What is RootkitA rootkit is a software program, typically malicious, that provides privileged, root-level (i.e., administrative) access to a computer while concealing its presence on that machine. Simply put, it is a nasty type of malware that can severely impact your PC’s performance and also put your personal data at risk. Show
Once installed, a rootkit typically boots at the same time as the computer’s operating system, or after the boot process begins. There are, however, rootkits that can boot up before the target operating system, making them very difficult to detect. Potential consequences of a rootkit include:
Rootkit injectionThere are a number of ways that a rootkit can stealthily be installed on your system. These include: PiggybackingUsers can unknowingly install rootkits that have been bundled with apparently trustworthy software. When the administrator gives permission to install the software, the rootkit also silently installs on the computer. In 2005, Sony secretly bundled a rootkit with its Extended Copy Protection software, which came with millions of Sony CDs. The rootkit modified host operating systems and tried to prevent users from making copies of CDs. However, hackers were able to exploit vulnerabilities in Sony’s rootkit to gain malicious access to the affected systems. Blended threatA rootkit cannot infect target computers on its own. In order to spread a rootkit, attackers form a blended threat to exploit several different vulnerabilities and infiltrate a system. This is achieved by combining the rootkit with two other components—a dropper, and a loader. Dropper – A dropper is a program or a file used to install a rootkit on a target computer. Droppers can be distributed in a number of ways, including through social engineering or a brute force attack, in which a perpetrator uses a program to repeatedly guess a system’s root username and password. Loader – A loader is malicious code that launches after a user initiates the dropper program, either by opening or executing a file. The loader exploits vulnerabilities to ensure the rootkit loads together with the target system. For example, a kernel-level rootkit might use a loader that exploits a Linux vulnerability to replace operating system code with a rewritten Loadable Kernel Module. Example of a two-stage kernel rootkit injection Rootkit typesThere are a number of types of rootkits that can be installed on a target system. Some examples include:
Anti-rootkit measuresProtecting your systems from rootkits is a two-pronged process involving scanning for existing malware and preventing the installation of new programs. Rootkit scannersScanners are programs designed to parse a system in order to weed out active rootkits. While scanners can help detect and remove application-layer rootkits, they’re typically ineffective against those operating at the kernel, boot or firmware level. Scanners that can search for malicious code at the kernel level can only run when the rootkit is inactive. This means that a system has to be booted in safe mode with system processes stopped in order to be effective. It’s because of these limitation that security experts recommend using several scanners and rootkit removers, as no individual tool can guarantee that a system is completely clean. To fully secure your system from rootkits operating at the boot, firmware or hypervisor level, the only remedy is to backup data, then wipe the device and perform a clean install. Preemptive blockingRootkit prevention is based on the idea that a rootkit can be delivered onto your system via both individual users and web facing assets (i.e., websites). The first preventative measure is user education for everyone in your organization. This should involve instructions on how to detect malicious links and email attachments, as well as rules against downloading or opening files from unknown sources. Users should also be trained to identify and avoid phishing attempts, in which malicious messages, websites or files surreptitiously appear to come from legitimate sources. This is especially important for users with administrative privileges. Additional measures preventing rootkits include:
Imperva Rootkit detection and removalImperva provides a number of solutions to block rootkit installation, as well as to detect existing rootkits that might have been installed prior to onboarding our services. Web application firewall (WAF)Imperva WAF acts as a gateway for incoming traffic to web applications and websites, using behavioral analysis to block rootkit injection attempts. Backdoor protectImperva Backdoor Protect is a shell detection service that closely tracks incoming requests, helping to pinpoint and quarantine backdoor files so they can be safely removed. Login protectLogin Protect is a two-factor authentication service. It prevents perpetrators from using stolen login credentials to obtain server access and install rootkits. With Login Protect, passwords alone no longer suffice for gaining administrative access to a system. Which of the following tool is used for network testing and port scanning Mcq?Explanation: Network Mapper (Nmap) is a popular open-source tool used for discovering network as well as security auditing. It usually checks for different services used by the host, what operating system it is running and the type of firewall it is using.
What term best describes actively connecting to a target in order to get a response which identifies the open ports and services on a system?Port scanning is a method of determining which ports on a network are open and could be receiving or sending data. It is also a process for sending packets to specific ports on a host and analyzing responses to identify vulnerabilities.
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