What is a Trojan in cybersecurity and how does it work?

When you hear the word “Trojan horse”, you probably think of the ancient Greek myth of invading the city of Troy with elusive tricks using a large statue of a wooden horse. However, the term is also relevant in the field of cybersecurity. So what is a Trojan horse in this sense and how does it work?

What is a Trojan horse?

A Trojan horse (also known as a Trojan horse) is a type of malware. Like the original Trojan horse used to infiltrate Troy, it was designed to deceive cybersecurity his Trojan horse too, hence its name from Homer’s ancient Greek myth “The Odyssey”. rice field.

Trojan malware is a seemingly harmless application that tricks victims into keeping it on their device. Given the prevalence of cybercrime, people are more wary of malware than ever before. So it’s no surprise that malicious actors are looking for ways to sneak onto devices unnoticed.

Trojans are far ahead of many types of malware that exist today. The first Trojan was he developed in 1975 and aptly he was called ANIMAL. However, the name does not refer to the infamous Trojan horse. Rather, it was a reference to “animal programs”, a simple kind of game where you guess what kind of animal the player is thinking of. However, there is some debate as to whether this is really a Trojan horse or a type of virus.

Since then, many types of Trojans have been developed, some of which have become famous due to their exploits. See Zeus or Zbot for example. This Trojan was used to steal valuable financial data. Zeus was most commonly used to hack the US Department of Transportation.

Attackers use Trojans to exploit users’ devices by exfiltrating files, performing harmful actions, or deleting data.

Many people refer to Trojan horses as viruses, but they really aren’t. Trojan horses do not self-replicate or run automatically. Trojans are therefore strictly a type of malware. This means that the target user must be willing to download the application in order to deploy the Trojan. However, Trojan horses can be very deceptive and not all are the same.

Types of Trojan horses

Since its creation, Trojans have evolved into many different types: backdoors, exploits, rootkits, DDoS, downloaders, ransoms, banking, and more. However, let’s focus on the most risky Trojan types and focus on the most common Trojan types.

backdoor trojan A malicious attacker gains remote access to a victim’s device and can control it for their own benefit.

exploit trojan horse It is designed to find device vulnerabilities and make them easier to attack. Since security vulnerabilities are very common, this kind of Trojan can take advantage of such flaws and bugs to gain access to the targeted computer. If your computer is not using antivirus software of any kind, it is more likely to be targeted by exploit Trojan horses.

rootkit trojan horse By hiding its presence from malware detection tools, it can give attackers access to the target device. This allows an attacker to extend the duration of a Trojan’s presence on a particular device.

distributed denial of service, or DDoS Trojan horse, which also has a very descriptive name. You may have heard of DDoS attacks because they are so common. In such attacks, hackers make online platforms or services unavailable to their customer base. Creates a botnet using DDoS Trojans to facilitate disruption of site traffic to enable his DDoS attacks.

next downloader trojan horseThese programs can download themselves onto the target device and remain dormant until an Internet connection is established. When this happens, downloader Trojans can install additional malicious programs on the infected device to facilitate other cyber-attacks.

ransom trojanis, as the name suggests, used to deploy ransomware. In ransomware attacks, attackers encrypt all data on an infected device and demand a ransom in exchange for the decryption key. Ransomware attacks are very prevalent and different types of malware including Trojans are used for infection.

Finally you have banker trojanBanking information such as payment details, account numbers and other valuable data are highly valuable in the field of cybercrime. Such information can be used directly by attackers to steal funds or sold for hundreds or thousands of dollars on dark web marketplaces. No wonder bank details are highly sought after.

Enter banking Trojans. These programs are used to steal financial data from online accounts and are abused for financial gain.

But how can Trojans be avoided? Are these malicious programs defendable or immune to cybersecurity measures?

How to avoid Trojans

Unfortunately, no security tool can guarantee complete protection from malware. However, you can use a very effective program to keep you safe. Of course, the first option here is a reliable antivirus program. An antivirus tool is an absolute must for any internet-connected device. These programs can scan for and deal with malicious programs and even suggest ways to make your device more secure.

Additionally, before downloading any app, you should always make sure it is legitimate and trustworthy. You can download apps from thousands of different sites, not just Apple, Google Play, and Microsoft Store. Popular platforms like this do their best to prevent malicious apps, but they are not as airtight and some illegal products still get in. There are countless sites available for download, but such sites may have a more sinister purpose.

So, if you are looking to download a particular app, the most important thing is to check the reviews, how many downloads it has, and the official platform to install it on.

However, some programs are designed to automatically download apps to your computer when you interact with them even slightly. For example, some attachments may automatically download to your device when clicked, making it very easy for Trojans to get inside. This is why you should be careful when someone sends you a link or attachment of any kind. If you want to protect yourself in this area, you can use our link checking site to check if a link is malicious or to learn about the most common signs of malicious attachments. increase.

The Trojan horse is far from a myth

Although the term “Trojan horse” comes from ancient Greek mythology, Trojan horse programs are still very real today. So, if you are concerned about these malicious programs, consider some of the suggestions above to protect yourself and your device from Trojan horse attackers.