Remote Access Computer Trojan - Research Paper Example

Remote Access Computer Trojan Major Characteristics Remote Access Computer Trojan (RAT) enables the hackers and cyber criminals to do almost anything on the victim’s computer. It is typically associated with Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) which facilitates organized cybercrime. The destructive consequences of RAT have actually provoked individuals and different corporations as they have realized that their financial and corporate information is left to the mercy of hackers. For instance, Roger A. Grimes shares his experience of dealing with a RAT infected computer. He says that he observed strange things on his client’s computer such as inverted images, significantly slower performance, CD Rom tray which was opening and closing at random instances, odd error messages etc. He then searched the internet and found out that two Remote Access Trojans have hit the computer and therefore it was acting in such peculiar way [Rog02]. Background RATs are broadly defined as the malevolent computer programs which are entered into the victim’s computer in order to gain access over his confidential information and general activities. These are usually attached with some gaming program or anything else which is often executed by the victims. Once the Trojan is ready to perform its task the intruder is immediately informed through an e-mail. In some case the hacker is able to use victim’s IP address, while in case of corporations the financial transactions or other business operations are usually intervened. Type of breach Let’s consider an example of China where 72 organizations including government offices, corporations and non-profit companies were infected by Remote Access Trojan. This violation was a typical criminal attack in order to leak out confidential information and also to interrupt various financial transactions. However, hunger for country secrets is considered less threatening than financial loss according to MacAfee investigation report covering this breach. Shady RAT, which is a latest Remote Access Tool, was used in this particular cyber-crime. MacAfee detections reveal that Shady RAT specifically slows down the computer system and hence it is generally known as “low and slow” cyber security attack [Mat11]. How the breach occurred? Experts could not identify the real culprits of this case with complete authenticity however, few individuals were seriously suspected. Initially the RAT attack was identified in 2009 by the MacAfee officials while investigating a defense contractor [Mat11]. Thereafter the MacAfee team identified spear-phishing attack which implies that the breach had occurred through entering the command in HTML comments on the web links. MacAfee investigated that the Shady RAT attack had actually initiated in the mid-2006. These attacks were then expanded to 38 Chinese organizations by 2008 [Mat11]. Losses of confidentiality, integrity and availability Much of the confidential information held by the government offices was lost in addition to financial statements. Moreover the intruders were able to penetrate different business operations over a longer period of time and hence it became a matter of damaged integrity since China was unable to locate such intense cyber-crime [Mat11]. Technological improvements Technological advancement has greatly supported the organizations to identify RAT attack while on the other hand it has also enabled them to safeguard their computers long before any threat. Computer security developers are continuously trying to extend maximum technical support against the adverse impacts of Remote Access Trojan. For instance, AVG is an anti-virus program which not only facilitates common computer viruses but also prevents adware and spyware in strictly sensitive workplace settings [Bes13]. Super Anti Spyware is yet another protective agent which successfully identifies and removes Trojans. On the whole anti-malware products are found to be more productive in terms of removing Trojans and other damaging elements from computers. Current technology provides immense protection against Remote Access Trojan up to a certain limit and therefore there are still some chances of recurrence [Bes13]. Prevention methods In the last few years Remote Access Trojan has significantly affected corporations and various government organizations by simply intervening in confidential matters. Huge anti-virus companies such as MacAfee and others have come up with some preventive strategies and therefore a consensus has been developed i.e. it’s better to take preventive actions rather than identifying RAT attacks and trying to restore the lost information. Hence following are some of the most applicable prevention methods against Remote Access Trojans [Mal13]: Preservation of the internal application flow activities especially when VDI or VPN browsers are used. This significantly decreases the ability of RAT intruders. Jamming the spear-phishing attacks and malware installation processes can also help in reducing the adverse effects of future RAT infections. Organizations with massive confidential information are required to develop balanced management overhead and resource consumption systems so as to protect and reduce the risks associated with RAT. All the VPN access must be made within secured and protected internet connections i.e. the end point security must be at functioning state. Conclusion Rapid developments in science and technology have actually enabled the cyber criminals to design computer software and viruses which can significantly harm any computer. Moreover the current computer viruses such as Remote Access Trojan are able to leak out the confidential information from government offices, secret agencies and huge corporations. RAT attack is actually executed through entering the bonded command in to the computer [Rog02]. For instance, intruders usually bind RAT with games so that whenever they are operated the RAT automatically transfers in to the system. Thereafter the intruder receives an email of successful operation that is now virtually able to conduct any destructive activity within the victim’s computer while on the other hand the victim witnesses symptoms such as inverted images, slow processing, random activity of hardware etc. [Rog02]. RAT was extensively used in infecting 72 organizations in China whereas MacAfee revealed that the breach was conducted to steal sensitive information [Mat11]. Technological advancement has enabled the computer security developers to design different anti-malware in order to extend maximum security to different organizations and sensitive agencies. References Rog02: , (Grimes, 2002), Mat11: , (Schwartz, 2011), Bes13: , (Best Free Trojan Horse Scanning And Removal Software, 2013), Mal13: , (Malicious Software for Endpoint Takeover and Exploitation, 2013), Read More