Malware authors sometimes take deliberate steps to thwart the reverse engineering of their malware. Students will learn to combat sophisticated malware head-on by studying common obfuscation techniques and then be challenged to defeat several difficult hands-on. They will learn how to specifically combat against packing, anti-disassembly, anti-debugging and anti-virtual machine techniques. Since not all malware samples are written in plain C the students will also learn how to identify and analyze samples written in alternate programming languages. A practiced and robust skill set in Windows APIs and the Intel x86 architecture is required. Students will receive a FREE copy of the book, "Practical Malware Analysis" written by Mike Sikorski.
Beginner to intermediate malware analysts, information security professionals, forensic investigators or others requiring an understanding of how to overcome difficult challenges in malware analysis.
Students must bring their own laptop with VMware Workstation, Server or Fusion installed (VMware Player is acceptable, but not recommended). Laptops should have at least 20GB of free space.
A licensed copy of IDA Pro is highly recommended to participate in ALL labs, but the free version can be used in most cases.
Students who cannot meet the laptop requirements because of onsite registration or other reasons may contact MANDIANT at education@mandiant.com to see if a laptop can be provided for you.
Michael Sikorski is a Technical Director at Mandiant and co-author of the book "Practical Malware Analysis". His previous employers include the National Security Agency and MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Mike frequently teaches Malware Analysis to a variety of audiences including the FBI and Black Hat.
Jerrold "Jay" Smith is a Principal Consultant at Mandiant where for the past four years he has focused on malware analysis and supported the company's Federal Services work. Jay is also a contributing author to the book "Practical Malware Analysis" and has frequently taught malware analysis. Prior to joining Mandiant he worked at the National Security Agency.
