How to Learn Malware Analysis & Reverse Engineering | Complete Roadmap

Introduction

This post provides a comprehensive roadmap for learning malware analysis, a crucial skill in cybersecurity.

OSCP Study Notes

COMPTIA Pentest+ Study Notes

What is Malware Analysis?

• Definition: The process of examining malicious software to understand its behavior, purpose, and impact.
• Importance:
  • Identifies threats and vulnerabilities.
  • Supports defensive strategies.
  • Offers lucrative career opportunities as a Malware Analyst.

Steps to Master Malware Analysis

1. Learn Cybersecurity Essentials

CompTIA Security+: A global standard for entry-level cybersecurity roles.

Topics to Cover:

Threats, vulnerabilities, and malware types (e.g., viruses, worms, ransomware, Trojans).

Networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP/HTTPS).

Firewall basics.

Recommended Certification:

CompTIA Security+: A global standard for entry-level cybersecurity roles.

2. Learn Programming

• Why?:
  • To understand malware behavior at a low level.
  • To analyze code and develop analysis tools.
• Languages to Learn:
  • C: Analyze source code and executables.
  • Assembly: Reverse engineering.
  • Python: Automate tasks and extract malware artifacts.

3. Master Operating Systems

• Windows:
  • Focus on processes, threads, memory management, registry, and file systems.
• Linux:
  • Understand file structures, commands, cron jobs, and permissions.

4. Explore Learning Resources

• Books:
  • “Practical Malware Analysis” by Michael Sikorski.
• Online Platforms:
  • TryHackMe: Offers guided paths and certificates.
  • Hack The Box: Includes an Introduction to Malware Analysis course and tailored challenges.

5. Set Up a Virtual Lab

• Steps:
  • Use virtualization tools (VMware or VirtualBox) to create isolated environments.
  • Install both Windows and Linux VMs for analysis.
• Tools:
  • Static Analysis:
    • Hex editors, Ghidra, Binwalk, Radar2, P Studio.
  • Dynamic Analysis:
    • Process Monitor, Process Explorer, Regshot.
• Online Sandboxes:
  • Any.Run: Analyze malware and URLs safely with real-time features.
  • Key Features:
    • File event tracking.
    • Threat intelligence integration with MITRE ATT&CK.
    • Exportable reports in STIX format for sharing threat intelligence.

6. Advanced Topics

• Obfuscation and Packing:
  • Tools like Detect It Easy help identify if malware is packed or encrypted.
• Reverse Engineering:
  • Analyze CPU instructions using tools like Ghidra or Radar2.

Using Any.Run for online malware analysis

Any.Run is an interactive cloud-based malware analysis sandbox designed for dynamic behavioral analysis of suspicious files, URLs, and malicious software. Unlike traditional automated sandboxes, Any.Run allows users to interact with the analysis environment in real time, providing deeper insights into the behavior of malicious files or links.

It is widely used by cybersecurity professionals, malware analysts, and threat researchers to investigate potential threats and gather actionable intelligence.

Sign up with Any Run

Key Features of Any.Run

1. Interactive Analysis:
   • Allows users to interact with the sandbox environment, such as opening files, clicking on links, or entering credentials, to trigger specific malware behaviors.
   • Useful for analyzing threats that require user interaction to activate (e.g., phishing links or ransomware).
2. Pre-configured Environments:
   • Provides ready-to-use virtual environments running various versions of Windows.
   • Includes popular applications like Microsoft Office, web browsers, and PDF readers to emulate real-world scenarios.
3. Dynamic Behavioral Analysis:
   • Monitors and logs real-time activities of the analyzed file or URL, including:
     • Process creation.
     • File system modifications.
     • Registry changes.
     • Network communications.
4. Network Activity Insights:
   • Captures and visualizes DNS queries, HTTP/HTTPS requests, and other network traffic generated by the malicious sample.
   • Provides detailed insights into Command and Control (C2) communication or data exfiltration attempts.
5. Visualization Tools:
   • Displays a process tree to show how malware interacts with the system and spawns subprocesses.
   • Graphically represents network activity and system changes.
6. Report Generation:
   • Automatically generates detailed reports, including indicators of compromise (IOCs), screenshots, and timeline-based activity logs.
   • Reports can be downloaded in multiple formats (e.g., PDF, JSON) for further use.
7. Public and Private Submissions:
   • Public submissions allow community sharing and analysis of known threats.
   • Private submissions ensure confidentiality, ideal for sensitive or targeted threat investigations.
8. Integration with Threat Intelligence:
   • Enriches analysis results with threat intelligence data, helping users identify known malicious domains, IPs, and hashes.

How Any.Run Works

1. Upload a File or URL:
   • Submit a suspicious file (e.g., executable, document, archive) or URL for analysis.
2. Choose an Environment:
   • Select a pre-configured environment that matches the suspected attack vector (e.g., Windows 10 with Office applications).
3. Interactive Analysis:
   • Interact with the environment to simulate user actions, such as opening files, enabling macros, or clicking on links.
   • Observe how the malware behaves and attempts to exploit the environment.
4. Monitor Activities:
   • Any.Run tracks all processes, file changes, and network communications in real time.
   • Users can pause, resume, or adjust the analysis as needed.
5. Generate Reports:
   • After the analysis, review the automatically generated report with detailed logs, screenshots, and extracted artifacts.

Use Cases

1. Malware Analysis:
   • Understand how malware operates, including its persistence mechanisms, payloads, and C2 communications.
2. Phishing Link Investigation:
   • Analyze phishing websites to identify credential-stealing mechanisms or exploit delivery systems.
3. Threat Hunting:
   • Gather Indicators of Compromise (IOCs) like IP addresses, domains, or hashes for further threat hunting and mitigation.
4. Security Awareness Training:
   • Use interactive analysis to demonstrate real-world attacks to employees or students, enhancing cybersecurity awareness.
5. Incident Response:
   • Quickly investigate suspicious attachments, emails, or URLs discovered during an incident to assess their threat level.

Getting Started with Any.Run

1. Create an Account

• Sign up at the Any.Run website.
• Free and paid subscription plans are available, with paid plans offering advanced features like private submissions.

2. Submit a Sample

• Upload the suspicious file or paste a URL for analysis.
• Choose analysis settings, such as the OS version, application preferences, and whether to run the analysis interactively or automatically.

3. View Results

• Monitor the session in real time or wait for the sandbox to generate the report.
• Use the visualized process tree, network graph, and other logs to understand the threat.

4. Export Reports

• Download the analysis report for documentation or further investigation.

5. Integrate Any.Run with your security solutions.

Becoming a Certified Malware Analyst

• Certification ensures recognition of expertise and involves passing practical exams.
• Estimated Timeframe:
  • 6 months to 2 years, depending on your prior knowledge and commitment.

Conclusion

• Malware analysis is a step-by-step journey requiring a blend of technical skills and tools.
• Building foundational knowledge in cybersecurity and programming is crucial.
• Setting up a secure lab environment and using the right tools enables practical learning.

Video Walkthrough