What is Stalling Delay?

A stalling delay is a coded, time-based technique that certain types of malware use to bypass a network's cybersecurity defenses. After infecting a target system, malware with a stalling delay mechanism typically executes a series of useless, innocuous CPU cycles in order to delay the execution of its actual malicious code until the target network is no longer on alert. If the malware successfully bypasses the security's defenses, it can then go on to execute its malicious code with full effect.