What are the Duties of a Malware Analyst?


Malware breaches begin in many ways. Recently, multiple fake antivirus apps in the Google Play Store were infected with malware. Earlier this year, malware deployed through satellites shut down modems in Ukraine. Destructive malware attacks have an average lifecycle of 324 days (233 days to identify and 91 days to contain), compared to the global lifecycle average of 277 days for all cyberattacks.


Malware is also costly. According to the 2022 IBM Cost of a Data Breach report, destructive malware attacks cost $5.12 million per occurrence, compared to $4.35 million per occurrence for all cybersecurity attacks. Additionally, 17% of all breaches resulted from destructive malware attacks, with ransomware causing 11% of these incidents.


Every day that malware remains on a system undetected means more damage and breached credentials. However, malware is exceptionally challenging to detect because cyber criminals design it to mimic secure code. To more quickly detect and deactivate malware, organizations are now hiring malware analysts to identify malware on their systems.


What Role Does a Malware Analyst Play?


Malware analysts, sometimes called reverse engineers, are hired by companies in the cybersecurity industry that need to ensure their products detect malware. Non-cybersecurity companies may also hire malware analysts to help reduce the risk of malware attacks.


Because of the increase in the number and cost of attacks, the demand for malware analysts is rising. While malware analyst is a relatively new position, companies increasingly realize the value of having someone focused on the latest trends and techniques of malware creators. Many malware analysts start on the cybersecurity team and move into the role as they become more specialized ..

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