What Is Sandboxing in Cybersecurity?

Sandboxing in cybersecurity is when you run, observe and evaluate potentially dangerous code on a secure and separate network. By experimenting with code in an isolated environment, you can prevent malware from spreading and infecting other devices. As the name implies, when you interact with code in a sandbox, you keep it detached from other machines or software.

Read on to learn if sandboxing is safe and what several of its benefits are.

What does it mean to sandbox a computer?

When you sandbox a computer, you are isolating code from a production environment in order to test it before exposing it to the rest of a system or other devices. Sandboxing allows you to see what is causing code to misbehave and what impact it will have, so it’s easier to figure out what is going wrong with the code. Isolating the code when you sandbox is also helpful in making sure the rest of your device and network don’t get negatively impacted by the code if it contains malware. Typically, developers will sandbox code that they need to test before deploying it to production or isolate suspicious code from unsolicited links or attachments to investigate it. After developers study a code’s behavior, they can determine whether or not it is malicious and whether to allow it back into the production environment.

Is sandboxing safe?

When a sandbox is constructed securely, it can be safe. However, there are some risks involved in using sandboxes, including malware that may not be detected or resource limitations.

Undetectable malware

A risk of sandboxing is not knowing whether malware will actually be detected when testing. Some advanced malware recognizes when it is placed in a sandbox environment and can adjust its behavior. Other kinds of malware might stop functioning in a sandbox but can resume malicious activity once placed back into the main system. This is why sandbox testing might not always work and is, therefore, a risk to your security if you rely on it completely to detect all malware.

Resource constraints

Using a sandbox demands an abundance of computer power, memory and storage space, so not having enough resources can lessen its effectiveness. Sometimes, you may be evaluating multiple files or programs, so lacking storage, the necessary power or memory on a computer can make using a sandbox less efficient. 

Five benefits of sandboxing

There are several advantages to sandboxing, including identifying and analyzing malware, adding additional security, protecting devices against external threats, testing software effectively and eliminating zero-day threats.

1. Can identify and analyze some malware

Sandboxing is beneficial for finding and analyzing some types of malware, including viruses and ransomware. However, it is important to remember that some malware is able to recognize when it is in a sandbox and then change its behavior to evade testing. You can think of sandboxing in cybersecurity as similar to crate-training a pet – sometimes it may work really well to eliminate bad behavior by isolating your pet from the rest of the house, but other times your pet knows it cannot misbehave when it’s placed in its crate so the bad behavior only stops temporarily. Some malware acts in the same way by being aware of its surroundings and adjusting its behavior accordingly. For the malware that does not recognize it has been isolated and doesn’t change its tactics, sandboxing is a great solution for getting down to the bottom of an issue with your device.

2. Adds an extra layer of security to your network

Sandboxing can alert Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) when to block certain connections on your network, which increases its security. This can help notify you when there is a threat to your network.

3. Prevents host device from potential threats

In addition to understanding what has been harming your device, sandboxing helps protect the rest of your device from cyber threats. Some common examples of cyber threats are phishing, ransomware attacks, credential stuffing and malware infections. By isolating potentially malicious code from the rest of your system, sandboxing keeps your data and system safe. This minimizes the chances of your system getting infected with malware, suffering a data breach or other kinds of cyber attacks.

4. Helps test software before going live

When software is tested in a sandbox before going live, this helps developers know about any bugs or issues in a safe environment. Because a sandbox isolates code or software, it is beneficial to test and observe anything in a sandbox where it will not risk disrupting or destroying other systems.

5. Can eliminate zero-day threats

Sandboxing can also protect you from zero-day attacks, which occur when cybercriminals find unidentified or uncorrected software weaknesses. As the name suggests, by the time developers do become aware of the software issue, they will have zero days to fix it. Sandboxing eliminates zero-day threats because developers can test software thoroughly before releasing it, which will reduce the chances of something going unnoticed.

The bottom line

Sandboxing can be a very beneficial method for testing code within your organization. It can reduce the chances of an entire device or network becoming infected with malware, which could save private data and the functionality of your business. Sandbox your computer and make sure that your code is free from any malware in an isolated and safe environment.