Akamai PLXsert Advisory Highlights Security reat from Storm Network Stre Tester Crimeware Kit

April 29, 2014 Akamai PLXsert Advisory Highlights Security Threat from Storm Network Stress Tester Crimeware Kit

Akamai Contacts Rob Morton

Media Relations

617-444-3641

rmorton@akamai.com

or

Tom Barth

Investor Relations

617-274-7130

tbarth@akamai.com

CAMBRIDGE, Mass - April 29, 2014 - Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading provider of cloud services for delivering, optimising and securing online content and business applications, today released a cybersecurity threat advisory - through the companys Prolexic Security Engineering & Response Team (PLXsert) - about the Storm Network Stress Tester Crimeware kit. This cybercrime kit is capable of infecting Windows XP machines (and higher) for malicious uses. Once a PC is infected, the tool establishes remote administration (RAT) capabilities, enabling file uploads and downloads as well as the capability to launch four types of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The advisory is available for download from Prolexic (now part of Akamai) at www.prolexic.com/storm.

Remote administration (RAT) creates a significant botnet risk

PLXsert has observed a growing threat from this crimeware kit. The RAT capabilities provide criminals with an all-purpose crimeware platform that can be used for a variety of malicious activity, including the infection of other devices.

Remote administration lets malicious actors take over a PC from a distance, even from another continent, said Stuart Scholly, senior vice president and general manager of Security at Akamai Technologies. In the last year, weve seen a growing volume of cyber-attacks coming from Asia. The Storm kit seems to have been custom-designed to infect and control vulnerable Windows XP machines in China.

One PC infected by the new Storm crimeware kit can generate up to 12 Mbps of DDoS attack traffic with a single attack. The kit comes pre-programmed to launch four types of DDoS attacks at once, increasing the potential attack volume. PLXsert has concluded there is a significant risk of this kit being used by malicious actors to launch extremely large, orchestrated botnet attacks against organizations worldwide.

In the advisory, PLXsert shares its analysis and cybersecurity details about the Storm Network Stress Tester kit, including:

Indicators of kit

Architecture

Dropper payload generation and infection

Fortification methods

Command structure

DDoS attack types, payloads and attack signatures

A complimentary copy of the security advisory is available for download at www.prolexic.com/storm.

Prolexic, now part of Akamai, offers DDoS protection solutions that leverage proprietary DDoS filtering techniques and the worlds largest cloud-based DDoS mitigation network. Akamai completed the acquisition of Prolexic in February 2014. Together with Prolexic, Akamai is providing customers with a comprehensive portfolio of security solutions designed to defend an enterprises Web and IP infrastructure against application-layer, network-layer and data centre attacks delivered via the Internet. To learn more about how Prolexic solutions stop DDoS attacks and protect business, please visit www.prolexic.com, or follow Prolexic on LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, and @Prolexic on Twitter.

About Akamai

Akamai is the leading provider of cloud services for delivering, optimising and securing online content and business applications. At the core of the Companys solutions is the Akamai Intelligent Platform providing extensive reach, coupled with first class reliability, security, visibility and expertise. Akamai removes the complexities of connecting the increasingly mobile world, supporting 24/7 consumer demand, and enabling enterprises to securely leverage the cloud. To learn more about how Akamai is accelerating the pace of innovation in a hyperconnected world, please visit www.akamai.com or blogs.akamai.com, and follow @Akamai on Twitter.

Top

LINK:	http://uk.akamai.com/html/about/press/releases/2014/press-042914.html...
	See more stories from akami

Most recent headlines