Rootkits – The Most Obstinate Malware So Far

The increasingly sophisticated 'Rootkit' can easily compromise systems armed with spam, malware or Trojan protection software, say security experts.

Rootkits are typically mentioned as malware, however in reality they're a set of various technologies, which can either, be destructive or constructive. rootkits cloak the files & process of Trojans, botnets, and hacker backdoors by modifying common OS routines' output. By doing this they help in concealing the presence of these malevolent programs of user machines. Generally speaking, the sole purpose of a rootkit is to conceal all of the computing resources such as network connections, files, registries etc being used by a program. A columnist provided this information on Norwichbulletin on 26 March 2007.

Execution of everything the user tries to run on his system becomes very slow, if a hacker attempts to employ rootkits for concealing his attack on the machine of the user.

Rootkits are perhaps the most powerful weapon in the hands of hackers today. They are highly sophisticated and even rootkit revealers, spam, and virus protection software fail to combat them. Jeff McGeorge, Director with Markets-Alert - security firm, said this in a statement that Computerworld published on 30 March 2007.

Hackers are dynamically inserting rootkits on the fly, which implies that they are able to sit invisibly on the source code of a web page with the help of the cloaking function in Windows. It can then be downloaded on user's machine without even letting him/her know, as per McGeorge.

Use of rootkits will increase in highly targeted attacks wherein scammers will source, such as the OS of a CFO and typical applications used by them, and then discover a specific weakness allowing a Rootkits's insertion. Turner said this in news that Computerworld published on 30 March 2007.

The 4 main categories of rootkits include Persistent, User-mode, Kernel-mode, and Memory based Rootkits. The most critical of these is present in the un-patched vulnerabilities in common applications, as per Chris Gatford, Senior Security Analyst with Pure Hacking - the penetration testing company.

Related article: Rootkits Can Be Detected And Eradicated

» SPAMfighter News - 4/6/2007