Malware Triage

Analyze suspicious samples safely and extract actionable indicators fast.

Safety First

• Isolated VM or dedicated sandbox (Cuckoo/ANY.RUN/vendor sandbox), network simulated or sinkholed
• Samples stored in password-protected archives, hash-named; never opened on analysis-adjacent hosts
• Work from snapshots; revert after every detonation

1. Static Triage

• Hashes (MD5/SHA256), file type, entropy (file, pestudio-style overview)
• Strings: URLs, mutexes, registry paths, PDB paths, C2 patterns
• PE specifics: imports of interest (network, process injection, crypto APIs), digital signature validity, packer detection (entropy + section names)
• Document metadata (Office macros, embedded objects, remote templates)

2. Dynamic Detonation

• Execute in sandbox with monitoring: file, registry, network, process activity
• Capture: dropped files, persistence mechanism, C2 beacons (domains/IPs with ports/protocols)
• Trigger-dependent malware: require user interaction simulation, geo/fate checks, or debugger awareness — escalate to debugging if silent

3. Behavior Extraction

• Persistence: Run keys, services, scheduled tasks, WMI subscriptions
• Injection: process hollowing, APC, SetWindowsHookEx targets
• Exfiltration: DNS tunneling patterns, HTTP POST shapes, known protocol beacons
• Defense evasion: AV service stops, AMSI/ETW patching, timestamp manipulation

4. Classification and Reporting

• Family attribution via YARA rules against sample set; note confidence
• Map observed behavior to ATT&CK techniques
• Produce: IOCs (machine-readable, STIX if required), detection guidance (YARA + behavioral), and a one-page triage summary

Escalation Criteria

Deep-dive reversing (IDA/Ghidra) only when: C2 protocol reconstruction, config extraction, or unpacking is required for detection/response — not for curiosity.