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Castigation of Ransomware and Malware: Malware Analysis for Cyber Security

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Castigation of Ransomware and Malware: Malware Analysis for Cyber Security GIT-Journal of Engineering and Technology (Twelfth Volume, 2020, ISSN 2249 – 6157) Castigation of Ransomware and Malware: Malware Analysis for Cyber Security Nisha Patela* aAssistant Professor, Gandhinagar Institute of Technology, Motibhoyan, Gandhinagar, India Abstract As this is the technocrat era of cyber attacks, we all are having fear of losing whether it may be information or our own cyber privacy or resources. During a castigation that the castigator is, in their own misguided way, trying to make you a better person. In the context of this meaning the castigation of hackers and crackers are meant by itself the attack defensive techniques by their exploration times or its execution times. This paper depicts the brief concepts of malware and ransomware attacks and malware analysis process along with the malware Stuxnet in appendix of a paper which is a computer worm that was discovered in June 2010. It was designed to attack industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Stuxnet has gained a lot of attention from malware researchers and media in the last year. Keywords: Malware Analysis, Malware attack, Ransomware attack, Botnet, Vulnerability 1. Introduction Malware — a term used for viruses, Trojans, spywares or any malicious code — is widespread today. Malware (for "malicious software") is any program or file that is harmful to a computer user. Ransomware is a type of malware which restricts access to the computer system that it infects, and demands a ransom paid to the creator(s) of the malware in order for the restriction to be removed. Some forms of ransomware encrypt files on the system's hard drive (cryptoviral extortion, a threat originally envisioned by Adam Young and Moti Yung), while some may simply lock the system and display messages intended to coax the user into paying. 1.1 Malware Life Cycle In order to effectively analyze malware we first need to have a basic understanding of the types of malware and the typical life cycle of it. Below in this page, the most typical parts of the cycle are described. However, the life cycle may vary greatly depending on a number of circumstances, such as type of malware, author, environment and many more [1]. Since our last Security Threat Report, malware and related IT security threats have grown and matured, and the developers and publishers of malicious code and websites have become far more creative in camouflaging their work. In 2013, botnet and exploit kit innovations that were once restricted to the cutting edge have proliferated, as new malware authors learn from the experiences and released source code of their predecessors. Cybercriminals have become more adept at eluding identification, relying more heavily on cryptography and increasingly placing their servers in the darknet—closed, anonymous areas of the Internet designed to resist surveillance [3]. 1.2 Security Insights across four key areas Trust All organizations should be concerned about finding the right balance of trust, transparency, and privacy because much is at stake. In this area, we address three pressures that make security practitioners’ attempts to help their organizations achieve this balance even more challenging: • Greater attack surface area. • Proliferation and sophistication of the attack model. • Complexity of threats and solutions [4]. Threat Intelligence Using the largest set of detection telemetry available, Cisco and Sourcefire together have analyzed and assembled security insights from the past year: ________________________________ *Nisha Patel Email address: [email protected] 1 GIT-Journal of Engineering and Technology (Twelfth Volume, 2020, ISSN 2249 – 6157) • Attacks against infrastructure are targeting significant resources across the Internet. • Malicious actors are using trusted applications to exploit gaps in perimeter security. • Indicators of compromise suggest that network penetrations may be undetected over long periods [4]. Industry In this section, Cisco Security Intelligence Operations (SIO) investigators elevate the discussion around industry trends that extend beyond Cisco’s telemetry, yet still affect security practices—from brute-force login attempts, large-scale DDoS activity, and ransomware efforts to the growing reliance on the cloud, lack of security talent, and other concerns [4]. Recommendations Organizations are facing a greater attack surface, the growing proliferation and sophistication of attack models, and increasing complexity within the network. Many are struggling to solidify a security vision supported by an effective strategy that uses new technologies, simplifies their architecture and operations, and strengthens their security teams. This section covers how a threat-centric security model enables defenders to address the full attack continuum, across all attack vectors, and to respond at any time, all the time, in a continuous fashion—before, during, and after an attack [4]. 1.3 Infection Technique through a dropper written as a Java Applet This commonly involves a “malicious” and volatile routine, a dropper that usually doesn’t stay resident in the target system. This may be in the form of a JavaScript, Java Applet, and Flash Animation, a weaponized document, media file or any other temporary routine executed in the target computer. The most common routine is as simple as; download and execute in the context of the current user, and this routine is not very malicious per se. Below is an example of a dropper written as a Java Applet for Facebook Apps that I reverse engineered some years ago [1]: Fig. 1. Example of a dropper written as a Java Applet for Facebook Apps [1]. As you can see, it’s quite simple really. It just downloads another program and executes it, nothing more. The URL gives us a hint that this is just one of many attack campaigns as this sample is sorting us in into our own directory. The real name of the organization has been exchanged for the string “some-target-org” [1]. WARNING! The link in the code listing above did supply live malware a while ago. Do not visit this link other from a dedicated analysis station. Malware providing sites like these tend to come and go before the eventually die [1]. 2 GIT-Journal of Engineering and Technology (Twelfth Volume, 2020, ISSN 2249 – 6157) 2. The Malware Analysis Process We can define “Malware Analysis” to encompass how organizations confirm, analyze, and then address malware infections. This is important because anti-malware defenses are clearly insufficient, and far too much malware makes it through. When you get infected, you initiate a process to figure out what happened. First you need to figure out what the attack is, how it works, how to stop or work around it, and how far it has spread within your organization. That’s all before you can even think about fixing anything. So let’s jump in with both feet [2]. Modern malware is all about stealth. Advanced persistent threats (APTs), one of the most vicious examples of a stealth threat precisely target individuals, businesses, governments and their data. APTs are a sophisticated weapon to carry out targeted missions in cyber space. Data leaks—including espionage and exposure of corporate data—were a primary theme this past year. Reflecting on the security and threat landscape of 2013, one trend that stands out is the growing ability of malware authors to camouflage their attacks. Widespread dissemination of advanced botnet and exploit kit source code allows more malware authors to create innovative and diverse new attacks [3]. Fig. 2. The Malware Analysis Process [2]. The process is broken up into 11 separate phases across three subprocesses: Confirm Infection This process typically starts when the help desk gets a call. How can they confirm a device has been infected? 1. Notification: The process can start in a number of ways, including a help desk call, an alert from a third party (such as a payment processor or law enforcement), or an endpoint suite alert. However it starts you need to figure out whether it’s a real issue [2]. 2. Quarantine: The initial goal is to contain the damage, so the first step is typically to remove the device from the network to prevent it from replicating or pivoting (jumping to another device on your network) [2]. 3. Triage: With the device off the net you have a chance to figure out how sick it is. This involves all sorts of quick and dirty analysis to figure out whether it’s a serious problem – exactly what it is can wait [2]. 4. Confirm: At this point you should have enough information to know whether the device is infected and by what. Now you have to decide what to do next [2]. Analyze Malware At this point you know there is an infection but not what it is. The next step is to analyze the malware to figure out what it does and how, and communicate that information through a detailed profile [2]. 3 GIT-Journal of Engineering and Technology (Twelfth Volume, 2020, ISSN 2249 – 6157) 3. Analyze Malware Subprocess By now you know there is an infection but probably not what it is. Is it just an annoyance, or is it stealing key data and posing a clear and present danger to the organization? Here are some typical malware analysis steps for building a detailed profile [2]. 1. Build Testbed It’s rarely a good idea to analyze malware on production devices connected to production networks. So your first step is to build a testbed to analyze what you found. This is mostly a one-time effort, but you will always be adding to the testbed based on the evolution of your attack surface [2]. 2. Static Analysis The first actual analysis step is static analysis of the malware file to identify things like packers, compile dates, and functions used by the program [2]. 3. Dynamic Analysis There are three aspects of what we call Dynamic Analysis: device analysis, network analysis, and proliferation analysis.
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