Static Unpacking For The Widespread NSIS-Based Malicious Packer Family


Packers or crypters are widely used to protect malicious software from detection and static analysis. These auxiliary tools, through the use of compression and encryption algorithms, enable cybercriminals to prepare unique samples of malicious software for each campaign or even per victim, which complicates the work of antivirus software.

In the case of certain packers, classifying malicious software without employing dynamic analysis becomes a challenging task. To analyze a malicious sample and extract its configuration data, such as encryption keys and command and control server addresses, we must first unpack it. We can do this by running the malicious software in a sandbox environment, such as CAPE, followed by extracting the memory dumps. However, this method has some drawbacks.

Read more…
Source: Check Point


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Siloscape: First Known Malware Targeting Windows Containers to Compromise Cloud Environments

    June 7, 2021

    In March 2021, I uncovered the first known malware targeting Windows containers, a development that is not surprising given the massive surge in cloud adoption over the past few years. I named the malware Siloscape (sounds like silo escape) because its primary goal is to escape the container, and in Windows this is implemented mainly ...

  • Novel ‘Victory’ Backdoor Spotted in Chinese APT Campaign

    June 7, 2021

    An ongoing surveillance operation has been uncovered that targets a Southeast Asian government, researchers said – using a previously unknown espionage malware. According to Check Point Research, the attack involves spear-phishing emails with malicious Word documents to gain initial access, along with the exploitation of older, known Microsoft Office security vulnerabilities. But most notable, researchers said, ...

  • New SkinnyBoy malware used by Russian hackers to breach sensitive orgs

    June 3, 2021

    Security researchers have discovered a new piece of malware called SkinnyBoy that was used in spear-phishing campaigns attributed to Russian-speaking hacking group APT28. The threat actor, also known as Fancy Bear, Sednit, Sofacy, Strontium, or PwnStorm, used SkinnyBoy in attacks targeting military and government institutions earlier this year. SkinnyBoy is intended for an intermediary stage of the ...

  • DarkSide on Linux: Virtual Machines Targeted

    May 28, 2021

    As we discussed in our previous blog, the DarkSide ransomware is targeting organizations in manufacturing, finance, and critical infrastructures in regions such as the United States, France, Belgium, and Canada. The DarkSide ransomware targets both Windows and Linux platforms. We also noticed that the Linux variant, in particular, targets ESXI servers. In this blog, we focus ...

  • Evolution of JSWorm ransomware

    May 25, 2021

    Over the past few years, the ransomware threat landscape has been gradually changing. We have been witness to a paradigm shift. From the massive outbreaks of 2017, such as WannaCry, NotPetya, and Bad Rabbit, a lot of ransomware actors have moved to the covert but highly profitable tactic of “big-game hunting”. News of ransomware causing ...

  • Ransomware world in 2021: who, how and why

    May 12, 2021

    As the world marks the second Anti-Ransomware Day, there’s no way to deny it: ransomware has become the buzzword in the security community. And not without good reason. The threat may have been around a long time, but it’s changed. Year after year, the attackers have grown bolder, methodologies have been refined and, of course, ...