Security researchers have devised a rootkit capable of covertly monitoring and controlling Cisco routers.
Sebastian Muniz, of Core Security, plans to demo Cisco IOS rootkit software he developed during a presentation at the EuSecWest conference in London on 22 May.
Rootkits are malicious packages used to hide the presence of malware on compromised systems. Generally such packages are designed to allow Trojan backdoors on desktop computer or servers to escape detection by anti-virus scanners. The technology started off in the toolboxes of Unix hackers, but over the last three or four years, it has become more commonly associated with compromised Windows systems. The issue of Windows rootkits rose to public prominence after Sony BMG Music (rather inadvisedly) used rootkit-like technology in a bid to prevent unauthorised CD copying.
Muniz's is reckoned to be the first researcher to apply rootkits to systems running Cisco IOS software. His work builds on the pioneering work of security researcher Michael Lynn, who controversially demonstrated interactive shell code for Cisco’s proprietary Internetworking Operating System (IOS) during Blackhat 2005.
