Here's What You Will Learn with GREM Certification Program: Explained

The GIAC GREM certification program is an excellent way to gain new skills and demonstrate your expertise in reverse malware analysis.

To successfully pass the GREM certification exam, a thorough understanding of incident response is key, including planning, detecting, mitigation, analyzing, and responding. The GIAC GREM certification is one of the industry's most well-known and widely-accepted certifications, which can help you better understand malware software to advance your career.

This blog post will look at what skills you will learn with the GIAC GREM certification training program. 

What is the GIAC GREM certification exam?

The GIAC Reverse Engineering Malware (GREM) certification is an industry-recognized certification that validates an individual's skills and knowledge of reverse engineering principles and techniques. The GIAC GREM certification program is designed for technologists (information technology engineers) who protect organizations from malicious code.

GIAC GREM-certified professionals are proficient in reverse-engineering malicious software that targets common platforms, such as Microsoft Windows and web browsers. They are experts in forensic investigations, incident response, and Windows system administration. With the GREM certification, you can showcase your cutting-edge malware analysis skills to your employer or customers.

In order to earn the GIAC GREM certification, you must pass a single exam that tests your skills and knowledge in the following areas:

• Analysis of malicious document files, analyzing protected executables, and analyzing web-based malware. 
• In-depth analysis of malicious browser scripts and in-depth analysis of malicious executables.
• Malware analysis using memory forensics and malware code and behavioral analysis fundamentals.
• Windows assembly code concepts for reverse-engineering and common Windows malware characteristics in assembly.

The GIAC GREM exam is a 2-3 hour online test with 66-75 multiple-choice questions. To pass the GREM certification exam, candidates must obtain a minimum passing score of 73 percent.

What you will learn 

The GIAC GREM certification provides knowledge on how to turn malware inside out. The GIAC GREM certification course explores malware analysis tools and techniques in detail. GIAC Reverse Engineering Malware (FOR610) training program has helped forensic investigators, incident responders, security engineers, and threat analysts learn practical skills to analyze malicious programs.

You must understand malware's capabilities to derive threat intelligence, respond to cybersecurity incidents, and strengthen enterprise defenses. The GREM certification course will prepare you to reverse-engineer malicious software using various network monitoring utilities, assemblers, debuggers, and other free tools.

As part of the course, you will explore the essentials of malware analysis, enabling you to go beyond automated analysis results. During this course, you will learn how to use a flexible laboratory to examine malicious software's inner workings and real-world malware samples in the lab. Additionally, you will learn how to decipher and intercept network traffic in the lab to derive additional insights. In addition to mastering dynamic code analysis techniques with a debugger, you will also learn how to analyze source code.

Your next task will be to analyze malicious Microsoft Office, RTF, and PDF document files, commonly used for mainstream and targeted attacks. The GIAC GREM certification program will also cover macros and other potential threats in such documents. You will also learn how to deobfuscate JavaScript and PowerShell scripts that contain malicious code.

The GIAC GREM (FOR610) certification training program will teach you how to:

• Set up an isolated, controlled laboratory environment to analyze malicious code and behavior.
• Using network and system monitoring tools, monitor how malware interacts with the file system, registry, network, and other processes in a Windows environment.
• Investigate and analyze malicious JavaScript and other web components that exploit kits often use to launch drive-by website attacks.
• Utilize network traffic interception and code patching to analyze malware behaviors effectively.
• Examine the inner workings of malicious Windows executables using a disassembler and a debugger.
• Bypass a variety of packers and other defensive mechanisms designed by malware authors to confuse, misdirect, and otherwise slow down analysts.
• Understand and recognize common assembly-level patterns in malicious code, such as code injection, API hooking, and anti-analysis measures.
• Evaluate the threat associated with malicious PDF and Microsoft Office documents.
• Use malicious executables to derive indicators of compromise (IOCs) for incident response and threat intelligence.

GREM certification exam syllabus

FOR610.1: Malware analysis fundamentals

• Assembling a toolkit for effective malware analysis
• Examining static properties of suspicious programs
• Performing behavioral analysis of malicious Windows executables; Performing dynamic code analysis of malicious Windows executables
• Exploring network interactions of malware in a lab for additional characteristics

FOR610.2: Reversing malicious code

• Understanding core x86 assembly concepts for malicious code analysis
• Identifying key assembly constructs with a disassembler
• Following program control flow to understand decision points
• Recognizing common malware characteristics at the Windows API level
• Extending assembly knowledge to include x64 code analysis

FOR610.3: Analyzing malicious documents

• Malicious PDF file analysis, including the analysis of suspicious websites; VBA macros in Microsoft Office documents
• Examining malicious RTF files, including the analysis of shellcode
• Making sense of XLM macros

FOR610.4: In-Depth malware analysis

• Deobfuscating malicious JavaScript
• Recognizing packed Windows malware
• Getting started with unpacking
• Using debuggers for dumping packed malware from memory, Analyzing multi-technology and "fileless" malware
• Code injection and API hooking

FOR610.5: Examining self-defending malware

• How malware detects debuggers and protects embedded data
• Unpacking malicious software that employs process hollowing
• Bypassing the attempts by malware to detect and evade analysis tools
• Handling code misdirection techniques, including SEH and TLS callbacks
• Unpacking malicious executables by anticipating the packer's actions

FOR610.6: Malware analysis tournament

• Malware analysis fundamentals
• Reversing malicious code using static and dynamic techniques
• Analyzing malicious documents
• In-depth malware analysis, including unpacking
• Examining self-defending malware

What are the prerequisites to take the GREM certification?

GIAC Reverse Engineering Malware (FOR610) candidates should:

• It is necessary to have a computer system that meets the specifications of the laptops; some software needs to be installed before students can attend class.
• Understanding Windows and Linux operating environments and troubleshooting general issues related to OS connectivity and setup.
• Understand VMware and how virtual machines are imported and configured.
• A general understanding of core programming concepts such as variables, loops, and functions will enable you to grasp relevant concepts quickly. Programming experience is not required.

Who can take the GREM exam?

The GREM certification is among the most highly regarded certifications in the security industry. With GREM certification, you can demonstrate your knowledge and skills in malware reverse engineering. On top of that, having a GREM-certified badge differentiates you from other security professionals, making you an in-demand security professional.

Here are the roles you can take with GREM:

• System and network administrators
• Auditors
• Security consultants
• Security managers
• Individuals who deal with malware incidents
• Security practitioners 
• Forensic investigators 
• Those seeking to formalize and expand their expertise in technology

The bottom line 

The GIAC GREM certification training program is one of the most valuable credentials that teaches about malicious software and how to handle it. GREM certification is intended to provide incident responders and security professionals the skills to assess the severity of an incident involving malicious software and the repercussions of the incident so that they can plan the steps necessary for recovery. 

The forensic investigator also better understands the key characteristics of malware during the examination, including the relationship between these traits and the emergence of indicators of compromise, as well as how to determine the scope and containment of the incident based on these indicators.

CBT Proxy can help you pass the GIAC GREM certification exam on your first attempt if you want to take this test. If you would like more information on how to prepare for the exam and how to get started, click on the chat button below so that one of our guides can assist you.