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I was recently asked in an interview to talk about some types of malware that currently exist and what their methodology is. I spoke about the most obvious piece, Stuxnet, and it didn't really help my chances. I can talk all day about the different types of attacks and even some of the recent targets like Evernote, DOJ and some others but I struggled to think up a good answer in which I could give great detail about the malware used.

How would you have approached this interview question and what are some pieces of malware you would have liked to talk about?

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What's your background? What understanding do you have of malware? Who is your audience? Do you want a general overview of what malware does or specific examples of how it does it? Any particular type? Sorry need to clarify a little – Peleus Mar 18 at 4:26
Fair enough. I have a basic understanding of malware analysis. To learn more about the process I've setup a sandbox to perform a behavior analysis of the malware. I compared before and after registry and process information along with basic manipulation to further review the malware intention. I have a full understanding of protocols, TCP 3-way, and packet analysis. I've passed the CISSP, Sec+ and SSCP. The job was for an intrusion detection analyst position. – user22098 Mar 18 at 4:35
Hi @user22098 - closing this as the question you are asking isn't actually a security one but one on interview technique. – Rory Alsop♦ Mar 18 at 7:21

closed as off topic by Rory Alsop♦ Mar 18 at 7:19

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It is difficult to give an answer to the question that everybody will like because new samples of malwares keep coming up everyday. Even if you are a malware analyst you can not be aware of everything that is happening out there.

I think you did well by mentioning stuxnet. One way that I can think of answering this question is

  • Tell them about some malware samples that have been in the news recently. (Keep yourself updated)
  • Then explain the interviewer how you keep yourself updated about the new emerging threats. Mention the names of some of the forums and journals that you might be referring.
  • Offensive Computing is a very good repository of malware samples.
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