Malware analysisTopics

The topic covers the basic concepts, types and functional features of malware. basic analysis methods used to determine the behavior of malicious programs and their impact on systems are explained. attack stages and the role of malware in the attack process are reviewed. the capabilities of online analysis platforms used for initial screening of malicious files are studied. it also explains the basic principles of setting up an isolated analysis environment for safely investigating malware.

The topic covers the methods of performing preliminary static analysis of malicious programs without execution. methods of performing an antivirus scan, determining the file type, calculating hash values, and detecting lines within a file are studied. the basic structure of the portable executable (pe) format and its importance in malware analysis are explained. the role of win32 API functions in defining malware functionality is reviewed. also analyzed are the evasion techniques that malware uses to complicate analysis, such as bundling and obfuscation.

The topic covers initial file scanning and identification techniques as a continuation of entry-level static analysis of malware. conducting an antivirus scan and using the results in the initial analysis process is considered. the methods of searching for malware samples on internet resources based on hash values ​​and obtaining available information about them are studied. determining the potential functionality of a program by detecting lines in executable files and examining specified information is explained. methods for specifying the compiler and packager used to generate the executable file are also reviewed.

The topic covers entry-level dynamic analysis techniques based on observing the behavior of malicious programs as they are executed in a controlled environment. explains the use and key features of sandbox environments to safely analyze malware. analysis approaches used for monitoring processes, file system changes, and registry access are reviewed. methods of monitoring the network behavior of malicious programs and identifying connection attempts are studied. it also explains the working principles of dynamic libraries (dlls) and their role in the behavior of malicious programs.

The topic covers the analysis of the behavior and functionality of malware targeting the windows operating system. the main windows API functions that malware uses when interacting with system resources and their importance in the analysis process are explained. the role of windows registry modifications and registry accesses in determining malware behavior is reviewed. analysis of communication and data exchange activities performed using network apis is studied. based on the obtained data, attention is paid to determining the behavior of the malicious program at the system and network level.

The topic covers the practical analysis of the behavior of malware samples by executing them in a controlled and isolated environment. processes, file changes, registry activity, and network connections created by various malware programs are monitored. methods of collecting behavioral indicators obtained during the analysis and determining the functionality of the malicious program are studied. behavioral characteristics of different malware samples are compared and their impact on the system is analyzed. based on the obtained results, attention is paid to determining the main indicators of pest activity.

The topic covers the computer architecture and low-level programming concepts required for advanced static analysis of malware. the principles of processor operation, CPU registers and mechanisms of data transfer between memory and registers are explained. in assembly language, data exchange (mov, xchg), calculation (add, sub) and execution flow control (jmp, loop, call, jxx) commands are considered. basic functions of other low-level commands such as in, out, and int are also studied. the main features of the x64 architecture and the application of this knowledge in the static analysis of executable files are explained.

The subject involves analyzing the internal structure, operation logic and functionality of software without source code. the main goals, stages and application of reverse engineering in malware analysis are explained. the principles of examining the structure of executable files, program code, and control flow are reviewed. determining the behavior and hidden functionality of the program is studied using static and dynamic analysis methods. emphasis is placed on using the results obtained in the reverse engineering process to assess malware performance and security risks.