To develop and distribute sophisticated malware for Android, Dendroid RAT, a former researcher at the Internet company is accused better safetyq, FireEye.
The man with the double face, 20 Morgan Culbertson, were working for the security giant, FireEye, while developing, selling and selling the notorious Dendroid Rat. According to documents from the court in charge of the case, the young man is reportedly also selling the source code for malware against the amount of 65.000 dollars.
The sophisticated Android remote management tool is available through underground forums and black markets for $300 and was first discovered by Symantec security experts in March 2004. Dendroid is an HTTP based RAT, with several features and characteristics, which allows anyone with limited experience and knowledge to turn any legitimate android application into a trojan.
Among the features of Dendroid include:
- Delete call logs
- Making calls
- Open web pages
- Record sound and calls
- Send messages
- Download and upload photos and videos
- Doing DoS attacks
Morgan Culbertson, 20, was spotted by law enforcement in a coordinated operation codenamed Shrouded Horizon, which led to the arrest of 70 black market managers & members, Darkode.
"The US Prosecutor confirmed to Forbes the identity of the accused Morgan Culbertson, who appears on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/morgan-culbertson/5b/225/471. According to the case file, 20man was selling malware while working for FireEye, "says Forbes.
Culbertson had worked at FireEye for 12 weeks, serving the team Advanced Persistent Threat, as a researcher in the field of mobile threats. As the media pointed out, Culbertson could have used information from FireEye's private investigations to improve his software. The information the young hacker had accessed during his employment with FireEye could have allowed him to develop a complex anti-detection mechanism.
FireEye has confirmed that Culbertson has been released:
"Culbertson's internship is suspended pending an internal review of his activities," he told CNN. The accusations are serious because, according to the FBI, the young man is accused of conspiring to distribute malicious code:
"Culbertson is accused of designing Dendroid, a coded malware intended to remotely access, control, and intercept mobile data phones with Android software. The malware is reportedly being offered for sale on Darkode."
