Dynamic Malware Analysis

Synonyms

Run-time malware analysis

Definition

Dynamic malware analysis is the method used for extracting and determining malware’s execution behaviors.

Background

Today, malwares have become one of the serious threats on the Internet. Analysis of such malware behavior is a critical element in conducting malware defense and mitigation efforts. There are two methods of analyzing malwares – static malware analysis and dynamic malware analysis. Static analysis requires analysis of the malware code. The malware code is usually not available for analysis and even if it is available, the malware writer often obfuscates the code, making the static analysis difficult and time-consuming task.

Theory and Application

In contrast to static analysis, dynamic malware analysis allows the malware analyst to monitor the execution of malware at each step. The malware is typically executed in a sandbox or VM for monitoring the run-time behaviors of the malware. Unlike static analysis, dynamic analysis is...