Meditations on Malware: Malware Tradecraft from Development to Analysis

By Matthew Kiely

Learn malware analysis by building, detonating, and dissecting malicious software

Meditations On Malware: Malware Tradecraft from Development to Analysis teaches malware analysis through a dual offensive-defensive methodology. Written by Matthew Kiely, a cybersecurity practitioner with over 13 years of experience and creator of a malware analysis course taken by over 70,000 students, this book guides readers through building an analysis lab, setting up a malware development workstation, performing safe detonations, and applying four foundational phases of analysis to extract actionable insights from malware samples.

Readers create their own lo-fi malware samples and then use those samples as primary subjects for dissection, building methodology through hands-on experience with both sides of the process. Coverage progresses from simple programs to specialty classes such as scripted malware and shellcode, then to emulated ransomware and credential stealers.

Readers will also find: Practical guidance on safe malware handling procedures, sample detonation techniques, and building a properly configured secure analysis lab environment Step-by-step analysis of emulated ransomware and credential stealer samples built to closely resemble their real-world equivalents Techniques for identifying and analyzing scripted malware and shellcode across multiple specialty malware classes Guidance on writing concise and informative malware analysis reports

Written for IT security professionals, network defenders, penetration testers, and red team operators, this book builds a practical malware analysis methodology from the ground up. By combining malware creation with structured dissection, it equips readers to analyze unknown samples and write actionable reports.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1394395523
• ISBN13: 9781394395521
• Release Date: June 2027
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 600 Pages