Hackers may involve the victim machine in a botnet scheme, such as sending spam. And in some cases, attackers use DarkComet to deliver other malicious programs to the infected machine. The malware has had several versions, and DarkComet 5.3.1 is still available in 2022.Ĭrooks try to make targets download and run the RAT using different social engineering techniques. That is why DarkComet serves as a tool to monitor victims’ actions, take screenshots, do key-logging, or steal credentials. It’s a standard remote control malware – a hacker rules over the infected computer and gets access to the camera and microphone. But it got viral in 2012 after the Syrian incident: the government used the RAT to spy and destroy the protestor’s network. According to him, the program was never intended to be used illegally. Once the connection has been established the infected computer listens for commands from the controller, if the controller sends out a command, the infected computer receives it, and executes whatever function is sent.DarkComet is a remote access trojan developed by Jean-Pierre Lesueur in 2008. When a computer is infected, it tries to create a connection via socket to the controllers computer. Its target machines are typically anything from Windows XP, all the way up to Windows 10.Ĭommon anti-virus tags for a dark comet application are as follow: If a user installs an antivirus, or a darkcomet remover, they can un-infect their computer quickly. Many of these features can be used to completely take over a system and allows the client full access when granted via UAC.ĭarkComet is a widely known piece of malware. The following list of features is not exhaustive but are the critical ones that make DarkComet a dangerous tool. A socket is opened on the server and waits to receive packets from the controller, and executes the commands when received. At this point the client can use any of the features which the GUI contains. When DarkComet executes, the server connects to the client and allows the client to control and monitor the server. The uninfected computer with a GUI enabling control of infected ones is the client, while the infected systems (without a GUI) are servers. DarkComet was spotted within 24 hours of the attack.ĭarkComet, like many other RATs, uses a reverse-socket architecture. Hackers took advantage of the disaster to compromise as many systems as possible. DarkComet was disguised as a picture of a newborn baby whose wristband read "Je suis Charlie." Once the picture was downloaded, the users became compromised. In the wake of the January 7, 2015, attack on the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, hackers used the " #JeSuisCharlie" slogan to trick people into downloading DarkComet. At the time, they mainly targeted the United States. In 2012 Arbos Network company found evidence of DarkComet being used to target military and gamers by unknown hackers from Africa. “If I had known that, I would never have created such a tool.” Target Gamers, Military and Governments Once DarkComet was linked to the Syrian regime, Lesueur stopped developing the tool, stating, “I never imagined it would be used by a government for spying,” he said. Once infected, the victim's machine would try to send the message to other people with the same booby-trapped Skype chat message. The RAT was distributed via a "booby-trapped Skype chat message" which consisted of a message with a Facebook icon which was actually an executable file that was designed to install DarkComet. Many believe that this is what caused the arrests of many activists within Syria. This caused the Syrian Government to resort to using RATs to spy on its civilians. People in Syria began using secure connections to bypass the government's censorship and the surveillance of the internet. In 2014 DarkComet was linked to the Syrian conflict.
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