Identifying Malicious Files in a Sandbox Analysis Tool

Searching for Additional Downloads of a Malicious File

Question

A malicious file has been identified in a sandbox analysis tool.

Which piece of information is needed to search for additional downloads of this file by other hosts?

Answers

Explanations

Click on the arrows to vote for the correct answer

A. B. C. D.

D.

The correct answer is D. file hash value.

When a file is analyzed in a sandbox, the tool generates a unique identifier for the file, called a hash value. A hash value is a fixed-length string of characters that uniquely identifies the contents of a file. The hash value is generated by applying a cryptographic hash function to the contents of the file. Even a small change in the contents of the file will result in a completely different hash value.

Searching for additional downloads of a file by other hosts requires the use of the file's hash value. Since the hash value is unique to the file's contents, it can be used to identify other instances of the same file, even if they have different names, sizes, or types.

File type (A), file size (B), and file name (C) are not as useful for searching for additional downloads of a file by other hosts. File type and file size can be easily changed by attackers to evade detection, and file names are often changed to disguise the true nature of the file. However, the hash value remains the same, regardless of the file name, size, or type.

Therefore, the correct piece of information needed to search for additional downloads of a file by other hosts is the file hash value (D).