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3 Hardware Trojans in Electronic Devices
Here, the following simple solutions can be applied:
– Use any antivirus product. Most antiviruses are able to detect keyloggers to
a certain extent; however, it is pointless to rely solely on antiviruses, since
keyloggers are not exactly viruses;
– Use utilities that implement signature-based and heuristic search engines. An
example of these would be the AVZ utility program, which combines a signature
scanner and the system for detection of hook-based keyloggers;
– Use specialized utilities and programs designed to detect keyloggers and block
their operation. Such programs are most effective for detection and blocking of
keyloggers, since they can block almost all types of them.
There are also other solutions, but this set should be enough for you.
Let us draw a brief conclusion to this section. Even though all keylogger producers
classify them as legal software, most keyloggers can be used to steal personal
information of users or carry out economical espionage.
Today, keyloggers along with phishing and social engineering methods are one of
the most popular forms of wire fraud. Companies working in the sphere of computer
security register rapid growth of malware employing keylogger functionality. There
is a tendency to supplement software keyloggers with rootkit technologies described
in Chap. 2, the purpose of which is to hide keylogger files from the user or the
antivirus scanner.
It is obvious that a fact of espionage using keyloggers can only be detected with
the help of specialized protection means.
In order to ensure protection from keyloggers, one needs to use multi-level
protection: from browser protection to antiviruses, virtual keyboard, etc.
3.2.4 Trojan Programs in Computer Hard Drives
For over three decades, computer security specialists believed that an incurable virus
that remains in computer equipment forever is just a professional fairytale. However,
according to Kaspersky Lab specialists, it looks like someone spent millions of dollars
to make this fairytale come true [4, 5]. Journalists covering information security
issues tend to interpret this story in a pretty grim manner, claiming that hackers can
use this method to gain access to information stored on most computers in the world.
First of all, let us try and understand what the term “hard drive reprogramming”
means. As we know, computer hard drive usually consists of several components, the
most important of which are the storage medium (magnetic disks for classic HDD
drives or flash memory chips for SSD) and the chip that controls data reading and
recording processes, as well as multiple service procedures, including error detection
and correction.
Since such service procedures are extremely numerous and quite complex, this
specialized chip operates according to a fairly extensive program and is actually a
3 Hardware Trojans in Electronic Devices
Here, the following simple solutions can be applied:
– Use any antivirus product. Most antiviruses are able to detect keyloggers to
a certain extent; however, it is pointless to rely solely on antiviruses, since
keyloggers are not exactly viruses;
– Use utilities that implement signature-based and heuristic search engines. An
example of these would be the AVZ utility program, which combines a signature
scanner and the system for detection of hook-based keyloggers;
– Use specialized utilities and programs designed to detect keyloggers and block
their operation. Such programs are most effective for detection and blocking of
keyloggers, since they can block almost all types of them.
There are also other solutions, but this set should be enough for you.
Let us draw a brief conclusion to this section. Even though all keylogger producers
classify them as legal software, most keyloggers can be used to steal personal
information of users or carry out economical espionage.
Today, keyloggers along with phishing and social engineering methods are one of
the most popular forms of wire fraud. Companies working in the sphere of computer
security register rapid growth of malware employing keylogger functionality. There
is a tendency to supplement software keyloggers with rootkit technologies described
in Chap. 2, the purpose of which is to hide keylogger files from the user or the
antivirus scanner.
It is obvious that a fact of espionage using keyloggers can only be detected with
the help of specialized protection means.
In order to ensure protection from keyloggers, one needs to use multi-level
protection: from browser protection to antiviruses, virtual keyboard, etc.
3.2.4 Trojan Programs in Computer Hard Drives
For over three decades, computer security specialists believed that an incurable virus
that remains in computer equipment forever is just a professional fairytale. However,
according to Kaspersky Lab specialists, it looks like someone spent millions of dollars
to make this fairytale come true [4, 5]. Journalists covering information security
issues tend to interpret this story in a pretty grim manner, claiming that hackers can
use this method to gain access to information stored on most computers in the world.
First of all, let us try and understand what the term “hard drive reprogramming”
means. As we know, computer hard drive usually consists of several components, the
most important of which are the storage medium (magnetic disks for classic HDD
drives or flash memory chips for SSD) and the chip that controls data reading and
recording processes, as well as multiple service procedures, including error detection
and correction.
Since such service procedures are extremely numerous and quite complex, this
specialized chip operates according to a fairly extensive program and is actually a