Virtual machines serve as crucial tools for malware analysis, allowing analysts to safely examine malicious code. However, sophisticated malware employs various techniques to detect virtual environments, prompting the need for enhanced security measures to protect against such threats. Affected: malware analysts, cybersecurity sector
Keypoints :
- Virtual machines provide a safe environment for malware analysis.
- Modern malware can detect when it is running in a virtual machine.
- Techniques used by malware to identify virtual environments include timing attacks, registry checks, process and file monitoring, CPU instruction analysis, and sandbox detection techniques.
- Countermeasures against VM detection involve registry modifications, dynamic network simulation, custom VM configurations, and user interaction simulation.
- Maintaining strong security measures is essential for effective malware analysis in virtual machines.
MITRE Techniques :
- Timing Attacks (T1203): Malware uses performance discrepancies between physical and virtual hardware to detect virtualization.
- Registry Checks (T1012): Scans Windows registry entries for virtualization indicators, such as VMware storage interface controller.
- Process and File Monitoring (T1057): Identifies VMware-specific processes like VMwareService.exe and VMwareTray.exe.
- CPU Instruction Analysis (T1003): Leverages CPU instructions like CPUID to expose virtualized environments.
- Sandbox Detection Techniques (T1070): Employs network behavior analysis and user interaction checks to identify sandbox environments.
Indicator of Compromise :
- No IoC found
Full Story: https://medium.com/@hadir3mr/does-malware-detect-virtual-machines-8dd4c2163c8f?source=rss——cybersecurity-5