A Malware retrospective: The Beast RAT

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Foreword

Recently, I unveiled the second portion of the source code for SubSeven Legacy, an ambitious and faithful remake of the iconic SubSeven 2.2 RAT. The original SubSeven, masterminded by the enigmatic Mobman, emerged in the late 90s of the last century and took the cyber world by storm. This second release has generated an incredible amount of excitement and buzz within the nostalgic community of early internet users and enthusiasts.

To my own astonishment, the level of positive nostalgia elicited by these dual releases has been nothing short of remarkable. It seems that many people, like myself, grew up enthralled by these ingenious programs that were once the epitome of cutting-edge technology. For some, this fascination with malware and other similar programs may have even served as the catalyst for pursuing their own careers in the ever-evolving fields of InfoSec and Malware Research.

In the past, malware (specifically between 1998 and 2009) was a far cry from the sophisticated threats we encounter today. The ethos of malware authors from that era was distinct from the current landscape; their primary…