Backscatter: Automated Configuration Extraction

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Executive Summary

Backscatter is a tool developed by the Mandiant FLARE team that aims to automatically extract malware configurations. It relies on static signatures and emulation to extract this information without dynamic execution, bypassing anti-analysis logic present in many modern families. This complements dynamic analysis, providing faster threat identification and high-confidence malware family attribution. Google SecOps reverse engineers ensure precise indicators of compromise (IOC) extraction, empowering security teams with actionable threat intelligence to proactively neutralize attacks.

Overview

The ability to quickly detect and respond to threats has a significant impact on potential outcomes. Indicators of compromise (IOCs) serve as crucial breadcrumbs, allowing cybersecurity teams to identify and mitigate potential attacks while expanding their search for related activity. VirusTotal’s existing suite of tools to analyze and understand malware IOCs, and thus the Google Threat Intelligence platform by extension, is further enhanced with Backscatter.

VirusTotal has traditionally utilized dynamic analysis methods, like sandboxes, to observe malware behavior and capture IOCs. However, these methods can be time-consuming and may not yield actionable data if the malware employs anti-analysis techniques. Backscatter, a service developed by the Mandiant FLARE team, complements these methods by offering a static analysis capability that directly examines malware without executing it, leading to faster and more efficient IOC collection and high-confidence malware family identification. Additionally, Backscatter is capable of analyzing sandbox artifacts, including memory dumps, to improve support for packed and obfuscated malware that does successfully execute in dynamic environments.

Within the Google Threat Intelligence platform, Backscatter shines by identifying c

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