Mastering Malware Analysis

Master malware analysis to protect your systems from getting infected Key FeaturesSet up and model solutions, investigate malware, and prevent it from occurring in futureLearn core concepts of dynamic malware analysis, memory forensics, decryption, and much moreA practical guide to developing innovative solutions to numerous malware incidentsBook Description With the ever-growing proliferation of technology, the risk of encountering malicious code or malware has also increased. Malware analysis has become one of the most trending topics in businesses in recent years due to multiple prominent ransomware attacks. Mastering Malware Analysis explains the universal patterns behind different malicious software types and how to analyze them using a variety of approaches. You will learn how to examine malware code and determine the damage it can possibly cause to your systems to ensure that it won't propagate any further. Moving forward, you will cover all aspects of malware analysis for the Windows platform in detail. Next, you will get to grips with obfuscation and anti-disassembly, anti-debugging, as well as anti-virtual machine techniques. This book will help you deal with modern cross-platform malware. Throughout the course of this book, you will explore real-world examples of static and dynamic malware analysis, unpacking and decrypting, and rootkit detection. Finally, this book will help you strengthen your defenses and prevent malware breaches for IoT devices and mobile platforms. By the end of this book, you will have learned to effectively analyze, investigate, and build innovative solutions to handle any malware incidents. What you will learnExplore widely used assembly languages to strengthen your reverse-engineering skillsMaster different executable file formats, programming languages, and relevant APIs used by attackersPerform static and dynamic analysis for multiple platforms and file typesGet to grips with handling sophisticated malware casesUnderstand real advanced attacks, covering all stages from infiltration to hacking the systemLearn to bypass anti-reverse engineering techniquesWho this book is for If you are an IT security administrator, forensic analyst, or malware researcher looking to secure against malicious software or investigate malicious code, this book is for you. Prior programming experience and a fair understanding of malware attacks and investigation is expected.

Understand malware analysis and its practical implementation Key Features Explore the key concepts of malware analysis and memory forensics using real-world examples Learn the art of detecting, analyzing, and investigating malware threats Understand adversary tactics and techniques Book Description Malware analysis and memory forensics are powerful analysis and investigation techniques used in reverse engineering, digital forensics, and incident response. With adversaries becoming sophisticated and carrying out advanced malware attacks on critical infrastructures, data centers, and private and public organizations, detecting, responding to, and investigating such intrusions is critical to information security professionals. Malware analysis and memory forensics have become must-have skills to fight advanced malware, targeted attacks, and security breaches. This book teaches you the concepts, techniques, and tools to understand the behavior and characteristics of malware through malware analysis. It also teaches you techniques to investigate and hunt malware using memory forensics. This book introduces you to the basics of malware analysis, and then gradually progresses into the more advanced concepts of code analysis and memory forensics. It uses real-world malware samples, infected memory images, and visual diagrams to help you gain a better understanding of the subject and to equip you with the skills required to analyze, investigate, and respond to malware-related incidents. What you will learn Create a safe and isolated lab environment for malware analysis Extract the metadata associated with malware Determine malware's interaction with the system Perform code analysis using IDA Pro and x64dbg Reverse-engineer various malware functionalities Reverse engineer and decode common encoding/encryption algorithms Reverse-engineer malware code injection and hooking techniques Investigate and hunt malware using memory forensics Who this book is for This book is for incident responders, cyber-security investigators, system administrators, malware analyst, forensic practitioners, student, or curious security professionals interested in learning malware analysis and memory forensics. Knowledge of programming languages such as C and Python is helpful but is not mandatory. If you have written few lines of code and have a basic understanding of programming concepts, you’ll be able to get most out of this book.

Malware analysis is big business, and attacks can cost a company dearly. When malware breaches your defenses, you need to act quickly to cure current infections and prevent future ones from occurring. For those who want to stay ahead of the latest malware, Practical Malware Analysis will teach you the tools and techniques used by professional analysts. With this book as your guide, you'll be able to safely analyze, debug, and disassemble any malicious software that comes your way. You'll learn how to: –Set up a safe virtual environment to analyze malware –Quickly extract network signatures and host-based indicators –Use key analysis tools like IDA Pro, OllyDbg, and WinDbg –Overcome malware tricks like obfuscation, anti-disassembly, anti-debugging, and anti-virtual machine techniques –Use your newfound knowledge of Windows internals for malware analysis –Develop a methodology for unpacking malware and get practical experience with five of the most popular packers –Analyze special cases of malware with shellcode, C++, and 64-bit code Hands-on labs throughout the book challenge you to practice and synthesize your skills as you dissect real malware samples, and pages of detailed dissections offer an over-the-shoulder look at how the pros do it. You'll learn how to crack open malware to see how it really works, determine what damage it has done, thoroughly clean your network, and ensure that the malware never comes back. Malware analysis is a cat-and-mouse game with rules that are constantly changing, so make sure you have the fundamentals. Whether you're tasked with securing one network or a thousand networks, or you're making a living as a malware analyst, you'll find what you need to succeed in Practical Malware Analysis.

Analyze malicious samples, write reports, and use industry-standard methodologies to confidently triage and analyze adversarial software and malware Key FeaturesInvestigate, detect, and respond to various types of malware threatUnderstand how to use what you've learned as an analyst to produce actionable IOCs and reportingExplore complete solutions, detailed walkthroughs, and case studies of real-world malware samplesBook Description Malicious software poses a threat to every enterprise globally. Its growth is costing businesses millions of dollars due to currency theft as a result of ransomware and lost productivity. With this book, you'll learn how to quickly triage, identify, attribute, and remediate threats using proven analysis techniques. Malware Analysis Techniques begins with an overview of the nature of malware, the current threat landscape, and its impact on businesses. Once you've covered the basics of malware, you'll move on to discover more about the technical nature of malicious software, including static characteristics and dynamic attack methods within the MITRE ATT&CK framework. You'll also find out how to perform practical malware analysis by applying all that you've learned to attribute the malware to a specific threat and weaponize the adversary's indicators of compromise (IOCs) and methodology against them to prevent them from attacking. Finally, you'll get to grips with common tooling utilized by professional malware analysts and understand the basics of reverse engineering with the NSA's Ghidra platform. By the end of this malware analysis book, you'll be able to perform in-depth static and dynamic analysis and automate key tasks for improved defense against attacks. What you will learnDiscover how to maintain a safe analysis environment for malware samplesGet to grips with static and dynamic analysis techniques for collecting IOCsReverse-engineer and debug malware to understand its purposeDevelop a well-polished workflow for malware analysisUnderstand when and where to implement automation to react quickly to threatsPerform malware analysis tasks such as code analysis and API inspectionWho this book is for This book is for incident response professionals, malware analysts, and researchers who want to sharpen their skillset or are looking for a reference for common static and dynamic analysis techniques. Beginners will also find this book useful to get started with learning about malware analysis. Basic knowledge of command-line interfaces, familiarity with Windows and Unix-like filesystems and registries, and experience in scripting languages such as PowerShell, Python, or Ruby will assist with understanding the concepts covered.

Implement reverse engineering techniques to analyze software, exploit software targets, and defend against security threats like malware and viruses. Key FeaturesAnalyze and improvise software and hardware with real-world examplesLearn advanced debugging and patching techniques with tools such as IDA Pro, x86dbg, and Radare2.Explore modern security techniques to identify, exploit, and avoid cyber threatsBook Description If you want to analyze software in order to exploit its weaknesses and strengthen its defenses, then you should explore reverse engineering. Reverse Engineering is a hackerfriendly tool used to expose security flaws and questionable privacy practices.In this book, you will learn how to analyse software even without having access to its source code or design documents. You will start off by learning the low-level language used to communicate with the computer and then move on to covering reverse engineering techniques. Next, you will explore analysis techniques using real-world tools such as IDA Pro and x86dbg. As you progress through the chapters, you will walk through use cases encountered in reverse engineering, such as encryption and compression, used to obfuscate code, and how to to identify and overcome anti-debugging and anti-analysis tricks. Lastly, you will learn how to analyse other types of files that contain code. By the end of this book, you will have the confidence to perform reverse engineering. What you will learnLearn core reverse engineeringIdentify and extract malware componentsExplore the tools used for reverse engineeringRun programs under non-native operating systemsUnderstand binary obfuscation techniquesIdentify and analyze anti-debugging and anti-analysis tricksWho this book is for If you are a security engineer or analyst or a system programmer and want to use reverse engineering to improve your software and hardware, this is the book for you. You will also find this book useful if you are a developer who wants to explore and learn reverse engineering. Having some programming/shell scripting knowledge is an added advantage.

Learn effective malware analysis tactics to prevent your systems from getting infected Key FeaturesInvestigate cyberattacks and prevent malware-related incidents from occurring in the futureLearn core concepts of static and dynamic malware analysis, memory forensics, decryption, and much moreGet practical guidance in developing efficient solutions to handle malware incidentsBook Description New and developing technologies inevitably bring new types of malware with them, creating a huge demand for IT professionals that can keep malware at bay. With the help of this updated second edition of Mastering Malware Analysis, you'll be able to add valuable reverse-engineering skills to your CV and learn how to protect organizations in the most efficient way. This book will familiarize you with multiple universal patterns behind different malicious software types and teach you how to analyze them using a variety of approaches. You'll learn how to examine malware code and determine the damage it can possibly cause to systems, along with ensuring that the right prevention or remediation steps are followed. As you cover all aspects of malware analysis for Windows, Linux, macOS, and mobile platforms in detail, you'll also get to grips with obfuscation, anti-debugging, and other advanced anti-reverse-engineering techniques. The skills you acquire in this cybersecurity book will help you deal with all types of modern malware, strengthen your defenses, and prevent or promptly mitigate breaches regardless of the platforms involved. By the end of this book, you will have learned how to efficiently analyze samples, investigate suspicious activity, and build innovative solutions to handle malware incidents. What you will learnExplore assembly languages to strengthen your reverse-engineering skillsMaster various file formats and relevant APIs used by attackersDiscover attack vectors and start handling IT, OT, and IoT malwareUnderstand how to analyze samples for x86 and various RISC architecturesPerform static and dynamic analysis of files of various typesGet to grips with handling sophisticated malware casesUnderstand real advanced attacks, covering all their stagesFocus on how to bypass anti-reverse-engineering techniquesWho this book is for If you are a malware researcher, forensic analyst, IT security administrator, or anyone looking to secure against malicious software or investigate malicious code, this book is for you. This new edition is suited to all levels of knowledge, including complete beginners. Any prior exposure to programming or cybersecurity will further help to speed up your learning process.

Become a master at penetration testing using machine learning with Python Key Features Identify ambiguities and breach intelligent security systems Perform unique cyber attacks to breach robust systems Learn to leverage machine learning algorithms Book Description Cyber security is crucial for both businesses and individuals. As systems are getting smarter, we now see machine learning interrupting computer security. With the adoption of machine learning in upcoming security products, it’s important for pentesters and security researchers to understand how these systems work, and to breach them for testing purposes. This book begins with the basics of machine learning and the algorithms used to build robust systems. Once you’ve gained a fair understanding of how security products leverage machine learning, you'll dive into the core concepts of breaching such systems. Through practical use cases, you’ll see how to find loopholes and surpass a self-learning security system. As you make your way through the chapters, you’ll focus on topics such as network intrusion detection and AV and IDS evasion. We’ll also cover the best practices when identifying ambiguities, and extensive techniques to breach an intelligent system. By the end of this book, you will be well-versed with identifying loopholes in a self-learning security system and will be able to efficiently breach a machine learning system. What you will learn Take an in-depth look at machine learning Get to know natural language processing (NLP) Understand malware feature engineering Build generative adversarial networks using Python libraries Work on threat hunting with machine learning and the ELK stack Explore the best practices for machine learning Who this book is for This book is for pen testers and security professionals who are interested in learning techniques to break an intelligent security system. Basic knowledge of Python is needed, but no prior knowledge of machine learning is necessary.

An authoritative guide to investigating high-technologycrimes Internet crime is seemingly ever on the rise, making the needfor a comprehensive resource on how to investigate these crimeseven more dire. This professional-level book--aimed at lawenforcement personnel, prosecutors, and corporateinvestigators--provides you with the training you need in order toacquire the sophisticated skills and software solutions to stay onestep ahead of computer criminals. Specifies the techniques needed to investigate, analyze, anddocument a criminal act on a Windows computer or network Places a special emphasis on how to thoroughly investigatecriminal activity and now just perform the initial response Walks you through ways to present technically complicatedmaterial in simple terms that will hold up in court Features content fully updated for Windows Server 2008 R2 andWindows 7 Covers the emerging field of Windows Mobile forensics Also included is a classroom support package to ensure academicadoption, Mastering Windows Network Forensics and Investigation,2nd Edition offers help for investigating high-technologycrimes.