Capture and analyze network traffic using Wireshark and tshark to reconstruct network events, extract artifacts, and identify malicious communications.
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Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
node --versionperforming-network-forensics-with-wiresharkExecute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
Fetches performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark from mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills and configures it for Cursor.
The CLI shows a list of agents. Use arrow keys and space to select Cursor:
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
Restart Cursor to activate performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark. Access via /performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark in your agent's command palette.
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
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| name | performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark |
| description | Capture and analyze network traffic using Wireshark and tshark to reconstruct network events, extract artifacts, and identify malicious communications. |
| domain | cybersecurity |
| subdomain | digital-forensics |
| tags | - forensics - network-forensics - wireshark - pcap - packet-analysis - traffic-analysis |
| version | '1.0' |
| author | mahipal |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| nist_csf | - RS.AN-01 - RS.AN-03 - DE.AE-02 - RS.MA-01 |
# Install Wireshark and tshark
sudo apt-get install wireshark tshark
# Verify the PCAP file
capinfos /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap
# Output includes: file type, packet count, capture duration, data size
# Example output:
# File name: capture.pcap
# File type: Wireshark/tcpdump/... - pcap
# Number of packets: 1,245,678
# File size: 856 MB
# Data size: 823 MB
# Capture duration: 3600.123456 seconds
# First packet time: 2024-01-15 14:00:00.000000
# Last packet time: 2024-01-15 15:00:00.123456
# Hash the PCAP for integrity
sha256sum /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
> /cases/case-2024-001/network/pcap_hash.txt
# Get a protocol hierarchy statistics overview
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap -q -z io,phs
# Extract conversation statistics
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap -q -z conv,tcp
# Find top talkers by bytes transferred
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap -q -z endpoints,ip \
| sort -t$'\t' -k3 -rn | head -20
# Filter for DNS queries (potential C2 or exfiltration)
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "dns.qr == 0" \
-T fields -e frame.time -e ip.src -e dns.qry.name \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/dns_queries.txt
# Find DNS queries to unusual TLDs or long domain names (DNS tunneling)
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "dns.qr == 0 && dns.qry.name matches \"[a-z0-9]{30,}\"" \
-T fields -e frame.time -e ip.src -e dns.qry.name \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/suspicious_dns.txt
# Filter HTTP traffic
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "http.request" \
-T fields -e frame.time -e ip.src -e ip.dst -e http.request.method \
-e http.host -e http.request.uri -e http.user_agent \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/http_requests.txt
# Find connections to known malicious ports
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "tcp.dstport == 4444 || tcp.dstport == 8080 || tcp.dstport == 1337 || tcp.dstport == 6667" \
-T fields -e frame.time -e ip.src -e ip.dst -e tcp.dstport \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/suspicious_ports.txt
# Detect beaconing patterns (regular interval connections)
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "ip.dst == 185.0.0.1" \
-T fields -e frame.time_epoch \
> /tmp/beacon_times.txt
# Export HTTP objects (files transferred over HTTP)
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
--export-objects http,/cases/case-2024-001/analysis/http_objects/
# Export SMB objects
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
--export-objects smb,/cases/case-2024-001/analysis/smb_objects/
# Export DICOM objects (medical imaging)
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
--export-objects dicom,/cases/case-2024-001/analysis/dicom_objects/
# Export FTP data transfers
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "ftp-data" \
-T fields -e ftp-data.data \
--export-objects ftp-data,/cases/case-2024-001/analysis/ftp_objects/
# Hash all extracted objects
find /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/http_objects/ -type f -exec sha256sum {} \; \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/extracted_file_hashes.txt
# Check extracted file hashes against VirusTotal
while read hash filepath; do
echo "Checking $filepath ($hash)"
curl -s "https://www.virustotal.com/api/v3/files/$hash" \
-H "x-apikey: YOUR_API_KEY" | python3 -c "
import json,sys
data=json.load(sys.stdin)
if 'data' in data:
stats=data['data']['attributes']['last_analysis_stats']
print(f' Malicious: {stats[\"malicious\"]}, Undetected: {stats[\"undetected\"]}')
else:
print(' Not found on VT')
"
done < /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/extracted_file_hashes.txt
# Follow a specific TCP stream (stream index 42)
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-q -z "follow,tcp,ascii,42" \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/stream_42.txt
# Extract all HTTP request-response pairs for a suspicious host
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "http && ip.addr == 185.0.0.1" \
-T fields -e frame.time -e http.request.method -e http.host \
-e http.request.uri -e http.response.code -e http.content_length \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/suspicious_http.txt
# Extract TLS/SSL certificate information
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "tls.handshake.type == 11" \
-T fields -e ip.dst -e tls.handshake.certificate \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/tls_certs.txt
# Extract TLS SNI (Server Name Indication) values
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "tls.handshake.extensions_server_name" \
-T fields -e frame.time -e ip.src -e ip.dst \
-e tls.handshake.extensions_server_name \
> /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/tls_sni.txt
# Extract credentials from unencrypted protocols
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "ftp.request.command == \"USER\" || ftp.request.command == \"PASS\"" \
-T fields -e frame.time -e ip.src -e ftp.request.command -e ftp.request.arg
tshark -r /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap \
-Y "http.authorization" \
-T fields -e frame.time -e ip.src -e http.host -e http.authorization
# Install NetworkMiner (Mono required on Linux)
sudo apt-get install mono-complete
wget https://www.netresec.com/?download=NetworkMiner -O NetworkMiner.zip
unzip NetworkMiner.zip -d /opt/NetworkMiner/
# Run NetworkMiner
mono /opt/NetworkMiner/NetworkMiner.exe /cases/case-2024-001/network/capture.pcap
# NetworkMiner automatically extracts:
# - Host inventory (OS fingerprinting, open ports)
# - Files transferred over HTTP, FTP, SMB, TFTP
# - Images from web traffic
# - Credentials (plaintext and NTLM hashes)
# - DNS records
# - Session parameters
# - Anomalies and alerts
# Compile findings
cat << 'EOF' > /cases/case-2024-001/analysis/network_forensics_report.txt
NETWORK FORENSICS ANALYSIS REPORT
===================================
Case: 2024-001
Capture File: capture.pcap (856 MB, 1,245,678 packets)
Capture Period: 2024-01-15 14:00 to 15:00 UTC
Analyst: [Examiner Name]
TRAFFIC OVERVIEW:
Total packets: 1,245,678
Unique source IPs: 45
Unique destination IPs: 234
Protocols: TCP (78%), UDP (18%), ICMP (2%), Other (2%)
C2 COMMUNICATION:
Destination: 185.0.0.1:443
Beaconing interval: ~60 seconds
Total connections: 58
Data transferred: 4.2 MB outbound, 12.3 MB inbound
TLS SNI: update-service.malware-c2.com
EXFILTRATION:
Method: HTTPS POST to 185.0.0.1
Volume: 4.2 MB over 45 minutes
Files: 3 ZIP archives extracted from HTTP objects
DNS TUNNELING:
Suspicious queries to: data.evil-dns.com
Average subdomain length: 45 characters
Query count: 1,234 (normal baseline: 50)
EOF
| Concept | Description |
|---|---|
| PCAP/PCAPNG | Packet capture file formats storing raw network traffic |
| TCP stream | Complete bidirectional communication between two endpoints |
| Deep packet inspection | Analysis of packet payload content beyond header information |
| Beaconing | Regular-interval callbacks from malware to C2 servers |
| DNS tunneling | Encoding data within DNS queries for covert exfiltration |
| TLS/SNI | Server Name Indication revealing the target hostname in encrypted connections |
| Network flow | Summary of communication between endpoints (IPs, ports, bytes, duration) |
| Protocol hierarchy | Statistical breakdown of protocols present in a capture |
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Wireshark | GUI-based packet analyzer with deep protocol dissection |
| tshark | Command-line version of Wireshark for scripted analysis |
| NetworkMiner | Automated network forensic analysis and file extraction |
| tcpdump | Command-line packet capture utility |
| zeek (Bro) | Network security monitor generating structured connection logs |
| ngrep | Network grep for pattern matching in packet content |
| capinfos | PCAP file statistics and metadata utility |
| mergecap | Merge multiple PCAP files into a single capture |
Scenario 1: Malware C2 Communication Analysis Load PCAP in Wireshark, identify beaconing patterns to external IPs, examine TLS certificates for self-signed or unusual issuers, extract HTTP POST data containing encoded commands, correlate C2 IPs with threat intelligence feeds.
Scenario 2: Data Exfiltration Detection Analyze traffic statistics for unusually large outbound transfers, examine DNS query lengths for DNS tunneling indicators, track FTP and HTTP file uploads to external servers, reconstruct exfiltrated files from packet data.
Scenario 3: Lateral Movement in Enterprise Network Filter for SMB, RDP, WMI, and PSExec traffic between internal hosts, identify credential usage patterns across multiple systems, trace the propagation path of the attacker through the network, correlate with Windows Event Log authentication events.
Scenario 4: Web Application Attack Reconstruction Filter HTTP traffic to the web server, identify SQL injection, XSS, and directory traversal attempts, follow the TCP stream of the successful exploit, extract uploaded webshells or payloads, document the attack chain for the incident report.
Network Forensics Summary:
Capture: capture.pcap
Duration: 1 hour (14:00-15:00 UTC, 2024-01-15)
Packets: 1,245,678 | Size: 856 MB
Top Suspicious Connections:
192.168.1.50 -> 185.0.0.1:443 (C2, 58 connections, 4.2MB out)
192.168.1.50 -> 10.0.0.25:445 (SMB lateral movement)
192.168.1.50 -> 10.0.0.30:3389 (RDP lateral movement)
Extracted Artifacts:
Files: 23 (3 malicious per VT)
Credentials: 2 plaintext FTP logins
DNS Queries: 1,234 suspicious (possible tunneling)
TLS Certs: 5 self-signed certificates
IOCs Identified:
IPs: 185.0.0.1, 203.0.113.50
Domains: update-service.malware-c2.com, data.evil-dns.com
Hashes: 3 file hashes flagged as malware
Prerequisites
Time Estimate
15-45 minutes depending on use case complexity
Steps
Common Pitfalls
✓ Do
✗ Don't
💡 Pro Tips
✓ Use when
Use when skill capabilities match your task, clear ROI on time saved, and you can validate outputs. Best for repetitive tasks, learning, and quality improvement.
✗ Avoid when
Avoid when task requires deep expertise you can't validate, involves sensitive decisions, or when learning process is more valuable than speed of completion.
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
mukul975/Anthropic-Cybersecurity-Skills
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.
performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.
Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.
I recommend performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.
performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark reduced setup friction for our internal harness; good balance of opinion and flexibility.
Keeps context tight: performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.
Registry listing for performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.
We added performing-network-forensics-with-wireshark from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.
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