# Analyzing Malware Family Relationships With Malpedia

Query the Malpedia API to look up malware family aliases and naming...

- Repository: https://github.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills (35398 stars)
- Category: Security
- License: Apache-2.0
- Last updated: 2026-08-31
- Runs scripts: yes, review before use

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill analyzing-malware-family-relationships-with-malpedia -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill analyzing-malware-family-relationships-with-malpedia -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill analyzing-malware-family-relationships-with-malpedia -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills --skill analyzing-malware-family-relationships-with-malpedia -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills`

## Description

Query the Malpedia API to look up malware family aliases and naming (platform.family_name), pull community/vendor YARA rules, link families to threat actors, and map family relationships such as loader-payload chains and shared authorship. Use when researching a malware family's aliases, lineage, or actor attribution, or when sourcing YARA rules for detection.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Analyzing Malware Family Relationships with Malpedia

## Overview

Malpedia is a collaborative platform maintained by Fraunhofer FKIE that catalogs malware families with their aliases, YARA rules, threat actor associations, and reference reports. With over 2,600 malware families documented, it serves as the definitive resource for understanding malware lineages, tracking variant evolution, and linking malware to specific threat groups. This skill covers querying the Malpedia API, mapping malware family relationships, extracting YARA rules for detection, and building intelligence on malware ecosystems used by adversaries.


## When to Use

- When investigating security incidents that require analyzing malware family relationships with malpedia
- When building detection rules or threat hunting queries for this domain
- When SOC analysts need structured procedures for this analysis type
- When validating security monitoring coverage for related attack techniques

## Prerequisites

- Python 3.9+ with `requests`, `yara-python`, `stix2` libraries
- Malpedia API key (register at https://malpedia.caad.fkie.fraunhofer.de/)
- Understanding of malware classification and naming conventions
- Familiarity with YARA rule syntax for detection
- Access to malware samples for validation (optional)

## Key Concepts

### Malpedia Data Model

Malpedia organizes malware into Families (e.g., "win.cobalt_strike"), each containing: aliases (vendor-specific names like "Beacon", "CobaltStrike"), YARA rules (community and vendor-contributed), actor associations (threat groups using the family), reference reports (CTI reports documenting the family), and sample hashes (representative samples for each variant).

### Malware Family Naming

The rest: https://github.com/mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills/blob/HEAD/skills/analyzing-malware-family-relationships-with-malpedia/SKILL.md