For those looking to learn about and share malware samples, a site called VirusBay may be what you are looking for. VirusBay's goal is to make malware analysis more social by providing a place for researchers to upload samples, request samples, and discuss them with other researchers.

Launched in November 2017 by security researchers Ido Naor and Dani Goland, VirusBay is designed to be a social community geared around malware analysis. Naor has told Bleeping Computer that "VirusBay is designed for malware exchange and research collaboration, to interact with other researchers, share knowledge and offer co-research".

Currently VirusBay is in beta mode and new registrants require an invite to signup. After learning about the site, Naor was kind enough to supply me with an invite so I could take a look at the community Naor and Goland are building.

Since its launch, over 1,000 beta testers have signed up and a steady stream of malware samples have been uploaded and tagged by security researchers. Naor has told us that in the last two months, over 2,000 samples have been uploaded to VirusBay.

Submitted Samples

When a sample is uploaded, researchers tag them with various keywords and the sample is then added to the database, so that others members can download and discuss them. VirusBay will also check third party services to see if they have information regarding an uploaded sample, which will then be included in the sample's report. Under no circumstances are the samples submitted to or scanned by third party services, so they remain private to VirusBay.

Uploaded Sample

While there are many sites that offer malware sample sharing, the main goal of VirusBay is to offer a place for researchers to discuss the uploaded samples with their peers. These discussions range from determining related families, technical details, information on how to analyze them, or information on how the malware samples are spreading.

This allows researchers and security professionals to stay informed about new malware outbreaks and learn how to prepare for them.

Discussions created by Ido Naor

Though VirusBay still has a way to go before it becomes a full fledged community, for those who wish to get access to new malware samples and discuss them with other researchers, the site has a lot to offer.

Naor and Goland also have bigger plans for VirusBay and hope to make it available to more people through the funds being raised in their Kickstarter campaign. When asked what the Kickstarter funds would be used for, Naor told me "We have many directions. The community is constantly asking to open registration, API access and private tenants to work with. To be honest, we also want to have much more users and features. In order to meet such goals, we need hosting power and other R&D enhancements. Not a penny will be spent on things other than the platform itself".

For Bleeping Computer, VirusBay has also provided the invite code "BLEEPINGCOMPUTER" that can be used for the first 50 people who sign up.