PART 7: Software Narratology

Malnarratives

A malnarrative is an intentionally modified narrative for malicious purposes. This word comes from the so-called malware narratives²⁸ and their patterns. Malware narratives are just software traces and logs (for example, system logs and network traces²⁹) that contain diagnostic indicators (signs) pointing to possible or actual malware presence and execution. Therefore, malware narrative analysis patterns are based on general software trace and log analysis patterns³⁰ as a part of pattern-oriented software diagnostics³¹ and forensics³². Whereas, malware narratives result from planned alteration of structure and behaviour of software to serve malicious purposes with resulting narratives incidentally revealing malware, malnarratives are planned alterations of narratives themselves. Because software narratives are based on software narratology³³ (which is an application of general narratology) the extensive trace and log analysis pattern catalogue³⁴ (more than 90 patterns at the time of this writing) can be used to analyse and detect such patterns in non-software narratives. For example, it can be used for analysis of cyberspace narratives such as social media narratives (Facebook, Twitter³⁵, and LinkedIn) and even traditional media narratives such as news, stories, and books. Such pattern-oriented analysis of malnarratives can be used not only in security but also in intelligence analysis³⁶ and information operations (IO), for example, in information warfare (IW).

²⁸ Malware Narratives: An Introduction (ISBN: 978-1908043481)

²⁹ Pattern-Oriented Network Trace Analysis (ISBN: 978-1908043580)

³⁰ Software Trace and Memory Dump Analysis: Patterns, Tools, Processes and Best Practices (ISBN: 978-1908043238)

³¹ Software Diagnostics: The Collected Seminars (ISBN: 978-1908043641)

³² Pattern-Oriented Software Forensics: A Foundation of Memory Forensics and Forensics of Things (ISBN: 978-1908043696)

³³ Software Narratology: An Introduction to the Applied Science of Software Stories (ISBN: 978-1908043078)

³⁴ Software Diagnostics Institute: www.TraceAnalysis.org

³⁵ The Structure of Twitter Narrative: Applied Patterns from Software Narratology and Human-Computer Narratives (ISBN: 978-1908043610)

³⁶ Memory Dump Analysis Anthology, Volume 6 (ISBN: 978-1908043191) p. 289.