Sophos, a world leader in corporate anti-virus protection, is
reminding users to be vigilant against the threat of Remote Access
Trojans (RATs) following the news that unemployed Londoner, Gary
McKinnon, has been accused of hacking into a number of US
Government networks and implanting a RAT which enabled him to scan
65,000 computers.
So far in 2002, Sophos has seen a 80 percent rise in the number
of Trojan horses (including RATs) which are used both by hackers
and virus writers to gain remote control of other people's
machines. Media reports suggest that this particular hacker
infiltrated US Government networks by exploiting vulnerabilities
for which patches had been available for 'years'.
"Hackers and virus writers implant RATs into networks by
exploiting vulnerabilities in existing software. It is therefore
imperative that you patch your machines and network against these
vulnerabilities. If you don't, you'll soon find your system hacked
and your confidential data on show to all and sundry, " said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant, Sophos Anti-Virus. "The US
government has admitted it has a problem in this case, and of
course, it is a prime target for hackers. However, our research
shows small private companies are just as likely targets -
always-on technologies, like broadband, offer an even greater
window of opportunity to cybercriminals looking to make
mischief."
Anti-virus software from Sophos and many other anti-virus
vendors detects against known RATs and backdoor Trojan horses, so
Sophos also reminds users to keep their anti-virus software
regularly updated.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.