GovRAT

The GovRAT (Remote Access Trojan) is a threat that can be purchased on hacking forums in the Dark Web. The developers of the GovRAT are selling it for $1,000. However, if one wants to obtain the source code of the GovRAT, they will have to part with $6,000. For some cyber crooks who are more advanced and experienced technically, this price will be worth it because getting their hands on the GovRAT’s source code means they can modify it however they wish and even weaponize it further. Malware researchers are speculating that several hacking groups have likely purchased the GovRAT already. It also appears that this threat has been utilized in several campaigns targeting military organizations, as well as government bodies.

There are much cheaper RATs being sold publicly, but they do not come anywhere near the capabilities of the GovRAT. This is a high-end Remote Access Trojan, and it is meant to be used for serious operations. The authors of the GovRAT threat have released several updates for their product, thus ensuring that this tool is not outdated.

Capabilities

The GovRAT hacking tool can:

• Avoid sandbox environments, therefore, making it very difficult for malware experts to dissect and study it.
• Remain undetected by anti-malware tools.
• Serve as an infostealer.
• Deploy a keylogging feature that uses HTTP to exfiltrate the collected data.
• Upload, download, and manage files present on the host.
• Execute code sent by the attackers.
• Propagate itself to storage devices that may be plugged into the compromised system.

The GovRAT creators do not seem to fear consequences as they are offering to sell information, which they have gathered in one of their campaigns, which targeted the United States government personnel. This data included email login credentials used by their targets. This bold move is used as a marketing strategy that would convince potential clients of the quality product that the GovRAT is.