rootkit

Cisco reacts to IOS Network rootkit presentation

A paper presented at a security conference in Europe over the weekend has Cisco and the security community debating the reality of rootkits over the Cisco Internetwork Operating System (IOS) network. Devices affected include routers and voice over IP phones.

At the EUSecWest conference in London, Core Security researcher Sebastian Muniz presented what he called the "Da IOS Rootkit," a binary modification to the IOS image. "The main feature of Da IOS Rootkit is the universal password," Muniz said in an interview on the EUSecWest Web site. "Every call to the different password validation routines … Read more

Why are criminals still exploiting an old patched vulnerability?

Within the last week, two large-scale releases of malicious code have included exploits for a vulnerability that Microsoft patched in April 2006. The weekend's defacement of more than 70,000 Web sites and the installation of an MBR rootkit both require exploitation of the number of older vulnerabilities, including MS06-014. Why bother?

The original security bulletin for MS06-014 was posted back in April 2006. It concerned a flaw within the Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), specifically within the RDS.Dataspace ActiveX control, that is part of the ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) distributed in MDAC. Shortly after the patch was … Read more

MBR rootkit targets Windows users

Security experts warned on Wednesday of a new rootkit aimed at users of the Windows operating system.

The rootkit hides in the Master Boot Record (MBR), or Sector 0 of the hard disk drive where the primary partition entries in its partition table are stored. According to Verisign's iDefense research unit, the rootkit overwrites the existing MBR, making discovery very difficult. A rootkit is a program or group of programs designed to take root or administrator control of a computer without the user knowing.

Trend Micro and Sunbelt indicate that infection rates appear low, especially if end users have … Read more

Rootkit woes for Sony again?

Remember the hubbub over Sony BMG Music Entertainment's rootkit debacle, involving its CDs?

Well, another arm of Sony, this time Sony Electronics, may face a little of the brouhaha, as well.

According to a blog posting Monday by F-Secure, Sony's Micro Vault USM-F thumb drive comes with software that contains a rootkit.

For those who missed out on the Sony BMG fiasco, a rootkit is a tool that can cloak the presence of certain files or processes and prevent users from performing certain tasks on their computer. While Sony BMG used the rootkits as a means to prevent … Read more

Switchfoot and Sony part ways

I first heard of Christian alt-rock band Switchfoot in late 2005, when Sony Music came under fire for including a copy-protection technology on some CDs.

The issue wasn't so much the copy-protection itself, but rather that the software installed itself surreptitiously, hid itself from view, and usurped user control of some OS functions (qualities that led security experts to call this software a "rootkit"). In theory, malicious software (viruses, spyware) could attach itself to this copy-protection software, making it extremely difficult to detect and remove the malicious software.

At any rate, Switchfoot's CD Nothing Is Sound (… Read more

Could blogs save Sony from slaughtered goats and rootkits?

Sony fans, the famously secretive company is extending a hand. For the first time in the conglomerate's history, it has begun blogging as it seeks a much more open exchange of information with customers.

In the past month, Sony has launched two blogs. The most recent came Tuesday with the debut of a blog from Sony Electronics. The company's PlayStation unit began blogging about a month ago.

Corporate blogs are designed to build stronger ties with customers and have been around for years. For Sony, a blog might pay additional dividends. For instance, the electronics giant could learn … Read more

Sony BMG sues CD vendor over rootkits

Sony BMG Music Entertainment is suing an antipiracy CD software company claiming that the technology provided was flawed. In November 2005, researcher Mark Russinovich discovered hidden files left behind on computers when certain Sony copy-protected CDs were played. The subsequent consumer complaints and government investigations, says Sony, cost the entertainment company millions of dollars in losses.

Now Sony BMG has filed a complaint against The Amergence Group, formerly SunnComm International, a company that produced the piracy-protection system known as MediaMax CD. According to the Associated Press, Sony BMG is seeking $12 million in damages for unfair business practices and for … Read more

Storm Worm strikes again

A new variant of the Storm Worm (aka Snow Worm) is slamming into e-mail inboxes worldwide as an apparent patch or fix for a recent worm attack. The latest variant appears to ride on the coattails of worm that Trend Micro calls Nuwar.AOP.The Trojan part of this worm is known as Small (Kaspersky and Trend Micro), Downloader (McAfee), Peacomm (Symantec), and officially by the designation CME (Common Malware Enumeration) 711.

According to Ken Dunham of iDefense, this new variant worm includes anti-security measures to hinder analysis, and sends out copies of itself inside of a password protected ZIP … Read more