When malware is mentioned, most people think of viruses and trojans that can cause damage on computers. However, the term “malware” covers a wider range of harmful codes, from simple viruses to complex spyware and ransomware programs. To protect against these threats, it is important to understand what malware is and how it works. This is where malware reverse engineering comes in: by understanding how malware works, strategies can be developed to set up an efficient and preventive IT defense system. Malware reverse engineering is the process of analyzing malicious code to understand its functionality and purpose.
Reverse engineering malware is challenging because malware is often intentionally made difficult to analyze. Special reverse engineering software is usually required. Attackers use cloaking mechanisms, encryption, and other tricks to make the programs more complex. In addition, malware authors often change the code to make reverse engineering more difficult.
In reverse engineering, five steps are typically followed to successfully complete the process:
Hackers often use reverse engineering to find security vulnerabilities in systems and devices or in software. In many cases, hackers obtain a copy of the program they want to attack and analyze it to bypass security features or abuse vulnerabilities. Reverse engineering is also used by hackers to create pirated copies of protected software or hardware. Sometimes cybercriminals even create improved versions of existing products with additional features or better performance. Another unethical use of reverse engineering is to create “malware clones”. These are copies of existing malware samples where the code is slightly modified to avoid detection by antivirus software. An additional use of reverse engineering malware is to create “trojanized” versions of regular software. This involves adding malicious code to official software, such as a game. The resulting trojanized program performs malicious actions when executed, such as stealing passwords or deleting files. Finally, the creation of “botnets” is a possible use of malware reverse engineering. A botnet consists of a scheme of numerous malware-infected computers controlled by an external attacker. The attacker can use the botnet to perform distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, send spam emails, or steal sensitive information.
Reverse engineering is thus an important procedure that is neither good nor bad in itself. Depending on the application, it can serve to strengthen the security of IT infrastructures.