A system for protecting an electronic system against malware includes an operating system configured to execute on the electronic device, a driver coupled to the operating system, and a below-operating-system security agent. The below-operating-system security agent is configured to identify one or more resources for changing filters of the driver, trap an attempted access of the one or more resources that originates from the operational level of the operating system, access one or more security rules to determine whether the attempted access is indicative of malware, and operate at a level below all of the operating systems of the electronic system accessing the one or more resources for changing filters of the driver.