![]() ![]() The end-user can also use a rootkit to perform activities that disable the Microsoft Production Activation feature found protecting most Microsoft products.Īnother purpose of using rootkits is to cheat in multiplayer online games and keep the tools that enable cheating hidden from anti-cheat mechanisms. Hackers and software companies are not the only entities using rootkits for various purposes. Then, the hackers can access the target device via the backdoor at a later date. Most of the time, hackers are able to bypass authentication systems and install a backdoor into the target network or device. Still, the main purpose remains: to access a system in order to steal sensitive information. On the other hand, users can put rootkits to good use and protect their systems. The most prominent purpose of rootkits is to infect a target device, steal personal information from the device and then communicate data back to the hacker’s headquarters operation. Rootkits can be used in many different ways, including malicious and non-malicious uses. ![]() In 2006, Rutkowska gave a talk on a new kind of rootkit called BluePill at a Black Hat hacker conference. Sony managed to keep the rootkit hidden for some time, but when the news finally broke, the company suffered reputational damage in the millions.Īnother important figure in the history of rootkits is Joanna Rutkowska, who was initially from Poland and worked as a researcher. The rootkit would jump into action as soon as the user tried to copy the contents of the Sony CD. The rootkit remained hidden in the background and monitored the user while accessing the Sony CD. Whenever computer users bought a Sony CD and played the CD on their computer, Sony installed a rootkit on that computer. Sony Entertainment created one of the earliest rootkits in 2005, dubbed Sony BMG Rootkit, aiming not to invade user privacy but to protect the company’s copyrights by blocking any process that tried to copy Sony-owned publications. Unlike hackers, though, Sony Entertainment did not create or launch rootkits to harm consumers. Sony Entertainment is widely considered the front-runner of creating effective rootkits and deploying them successfully via targeted campaigns. ![]() A year later, Stuxnet started to hit industrial computer systems-most notably, that of Sony Entertainment. ![]() About 10 years later, in 2009, Mac computers were hit with their first rootkit. ![]()
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