What are the best ways to visualize packet data for malware analysis?

2 What to visualize?

Before you start visualizing packet data, you need to decide what aspects of the data are most relevant and interesting for your malware analysis goals. Depending on your scope and objectives, you may want to visualize different layers, features, or dimensions of the packet data. For example, you may want to visualize the physical layer to see the signal strength, frequency, and modulation of the wireless traffic. Or you may want to visualize the network layer to see the IP addresses, ports, and protocols of the network traffic. Or you may want to visualize the application layer to see the content, commands, and responses of the network traffic. You may also want to visualize the temporal, spatial, or relational aspects of the packet data, such as when, where, and how the traffic flows between different nodes.

3 How to visualize?

Once you have decided what to visualize, you need to choose how to visualize it. There are many types of visualizations that can be applied to packet data, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Line charts, bar charts, pie charts, scatter plots, heat maps, geo maps, and network graphs are the most common types of visualizations for packet data. Line charts are useful for identifying trends in network performance or activity. Bar charts are great for ranking, grouping, or segmenting the network traffic. Pie charts can show the percentage of network traffic by protocol or application. Scatter plots are good for finding correlations in the network traffic. Heat maps can highlight hotspots or bottlenecks in the network traffic. Geo maps can visualize the origin or destination of the network traffic. Lastly, network graphs can show the structure of the network traffic by using nodes and edges.

4 What tools to use?

Visualizing packet data requires using tools that can capture, process, and display the data in a graphical format. There are many tools available for this purpose, from simple and free to complex and expensive. Popular tools for visualizing packet data include Wireshark, Nmap, Splunk, and Maltego. Wireshark is a free and open-source tool that can capture and analyze packet data from various sources and protocols, displaying it in a tabular, hexadecimal, or tree format as well as various charts, graphs, and maps. Nmap is another free and open-source tool that can scan and map network devices and services, displaying network information in a textual, graphical, or interactive format. Splunk is a commercial and proprietary tool that can collect and analyze packet data from various sources and protocols; it displays packet data in a dashboard, report, or alert format with various visualizations such as line charts, bar charts, pie charts, scatter plots, heat maps, geo maps, and network graphs. Maltego is a commercial and proprietary tool that can visualize and investigate packet data from various sources; it displays packet data in a network graph format with various transforms such as DNS resolution or WHOIS lookup. Both Splunk and Maltego have powerful query languages with machine learning capabilities to help you extract insights from the data.

5 How to improve?

Visualizing packet data is an essential skill for malware analysis, but it can be difficult and time-consuming. To ensure that your visualization is effective and accurate, you should define your purpose and audience first. Then, select the relevant data and choose the appropriate format for displaying it. You should also use the right tools and techniques to handle and display the packet data accurately. Lastly, evaluate and refine your visualizations by checking for errors, inconsistencies, or biases. Through these best practices, you can learn how to visualize packet data for malware analysis and choose the best tools and methods for your needs.