Authorities Break Up Imminent Monitor Spyware Organization

The developers behind a commodity remote-access tool (RAT) that allows full control of a victim’s computer has been taken down by Australian and global authorities. The Imminent Monitor RAT (IM-RAT) first appeared in 2012, the work of a developer going by the handle of “Shockwave,” according to researchers at Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 division. The RAT was sold via a company calling itself “Imminent Methods.” Advertised as “the fastest remote administration tool ever created using new socket technology that has never been used before,” Unit 42 said that IM-RAT offered full remote-desktop access.