Sophos Performs Rootkit Survey

As an integer part of a Sophos anti-rootkit initiative that has culminated with the release of its free Sophos Anti-Rootkit 1.0 solutions, the security company also performed a survey on the issue at hand. The pole centralized metrics from 335 business owners and revealed that in excess of 55% of the study participants have expressed a certain degree of concern related to the threat presented by rootkits.

While another 8% showed disinterest in the matter, a staggering 37% claimed total ignorance as to rootkits. "Rootkits are being increasingly used by hackers to hide a variety of criminal activities, including spyware designed to steal usernames and passwords, denial-of-service attacks, and spam campaigns. This research shows that many companies are concerned about this threat entering their corporate network," said Phil Wood, product manager at Sophos. "Meanwhile, it's a genuine concern that many users don't appear to know what a rootkit is, and may be oblivious to the threat. Windows users need to wise-up to the latest tricks being used by hackers, and ensure they have the tools in place to protect themselves."

While Sophos Anti-Rootkit 1.0 is offered free of charge, Sophos has advised users to use it in conjunction with an anti-virus solution.

"Most reputable anti-virus software, like Sophos, can stop known rootkits before they are installed, but if a rootkit is already active on a PC it can cloak itself from view, meaning many security programs will find it almost impossible to detect," stated Wood.