How can you safely analyze malware without compromising network security?

In my experience, Analyzing malware safely involves using isolated environments, such as virtual machines or sandboxes, to prevent its spread. Employing network segmentation and air-gapped systems can also minimize risks to your network security during analysis.

Sandboxing is perfect choice. It provides a secure and isolated space where malware can be executed and analyzed without affecting the host system or network. The primary purpose of sandboxing is to understand the behavior and functionality of malware?without the risk of compromising the security of the analyst’s machine or network. Running malware in a controlled environment, analysts can observe its actions, monitor its interactions with the system, and capture any malicious activities it might attempt.

Choosing isolated environment and actively monitoring the network and examining the event logs are the best ways according to my perspective

Analyzing a malware safely it is important to carefully choose the environment we want to analyze this malware. Here are some options: 1- Analyze in an isolated environment using a virtual machine to prevent the malware from spreading. 2- Use air-Gapped systems that have no physical or network connection to the protected infrastructure. 3- Analyzed in a segmented network that has nothing to do with the protected environment. 4- Use sandbox environments: use sandbox to test and observe the malware behaviors without affecting the protected network. 5- Use dynamic Analysis Tools: monitor the behavior of the malware in real time, observing systems calls, the modification of file systems and registry changes. 6- Practice caution at all time.

After working for 15 years in cyber security, I have found out that this requires an extremely high security and controlled environment. They should not communicate with the main system, and their Internet usage should be restricted as well. The safest way to monitor and track malware behavior is through a local network or malware simulator. Before injecting of malware, creation of system snapshot or backup is fundamental. This makes it possible for you to easily get back to the original, clean state, getting rid of any residue malware. It also ensures that a complete analysis of what the malware can do and possible impacts are carried out as it runs on the sandbox in an isolated environment without affecting the main network.

For amateurs, they usually use virtual machine to do this. So the critical part is to configure its network that completely separate from the host computer and internet outside, do not use NAT or any bridging network. Some virtual machine platform could make this safely such as VMware Fusion.

This step emphasizes the importance of configuring network settings in the malware analysis environment to prevent unwanted communication and potential data leakage. The recommendation is to use either a host-only or a NAT network mode for the virtual machine. Host-only creates a private network limited to communication between the virtual machine and the host, while NAT allows internet access through the host while masking IP addresses and ports. The suggestion to employ additional tools like firewalls, proxies, or VPNs to filter or redirect network traffic enhances control. Mentioning specific network tools like Wireshark, Fiddler, and Burp Suite provides practical options for users.

In my opinion, analyzing malware safely involves using isolated environments like virtual machines, air-gapped systems, or dedicated sandboxing tools. Employing network segmentation, firewalls, and traffic monitoring can help contain potential threats. However, it is always use up-to-date security tools and keep them isolated from your main network to prevent compromise.

As I mentioned in my number 1, I want no network connectivity at least not until I know what the malware does. I would use a standalone with a virtual machine on it to simulate a network if needed.

Analysing malware without jeopardizing network security demands meticulous preparation of analysis tools. The significance of this process can be outlined through various key aspects: - Isolation of the Analysis Environment; - Controlled Environment; - Understanding Malware Behaviour; - Detection and Identification; - Documentation and Reporting; - Real-Time Monitoring; - Safety Measures; - Enhanced Incident Response; The meticulous preparation of analysis tools is indispensable for establishing a secure and controlled environment conducive to the comprehensive study and understanding of malware. This preparedness ensures effective analysis while safeguarding the safety and integrity of the network.

This step emphasizes the importance of preparing analysis tools for examining, manipulating, or debugging malware code. The distinction between static and dynamic analysis tools based on goals and skills is noted. Static analysis tools, like IDA Pro, Ghidra, and Radare2, enable inspection of the code without execution through disassembling or decompiling. Dynamic analysis tools, such as OllyDbg, x64dbg, and Immunity Debugger, facilitate observing malware behavior during runtime through monitoring or tracing. The information provides users with a clear understanding of the tools available for different aspects of malware analysis, supporting a comprehensive approach to the analysis process.

The best way to analyze the condition with the help of your experience and tools. Once we get an idea about malware after that we apply proper strategies.

how malware works: if you investigate the code of the program and its algorithm, you will be able to stop it from infecting the whole system. characteristics of the program: improve detection by using data on malware like its family, type, version, etc. what is the goal of malware: trigger the sample's execution to check out what data it is targeted at, but of course, do it in a safe environment. who is behind the attack: get the IPs, origin, used TTPs, and other footprints that hackers hide. a plan on how to prevent this kind of attack.

This step underscores the importance of collecting malware samples for analysis from diverse sources like online repositories, honeypots, spam emails, or infected devices. The cautionary note on handling these samples highlights potential challenges such as encryption, obfuscation, or packing aimed at evading detection or analysis. Emphasizing the need to verify authenticity and integrity guards against potential issues like corruption, modification, or fake samples. The mention of reliable malware sources like VirusTotal, MalwareBazaar, and Hybrid Analysis provides users with trusted platforms to obtain samples for study. Overall, this step serves as a practical guide for safely acquiring and preparing malware samples for analysis.

It is important to know how to deal with the sMple and to extract IOCs to search for these on threat intelligence platforms and/or in our security controls I prepared to use virustotal abuse ipdb , hybrid analysis,any run and makware bazzar

Virtual machines: Run the malware in a sandbox environment, such as a virtual machine (VM), isolated from your main network and operating system. This prevents the malware from directly interacting with your system or accessing sensitive data.

This step outlines the crucial process of analyzing malware characteristics, including its type, functionality, signature, and origin. It suggests using various techniques and tools to extract and examine features and indicators such as file name, size, format, hash, strings, imports, exports, or resources. The recommendation to employ methods and tools for classifying and identifying malware by family, variant, version, or author enhances the depth of analysis. Specific techniques like PE analysis, YARA rules, and malware clustering, along with tools such as PEStudio, Cuckoo Sandbox, and Maltego, provide users with practical approaches to dissecting and understanding malware.

Adversaries are employing more sophisticated techniques to avoid traditional detection mechanisms. By providing deep behavioral analysis and by identifying shared code, malicious functionality or infrastructure, threats can be more effectively detected. In addition, an output of malware analysis is the extraction of IOCs. The IOCs may then be fed into SEIMs, threat intelligence platforms (TIPs) and security orchestration tools to aid in alerting teams to related threats in the future.

For secure malware analysis without compromising network integrity, a strategy involves network segmentation, air-gapped systems, and encrypted file transfers. Centralized logging and behavioral analysis tools ensure comprehensive monitoring within a controlled environment. Containerization minimizes host system impact, while threat intelligence integration enhances accuracy. Regular environment refreshes and ongoing user training contribute to a cybersecurity-aware culture. Legal adherence and continuous improvement uphold ethical standards. Utilizing secure communication channels for findings sharing maintains confidentiality. This approach guarantees thorough malware analysis while safeguarding network integrity.

The article says that reporting is the final step - I strongly disagree. For me reporting is a continious effort from the beginning of an analysis till the end. Document every step you did and note pitfalls or dead ends at least for your own documentation. I go over all my documentation when I am done and extract the most useful informations into an final report which could be shared. If someone would not document each step it could become really hard to compose all important details later onto an report. So don't wait with writing things down till you are done our you will miss some important details sooner or later.

before report and share finding, we have to ensure that we did any guidance from security management teams, also not instal any malware application and untrusted web

Network monitoring: Monitor your network for any suspicious activity that might indicate a malware outbreak. This allows you to detect breaches and take corrective actions quickly

I never installed any antivirus except the Windows Defender one. And my Workstation never got infected during 10 years of time.