EarlyMalDetect: A Novel Approach for Early Windows Malware Detection Based on Sequences of API Calls

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Maniriho, Pascal, Mahmood, Abdun Naser, Chowdhury, Mohammad Jabed Morshed
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Maniriho, Pascal
Mahmood, Abdun Naser
Chowdhury, Mohammad Jabed Morshed
author_facet Maniriho, Pascal
Mahmood, Abdun Naser
Chowdhury, Mohammad Jabed Morshed
contents In this work, we propose EarlyMalDetect, a novel approach for early Windows malware detection based on sequences of API calls. Our approach leverages generative transformer models and attention-guided deep recurrent neural networks to accurately identify and detect patterns of malicious behaviors in the early stage of malware execution. By analyzing the sequences of API calls invoked during execution, the proposed approach can classify executable files (programs) as malware or benign by predicting their behaviors based on a few shots (initial API calls) invoked during execution. EarlyMalDetect can predict and reveal what a malware program is going to perform on the target system before it occurs, which can help to stop it before executing its malicious payload and infecting the system. Specifically, EarlyMalDetect relies on a fine-tuned transformer model based on API calls which has the potential to predict the next API call functions to be used by a malware or benign executable program. Our extensive experimental evaluations show that the proposed approach is highly effective in predicting malware behaviors and can be used as a preventive measure against zero-day threats in Windows systems.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2407_13355
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle EarlyMalDetect: A Novel Approach for Early Windows Malware Detection Based on Sequences of API Calls
Maniriho, Pascal
Mahmood, Abdun Naser
Chowdhury, Mohammad Jabed Morshed
Cryptography and Security
In this work, we propose EarlyMalDetect, a novel approach for early Windows malware detection based on sequences of API calls. Our approach leverages generative transformer models and attention-guided deep recurrent neural networks to accurately identify and detect patterns of malicious behaviors in the early stage of malware execution. By analyzing the sequences of API calls invoked during execution, the proposed approach can classify executable files (programs) as malware or benign by predicting their behaviors based on a few shots (initial API calls) invoked during execution. EarlyMalDetect can predict and reveal what a malware program is going to perform on the target system before it occurs, which can help to stop it before executing its malicious payload and infecting the system. Specifically, EarlyMalDetect relies on a fine-tuned transformer model based on API calls which has the potential to predict the next API call functions to be used by a malware or benign executable program. Our extensive experimental evaluations show that the proposed approach is highly effective in predicting malware behaviors and can be used as a preventive measure against zero-day threats in Windows systems.
title EarlyMalDetect: A Novel Approach for Early Windows Malware Detection Based on Sequences of API Calls
topic Cryptography and Security
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.13355