Question

Difficulty: MediumMalware Types and Indicators of Compromise

A security analyst is performing host and network triage following a security incident. Match each technical indicator of compromise (IoC) artifact to the correct malware classification.

  • Outbound encrypted command traffic on port 443 originating from an executable launched out of `C:\Users\Public\Downloads\` paired with active reverse RDP tunneling.Remote Access Trojan (RAT)
  • Modifications to the Master Boot Record (MBR) executed prior to OS kernel initialization, hiding underlying system process structures from API calls.Bootkit
  • An embedded SQL database trigger scheduled to automatically overwrite financial records when an employee ID is removed from the active personnel table.Logic Bomb
  • Unscheduled mass file renaming to `.locked` extensions accompanied by rapid CPU utilization spikes and symmetrical encryption key generation in memory.Ransomware

Answer

The telemetry artifacts match their malware classifications as follows: Unauthorized interactive connection and tunneling from abnormal paths corresponds to Remote Access Trojan; pre-boot environment modification and cloaking corresponds to Bootkit; event-triggered malicious database operations correspond to Logic Bomb; and automated bulk file encryption corresponds to Ransomware.
Each artifact presents unambiguous indicators of distinct malware categories: execution from user-writable directories establishing interactive tunnels points to a Remote Access Trojan; pre-kernel boot sector modifications define a Bootkit; condition-triggered malicious database logic represents a Logic Bomb; and automated mass file encryption with appended extensions defines Ransomware.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the technical indicators present in each host/network artifact.
Identified four distinct behavior profiles: interactive command tunneling, pre-OS boot sector modification, conditional database trigger, and rapid file payload encryption.
Technical indicators of compromise reveal the operational objectives and execution phases of distinct malware families.
2
Correlate each operational profile to standard malware taxonomy definitions.
Mapped interactive remote access indicators to RAT, MBR hooks to Bootkit, condition-based execution to Logic Bomb, and mass file encryption to Ransomware.
Accurate categorization enables targeted containment and eradication during incident response triage.

Key Concept

Malware Classifications and Technical Indicators of Compromise (IoC)
Rate this question