DARPA-funded anti-rootkit tool
p2p news / p2pnet: DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) start-up Komoku plans to ship a beta of Gamma, "a new rootkit detection tool that builds on a prototype used by several sensitive U.S. government departments to find operating system abnormalities that may be linked to malicious rootkit activity," says eWEEK.
More than 20% of malware removed from Windows XP SP2 (Service Pack 2) systems are stealth rootkits says Microsoft.
Rootkits can give hackers remote user access to a compromised system, "while avoiding detection from anti-virus scanners," the story explains, with CoPilot as a, "high-assurance PCI card capable of monitoring the host’s memory and file system at the hardware level" specifically designed for high-security servers and computers.
Gamma, on the other hand, is a CoPilot software clone, "that will target businesses interested in a low-assurance tool for protecting laptops and personal computers," states eWEEK, going oin:
"Komoku launched quietly in 2004 with about $2.5 million in funding and rootkit detection contracts from DARPA, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Navy."
Komoku has partnered with Symantec to handle disinfection and restoration after rootkits and other sophisticated forms of malware are detected, adds the story.
Also See:
eWEEK – Government-Funded Startup Blasts Rootkits, April 24, 2006
stealth rootkits – Microsoft: Stealth Rootkits Are Bombarding XP SP2 Boxes, December 6, 2005
