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May 31, 2026Electronics0 citationsOpen Access

An Agent-Based Model of a Controlled Detonation System for Sandbox Analysis of Suspicious Software

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YIYevheniia IvanchenkoMKM. KarpińskiMRMykola Ryzhakov

Key Points

  • The study aims to enhance sandbox analysis of suspicious software by integrating an AI operator for adaptive interactions.
  • Developed an agent-based model for dynamic sandbox analysis of suspicious software.
  • Utilized a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP) for the controlled detonation process.
  • Evaluated the proposed model using 180 malware samples from three threat classes in a controlled emulation setting.
  • The new model achieved higher activity rates compared to passive and fixed scripted baselines.
  • Demonstrated shorter time-to-reveal for malware threats.
  • Results indicate the potential of adaptive interactions within sandbox environments.

Abstract

In this paper, we present an agent-based model of a controlled detonation system for dynamic sandbox analysis of suspicious software. Instead of treating the sandbox as a passive observer, the model places an AI operator inside the analysis loop and allows it to perform adaptive GUI interactions in a plausible, isolated execution environment. The controlled detonation process is formulated as a partially observable Markov decision process (POMDP), while the proposed proof-of-concept architecture combines initial profiling, VM preparation, multi-layer telemetry, and an RL policy with visual perception and temporal memory. Evaluation in a controlled emulation setting on 180 malware samples from three threat classes shows higher Activity Rates and Coverage, and shorter Time-to-Reveal than passive and fixed scripted baselines. These results support the feasibility of adaptive interactions as a promising direction for sandbox analysis, while broader external validation, matched comparisons with prior systems, and component-wise ablation remain future work.

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Cite This Study

Ivanchenko et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a1bd2515783ba022b6fdbf3https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics15112348
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