Rootkits✔️

Once attackers gain control of a system, they have an interest in hiding their work, such as files they may have put on a disk, backdoors they have installed, and network connections they have made (CnC or listening ports). A rootkit is a tool that integrates with the lowest levels of the operating system to hide these resources.

A rootkit is the most complex attacker tool. Its goal is to completely hide the activities of the attacker on the local system. A rootkit takes control of the operating system by compromising the internal structure of the system. When a program attempts to list files, processes, or network connections, a rootkit presents a sanitized version of the output, eliminating any incriminating output.

Rootkits are able to hide not only the activities of attackers but also their own presence. As a result, rootkits are extremely difficult to detect. Some can be circumvented by defenders using a trusted toolset, but this result is not guaranteed. If there is any indication that a system has been compromised by a rootkit, it is best to consider the operating system permanently compromised. Image the machine (for analysis purposes), and then wipe the hard drive and reinstall everything.

Because of their complexity, rootkits are also extremely difficult to develop. Rootkits must take into account operating systems, versions, architecture, and several other variables. A user who upgrades the operating system or installs a patch could undo the work of the rootkit (or, more likely, cause the compromised host to crash).

Few rootkits are publicly available, so they are a tool that is used by very sophisticated attackers. These attackers reuse the rootkit within the organization and across multiple targets. Identifying and reverse-engineering the rootkit could identify the presence of that specific attacker worldwide.

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