Malware Analysis
Last updated
Last updated
Signatures are not enough today.
Yara
MAEC
Sandbox – Running malware inside an isolated virtual environment
Mointor changes to system files
Monitor changes to processes and services
Network Activity
Low level system calls
File creation, change, deletion during execution
Scheduled tasks
Cuckoo Sandbox
Careful with hypervisor vulnerabilities
Reverse-Engineering: Figuring out how software works
Decompiler
Determine high level source code
Obfuscation
Pseudo-code
Disassembler
Binary to assembly code
Better file identification
Difficult to follow
String searching
Static string stored together
Reveals file names, domains, keys, etc
Program packers
Sort of a self extracting archive
Compression, obfuscation
Exploit Techniques – Methods used by malware to attack a target
Viruses
Infect files
Requires user interaction
Worms
Propagate over network
Does not require interaction
Fileless malware
Executable code passed through a script in a request
RAT dropper
Code injection
Shellcode
Masquerading
DLL sideloading, hijacking
Process hollowing – empty process that starts safe, but changes dynamically to malicious
“Living off the land”
Just a practice
Malware relies on existing tools on the host
Powershell, python, bash