Malware Analysis Techniques Quiz

Malware

• Malware is software intentionally designed to harm or exploit programmable devices, services, or networks.

Types of Malware

• Backdoor: Gives attackers access to a system, allowing them to run commands.
• Botnet: Similar to backdoor, providing attacker access, but all affected machines receive commands from a central server.
• Downloader: Downloads other malicious software.
• Information-stealing malware: Collects data from a victim machine, including password information from online accounts.
• Launcher: A program that launches other malware.
• Rootkit: Hides malware in a machine.
• Scareware: Tricks users into purchasing fake software by presenting alarming messages.
• Spam-sending malware: Infects machines and uses them to send spam emails.
• Worm or virus: Malicious software that replicates itself and spreads to other computers.

Malware Analysis

• Malware analysis is the process of understanding how malware works, identifying it, and how to defeat or eliminate it.
• Advanced skills are not required to perform malware analysis.

Malware Analysis Techniques

• Static Analysis: Examining malware without executing it to identify characteristics.
• Dynamic Analysis: Running malware in a controlled environment to observe its behavior.

Malware Analysis Environments

• Virtual Machine: Is a controlled setup that runs and analyses malware safely.
• Sandbox: Is a virtualized environment that isolates malware execution from affecting real systems.

Static Analysis Techniques

• File Signature Analysis: Identifies the type and structure of a file (e.g., .exe).
• Analyzing file headers and sections (e.g., a Portable Executable [.exe] or [.dll]) to reveal information about the file.

Dynamic Analysis Techniques

• Sandboxing: Running malware in a safely isolated virtual environment to observe its behaviour without harming the host machine.
• Debugging: Executing malware step-by-step, setting breakpoints, and inspecting its status.

Reverse Engineering

• Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing a system, software, or hardware to understand its design, functionality, and operation by disassembling it into its individual components.

Importance of Reverse Engineering in Cybersecurity

• Malware Analysis: Understanding malware and identifying vulnerabilities.
• Threat Intelligence: Improving knowledge about threats.
• Incident Response: Faster response to security incidents.
• Forensic Investigations: Enabling investigations of security incidents.

Ethical and Legal Considerations in Malware Analysis

• Use gained knowledge for enhancing cybersecurity, not exploiting systems.
• Respecting sensitive information and adhering to legal and ethical boundaries.

Tools for Malware Analysis

• Disassembler: Converts executable code into readable assembly.
• Debugger: Allows malware to be executed step-by-step and monitors behavior.
• Hex Editors: Analyze binary files in hexadecimal format.

Instruction Set Architectures

• CPU architecture, instructions, registers, and data types
• Includes RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) and CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing)
• Describes memory management, dynamic memory allocation (using malloc and free), and data types.

Instruction Set Extensions

• SSE (Streaming SIMD Extensions) and AVX (Advanced Vector Extensions)
• Discusses how these extensions improve data manipulation and increase processing speed for large amounts of data.
• Shows examples of AVX and SSE instructions

Malware Analysis Steps

• Initial static analysis.
• Execution in a sandbox or VM.
• Debugging to trace execution flow.
• Memory analysis to identify payloads.
• Network analysis to capture external communications.

Common Malware Behaviors

• Downloader: Downloads additional malware.
• Launcher: Installs other malware.
• Backdoors: Provide remote access to a victim's system (e.g., for command and control or remote administration).
• Reverse Shells: Malware that connects from an infected machine to an attacker's machine.

Analyzing Network Communications of Malware

• Understanding how malware communicates with C2 servers.
• Using tools to track malware communications, filter HTTP traffic and track IP addresses for better analysis.

Malware Memory Forensics

• Analyzing memory dumps to identify malicious artifacts and hidden processes.

Malware Fuzzing

• Testing software by providing invalid or unexpected inputs to detect flaws.
• Helps to find bugs or vulnerabilities in the software.
• Exploits can cause unexpected behavior, crashes, or security vulnerabilities

Firmware Analysis

• Examining firmware code (e.g., BIOS, embedded systems) for malicious activity.
• Includes static and dynamic analysis techniques as well as tools.

Control Flow Analysis and Graphing

• Understanding the sequence and logical path of malware execution.
• Create a Control Flow Graph that shows the program's different logical paths.
• Identifying important loops and decision paths to determine the behavior of the malware.

Data Flow Analysis

• Examining how data values are generated, modified, and used across the program.
• Helps identify sensitive data (e.g., encryption keys) and how malware interacts with system resources.

Automated Threat Intelligence Analysis

• Information collection, processing, and analysis, improving cybersecurity.

Polymorphic and Metamorphic Malware

• Malicious software that changes its code or appearance upon infection; making it hard to detect.