Machine learning-based malware detection for IoT devices using control-flow data

Abstract: Embedded devices are specialised devices designed for one or only a few purposes. They are often part of a larger system, through wired or wireless connection. Those embedded devices that are connected to other computers or embedded systems through the Internet are called Internet of Things (IoT for short) devices. With their widespread usage and their insufficient protection, these devices are increasingly becoming the target of malware attacks. Companies often cut corners to save manufacturing costs or misconfigure when producing these devices. This can be lack of software updates, ports left open or security defects by design. Although these devices may not be as powerful as a regular computer, their large number makes them suitable candidates for botnets. Other types of IoT devices can even cause health problems since there are even pacemakers connected to the Internet. This means, that without sufficient defence, even directed assaults are possible against people. The goal of this thesis project is to provide better security for these devices with the help of machine learning algorithms and reverse engineering tools. Specifically, I study the applicability of control-flow related data of executables for malware detection. I present a malware detection method with two phases. The first phase extracts control-flow related data using static binary analysis. The second phase classifies binary executables as either malicious or benign using a neural network model. I train the model using a dataset of malicious and benign ARM applications.