A researcher has demonstrated several methods that sophisticated rootkits can use to hide from even the most reliable detection method currently available -- hardware-based products that read a system's RAM.

Joanna Rutkowska is a researcher with security firm Coseinc Advanced Malware Labs. She recently outlined several ways of getting around the User Account Control (UAC) feature introduced in Windows Vista. Several researchers have identified problems with UAC.

The demonstration, given at the Black Hat security conference, indicates that if a rootkit is advanced enough, there currently is no way it can be reliably detected, Rutkowska said. Rootkits are designed to hide some activity from observers, and have recently been used to conceal the presence of Trojans and hacker backdoors -- not to mention Sony BMG's copy-protection software.

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