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image/svg+xml Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Closed Access logo, derived from PLoS Open Access logo. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Computer Communicati...arrow_drop_down
image/svg+xml Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao Closed Access logo, derived from PLoS Open Access logo. This version with transparent background. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closed_Access_logo_transparent.svg Jakob Voss, based on art designer at PLoS, modified by Wikipedia users Nina and Beao
Computer Communications
Article . 2014 . Peer-reviewed
License: Elsevier TDM
Data sources: Crossref
DBLP
Article . 2020
Data sources: DBLP
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GMAD: Graph-based Malware Activity Detection by DNS traffic analysis

Authors: Jehyun Lee; Heejo Lee;

GMAD: Graph-based Malware Activity Detection by DNS traffic analysis

Abstract

Malicious activities on the Internet are one of the most dangerous threats to Internet users and organizations. Malicious software controlled remotely is addressed as one of the most critical methods for executing the malicious activities. Since blocking domain names for command and control (C&C) of the malwares by analyzing their Domain Name System (DNS) activities has been the most effective and practical countermeasure, attackers attempt to hide their malwares by adopting several evasion techniques, such as client sub-grouping and domain flux on DNS activities. A common feature of the recently developed evasion techniques is the utilization of multiple domain names for render malware DNS activities temporally and spatially more complex. In contrast to analyzing the DNS activities for a single domain name, detecting the malicious DNS activities for multiple domain names is not a simple task. The DNS activities of malware that uses multiple domain names, termed multi-domain malware, are sparser and less synchronized with respect to space and time. In this paper, we introduce a malware activity detection mechanism, GMAD: Graph-based Malware Activity Detection that utilizes a sequence of DNS queries in order to achieve robustness against evasion techniques. GMAD uses a graph termed Domain Name Travel Graph which expresses DNS query sequences to detect infected clients and malicious domain names. In addition to detecting malware C&C domain names, GMAD detects malicious DNS activities such as blacklist checking and fake DNS querying. To detect malicious domain names utilized to malware activities, GMAD applies domain name clustering using the graph structure and determines malicious clusters by referring to public blacklists. Through experiments with four sets of DNS traffic captured in two ISP networks in the U.S. and South Korea, we show that GMAD detected thousands of malicious domain names that had neither been blacklisted nor detected through group activity of DNS clients. In a detection accuracy evaluation, GMAD showed an accuracy rate higher than 99% on average, with a higher than 90% precision and lower than 0.5% false positive rate. It is shown that the proposed method is effective for detecting multi-domain malware activities irrespective of evasion techniques.

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
42
Top 10%
Top 10%
Top 10%
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