A security analyst is investigating a suspicious file named invoice.exe that was downloaded from a phishing email. An initial scan with the company's antivirus software, which is primarily signature-based, yields no results. The analyst's primary concern is that the file could be a zero-day threat designed to alter system configurations and exfiltrate data. To determine the file's true behavior, the analyst decides to use Cuckoo Sandbox. What is the MAIN advantage of this approach in this specific scenario?
Adding the file's hash to a centrally managed blacklist.
Efficiently scanning the file for known malware signatures and patterns.
Applying heuristics to predict potential vulnerabilities in the file's code.
Observing real-time behavior and activities of the file in an isolated environment.
In this scenario, since signature-based scanning failed to detect the threat, the analyst correctly suspects a novel or obfuscated piece of malware. Cuckoo Sandbox provides the primary advantage of dynamic analysis by executing the file in a controlled, isolated environment. This allows the analyst to observe its real-time behaviors, such as attempts to modify system files or establish unauthorized network connections for data exfiltration. Static analysis (like signature scanning) is often insufficient for identifying the malicious actions of unknown threats, which is why observing the file's behavior is the crucial next step.
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