Now the bad guys have discovered a way to set up a stealthy, continuous connection between the machines they infect and their own command and control servers. Researchers with the Honeynet Project have been studying a new method being used by botnet operators and other cyber criminals that sets up what’s called a "reverse tunnel proxy" connection — a connection through the victim’s Network Address Translation (NAT)-based filtering device such as a home router or other router or firewall.
What makes this approach different from traditional botnet relationships is that the command and control machine doesn’t rely on the bot to "check in" and get its latest instructions, so it’s more of a continuous connection, says Ralph Logan, a member of the board for the Honeypot Project and its chief public relations officer. Attackers Use New ‘Call-Home’ Method to Infiltrate Home Networks - Application and Perimeter Security News Analysis - Dark Reading
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