Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering

Malware analysis is the art of dissecting malicious software to understand its behavior, origin, and impact. The primary goals are to identify Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) for detection, attribute the malware to a specific threat actor, and assess its capabilities to determine the potential risk to an organization.

Safety Warning: Isolation Required

Malware analysis involves handling live malicious code. NEVER run malware on your host operating system or a machine connected to your production network. Always use a strictly isolated lab environment, such as a Virtual Machine (VM) with host-only networking or an air-gapped physical machine. Ensure your analysis machine is snapshotted so you can revert to a clean state after infection.

Analysis Methodology

1. Static Analysis

Examining the code without running it. This involves checking file hashes, extracting strings, analyzing PE headers, and identifying packed executables. It provides a safe first look at the sample's potential capabilities.

2. Dynamic Analysis

Observing the malware's behavior during execution in a controlled environment. This includes monitoring file system changes, registry modifications, network traffic, and process spawning.

3. Code Analysis

Deep diving into the binary using disassembly and decompilation. This advanced phase helps understand the internal logic, encryption algorithms, and hidden functionality that static and dynamic analysis might miss.

4. Memory Forensics

Analyzing artifacts left in Random Access Memory (RAM) after execution. This is crucial for detecting rootkits, injected code, and malware that operates solely in memory (fileless malware).