October 2012 - Informatics

Technology UpdateDISSECTINGA MALWARE ATTACKA malware can sneakinto a system in theguise of a mailattachmentor thesystem can getinfected by simplyvisiting a maliciouswebsite. User is oftentaken off-guard whilethe malware sneaksinto the system andcompromises itsintegrity.RAJ K. RAINATechnical Directorrk.raina@nic.inEdited byMOHAN DASMalware (short formalicious Software) isthe main playerbehind most computersecurity incidents. It is a code/programthat disrupts normal computeroperation or steals information fromcomputer without user’s knowledge.Malware Analysis is one of the keydefenses employed to contain andmitigate the security incidents in cyberspace.Govt. of India has a huge IT userbase handling critical data. Theconstant malware attacks make itimperative to have a generalunderstanding of how the malwareworks. A malware cannot get into asystem by itself and can neitherexecute of its own. It always requiresa user intervention to execute itsmission. The malware attacks can bereduced/ minimized to a large extentby understanding the nature ofmalwares and this is where the“Malware Analysis” plays its role.In the event of an attack, Analysis ofMalwares provides valuableintelligence for gearing up anddeveloping signatures for the securitydevices in place. The signaturesapplied at gateways help to identifyinfected machines and to deter/stopfurther occurrences of similar attacks.And signatures updated in theenterprise security solutions arepercolated to the end-points to removethe infections.MALWARE A CAMOUFLAGEMalware disguises in packages suchas Games, Cool Animations, FAKEAnti-virus, a Pornographicimage/movie on the web. Thesepackages entice the user to unlatch theregular security of his system. Amalware can also sneak into a systemin the guise of a mail-attachment or bysimply visiting a malicious website.User is often taken off-guard while themalware sneaks into the system &compromises its integrity.MALWARE ATTACK – A CASEThe Dissection of a malware willgive you an insight into how amalware peeps into a system and stealsthe information wonderfully.This particular malware attack usedmail as the transport mechanism fortargeting users working at sensitiveplaces in NICNET. The emailappeared to be coming from a knownhigh ranking officer and containedinstructions which would tempt therecipient to open the attachment thatthe mail contained.An e-mail bearing subject“HOLIDAY BLESSINGS” wasreceived by a large number of usersOctober 2012 | informatics.nic.in | 27