Skeleton Key Malware – Rapid7 Comments

Trey Ford, Global Security Strategist at Rapid7, offers some clarity on the discovery of the Skeleton Key malware.

“Dell Secureworks CTU team has set a wonderful example of how information sharing helps cyber security teams in the real world. They’ve identified a tool that attackers use to bypass authentication controls on a Microsoft Windows network.

“Skeleton Key, as the team has named it, is an in-memory patch that compromises how users identify themselves on a Microsoft Windows domain. This malicious patch must be installed by a Domain Administrator account, which means the attacker needs to steal an admin’s account to get this deployed.

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“Because the patch is in-memory, Skeleton Key will not survive a reboot. The Dell team has provided very specific details enabling security teams to look for this attack behavior in their environment. This is a great example of meaningful information sharing in our industry.”

By Trey Ford, Global Security Strategist, Rapid7

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The company offers advanced capabilities for vulnerability management, penetration testing, endpoint controls assessment, and incident detection and investigation. Its attacker intelligence is informed by more than 200,000 members of the Metasploit community, the industry-leading Rapid7 Research Labs, and its experienced security services team. Rapid7 is trusted by more than 3,000 organizations across 78 countries, including more than 250 of the Fortune 1000.