Malware is unwanted software that damages or even kills computers, servers, host systems, and networks. In essence, it’s an umbrella term for all kinds of bad software that is designed to harm or take advantage of any modifiable device, network, or service. Malware dangers come in many forms, including viruses, worms, adware, spyware, trojan viruses, and ransomware. Malware can be of many different types, each with its own set of features and powers. Here are some popular types of malware:<\/p>
- The virus<\/li>\n\n
- Trojan<\/li>\n\n
- Worm<\/li>\n\n
- Ransomware<\/li>\n\n
- Adware <\/li><\/ul>
What is malware analysis?<\/span><\/h2>
Malware analysis is the process of finding websites, apps, and servers that might be vulnerable to threats and making them less vulnerable. This crucial process secures both computer security and the safety and security of an organization’s private information.<\/p>
Also, research on malware finds and fixes holes in security before they get too big. In other words, a simpler way to think about malware analysis is the process of figuring out how a strange file or URL works and its duties.<\/p>
What is Malware Analysis?: Types of Malware Analysis<\/span><\/h3>
They have three types of malware analysis you can use to carry out the process:<\/p>
- Static malware analysis<\/li>\n\n
- Dynamic malware analysis<\/li>\n\n
- Hybrid malware analysis<\/li><\/ul>
Malware Analysis Traffic<\/span><\/h2>
Malware Traffic Analyses are a set of CTF tasks for searching for threats in traffic using tools like Wireshark and Suricata. That’s their third CTF challenge: look at a PCAP from a computer that has been hacked. Malware invades users’ privacy, collects passwords, plagiarizes websites, and can steal and lock users’ files for ransom. Although malware is found using a variety of analysis methods, and because the problem is adversarial, no single method provides a complete defense.<\/p>
Also, network traffic analysis for a company works with decentralized antivirus software that is installed on client computers. This means the amount of management work needed lets companies enforce the same security strategy across an entire network. This method can build malware monitoring into network devices or cloud services. This means, that with client-based antivirus tools, network traffic analysis can help find both new and polymorphic malware by looking at the pattern of network activity.<\/p>
In addition to that, analyzing malware traffic is essential for finding malicious behavior on your network and taking the necessary steps to stop it. You can correctly find malicious code and see how it got into networks or spread to connected devices by looking closely at data packets, log files, and how malware acts on individual systems.<\/p>
How to Do Malware Analysis: Steps in a Malware Traffic Analysis<\/span><\/h3>
A malware traffic study is broken down into several steps. Even though the steps can be different based on the tools and methods being used, here are some steps that are usually part of a malware traffic analysis:<\/p>
#1. Collection of Data<\/span><\/h4>
Collecting data is the first step in starting a malware traffic study. You might need to use special tools to capture packets at the network level or get log files from your network devices. It can also involve looking at what’s in memory on different sites or using sandboxing tools to watch how malicious software acts.<\/p>
#2. Analysis of the Data<\/span><\/h4>
Analysis of the data is the key to finding any wrongdoing after collection. This can include closely studying network packets for strange patterns or contact with known harmful domains, checking log files for strange activity, and looking at how malware affects hosts to understand how it infects others.<\/p>
#3. Identification of Malware<\/span><\/h4>
After finding any evidence of bad behavior, the next step is to figure out which malware is involved. Also, you can use numerous methods and tools to accomplish this, such as security software, memory forensics, and sandboxing tools.<\/p>
#4. Analysis of Malware<\/span><\/h4>
After finding the malware, it needs to be studied to learn how it works and what it can do. This could include looking at the malware’s code, how it talks to other computers on the network, and how it acts on a host. Also, toolkits like disassemblers, debuggers, and sandboxing tools can make this research easier.<\/p>
Techniques for Malware Traffic Analysis<\/span><\/h3>
You can carry out malware traffic research in several ways. These can be roughly put into two groups: host-level analysis and network-level analysis.<\/p>
#1. Network-Level Analysis\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>
For the network-level study, traffic is looked at across the whole network instead of on each host. To do this, you can use tools like network sniffers, which watch and record packets as they move through a network. Firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and log analysis tools are some other tools that can be used for network-level research.<\/p>
#2. Host-Level Analysis<\/span><\/h4>
To perform a host-level analysis, one must examine how malware acts on a specific host. Also, antivirus software and sandboxing tools are useful for this since they allow users to examine malware’s activity in a safe setting before deciding whether or not to remove it from the host.<\/p>
You can also use host-level analysis, including system monitoring tools, which can follow the actions of malware on a host, and memory forensics tools, which can evaluate the contents of a host’s memory to identify malware.<\/p>
Malware Analysis Tools<\/span><\/h2>
Malware is now a sizable problem for businesses all over the world. An easy action like opening an email attachment can cost a business millions of dollars if the right rules are not in place. As a result, many types of malware analysis tools have been developed to help stop these online traffic threats.<\/p>
Malware Analysis Tools: Examples<\/span><\/h3>
Below are the main types and examples of tools for malware analysis:<\/p>
#1. Sniffers in the Network<\/span><\/h4>
Sniffers are tools that catch and look at packets as they move through a network. Network sniffers are useful for many things, like fixing problems on networks, keeping an eye on what’s happening on networks, and finding bad behavior.<\/p>
#2. Firewalls <\/span><\/h4>
A firewall is a type of network security that checks and manages all incoming and outgoing network data based on rules that have already been set. In essence, some of the things that firewalls look at to decide whether to let or stop traffic are the type of traffic, its source and destination, the ports that are being used, and so on. Firewalls can be very useful for looking into malware data.<\/p>
#3. Intrusion Detection and Prevention <\/span><\/h4>
Tools called intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS) look for signs of bad behavior in network data. In addition to that, it is possible to set up IDPS to find many types of risks, such as viruses, worms, and other malware. If an IDPS finds a danger, it can do many things, like stop the traffic, notify an administrator, or take other steps to fix the problem.<\/p>
#4. Tools for Log Analysis<\/span><\/h4>
Log analysis tools look at the files that network devices and other systems make, called logs. Log files can hold useful details about what’s happening on a network, like details about malware attacks and other bad things that are happening. In addition, analysts can use log analysis tools to find strange activity and determine how malware acts.<\/p>
#5. Software for Antivirus\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>
Malware can be seen and removed from a server by antivirus software. When you run antivirus software, it looks through your files and finds patterns that are common in malware. Antivirus software can do several things when it finds malware, such as quarantining, deleting, or telling an administrator.<\/p>
#6. Sandboxing Tools<\/span><\/h4>
Sandboxing tools give analysts the ability to run a malware sample in a simulated setting and watch how it acts. This means that without putting a live system at risk, you can use sandboxing tools to safely run a malware sample and examine its features and behavior.<\/p>
Malware Traffic Analysis: Best Practices<\/span><\/h3>
Finding malware data is more useful and effective by following a few best practices. The following are examples:<\/p>
#1. Stay Updated<\/span><\/h4>
Analysts need to keep up with new threats and how they work to prevent malware as well as possible. By letting them quickly find and analyze new malicious attacks, this information is very important.<\/p>
#2. Employ a Variety of Techniques and Tools<\/span><\/h4>
It is possible to find and understand harmful software with several different tools and methods. This not only helps find malware more accurately, but it also gives extra information that lowers the chance of getting false hits.<\/p>
#3. Confirm the Outcomes<\/span><\/h4>
Making sure that the results of malware traffic analysis are correct and reliable is very important. So, you need to use a variety of tools and methods to check your work and get the opinions of other experts to do this well.<\/p>
#4. Document Findings<\/span><\/h4>
For everyone to understand and use as a guide for future studies, it is important to write down the results of malware traffic analysis correctly and clearly.<\/p>
Malware Analysis Course<\/span><\/h2>
Malware Analysis is an online, self-paced course that teaches students how to break down malicious software to figure out how it works and what it’s trying to do. The course looks at malware analysis, with a focus on threats that run on Windows. Using Linux and Windows tools for static analysis, malware unpacking, dynamic analysis (including malware traffic analysis), reverse engineering for code analysis, and debugging with x64dbg are all covered in this course.\u00a0<\/p>
Also, malware cases from real life, like WannaCry, DoomJuice, Brbbot, Dharma, and Meterpreter, will be looked at to give students real-life experience. As part of the course, you will be able to:<\/p>
- Work with real malware samples that were made to help you get ready for real-world samples<\/li><\/ul>
- Look at examples from real life, like viruses, botnets, rats, and so on.<\/li><\/ul>
- Consider a whole block devoted to x64-bit assembly<\/li><\/ul>
- Dig deeper into the TLS method<\/li><\/ul>
- Learn how malware does bad things by using Windows APIs as tools.<\/li><\/ul>
- Use various debuggers to fix samples<\/li>\n\n
- You can improve the process of reverse engineering C++ files by using disassembler features.<\/li><\/ul>
- Learn how to quickly beat packers by studying different packer algorithms and generic methods and then unpacking by hand.<\/li><\/ul>
- Figure out how malware typically hides strings, then look at communications sent by malware and network packet captures.<\/li><\/ul>
- Learn how to decipher.NET bytecode and the methods attackers use to hide their code.<\/li><\/ul>
Malware Analysis Course: Who can take the course?<\/span><\/h3>
Professionals in computer security, forensics, malware analysis, and other fields who need to learn how to deal with tough and complicated problems in malware analysis.<\/p>
Prerequisite<\/li><\/ul>
They are;<\/p>
- Expertise in both x86 design and the Windows APIs. <\/li><\/ul>
- It is advised that you learn about software development. <\/li><\/ul>
- It’s suggested that you take the Malware Analysis Crash Course, but it’s not necessary.<\/li><\/ul>
Delivery method<\/li><\/ul>
In-classroom, instructor-led training<\/p>
Duration<\/li><\/ul>
5 days<\/p>
What to bring<\/li><\/ul>
Students are required to bring a laptop that meets the following specs:<\/p>
- VMware Workstation Pro 12.5 or newer (installed with the ability to run a VM)<\/li>\n\n
- At least 30 GB of free HDD space<\/li>\n\n
- A licensed copy of IDA Pro that supports the MIPS architecture is recommended. The free version of IDA Pro will suffice.<\/li><\/ul>
How do I detect malware?<\/span><\/h2>
It will;<\/p>
- suddenly slows down, crashes, or displays repeated error messages.<\/li>\n\n
- won’t shut down or restart.<\/li>\n\n
- won’t let you remove software.<\/li>\n\n
- serves up lots of pop-ups, inappropriate ads, or ads that interfere with page content.<\/li>\n\n
- shows ads in places you typically wouldn’t see them, like government websites.<\/li><\/ul>
How do I check and remove malware?<\/span><\/h2>
Scan your device for malware. Then run a malware or security Delete anything it identifies as a problem. You may have to restart your device for the changes to take effect. Run your scan again to make sure everything is clear. If the scan shows there are no more issues, you’ve likely removed the malware.<\/p>
Why is malware analysis hard?<\/span><\/h2>
malware is hard to understand because it uses techniques such as encryption, obfuscation, or anti-debugging to evade detection and analysis<\/p>
Where can I practice malware analysis?<\/span><\/h2>
You can use online repositories, forums, blogs, or honeypots.<\/p>
References<\/span><\/h2>
- It’s suggested that you take the Malware Analysis Crash Course, but it’s not necessary.<\/li><\/ul>
- It is advised that you learn about software development. <\/li><\/ul>
- Expertise in both x86 design and the Windows APIs. <\/li><\/ul>
- Learn how to decipher.NET bytecode and the methods attackers use to hide their code.<\/li><\/ul>
- Figure out how malware typically hides strings, then look at communications sent by malware and network packet captures.<\/li><\/ul>
- Learn how to quickly beat packers by studying different packer algorithms and generic methods and then unpacking by hand.<\/li><\/ul>
- Learn how malware does bad things by using Windows APIs as tools.<\/li><\/ul>
- Dig deeper into the TLS method<\/li><\/ul>
- Consider a whole block devoted to x64-bit assembly<\/li><\/ul>
- Look at examples from real life, like viruses, botnets, rats, and so on.<\/li><\/ul>
- Work with real malware samples that were made to help you get ready for real-world samples<\/li><\/ul>