extensive malware intelligence network to achieve a greater security infrastructure. FireEye is the leader in malware protection systems and is backed by Sequoia Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, JAFCO, SVB Capital, DAG Ventures, and Juniper Networks. The company is based in Milpitas, California.