[dba-Tech] Malware Attack Hijacks 25,000 Linux/UNIX Servers

Arthur Fuller fuller.artful at gmail.com
Fri Mar 21 09:09:23 CDT 2014


This from slashdot...

"Security researchers from ESET have uncovered a widespread attack campaign
that has infected more than 25,000 Linux and UNIX servers around the world.
The servers are being hijacked by a backdoor Trojan as part of a campaign
the researchers are calling 'Operation Windigo.' Once infected, victimized
systems are leveraged to steal credentials, redirected web traffic to
malicious sites and send as many as 35 million spam messages a day.
'Windigo has been gathering strength, largely unnoticed by the security
community, for more than two and a half years and currently has 10,000
servers under its control,' said Pierre-Marc Bureau, security intelligence
program manager at ESET, in a statement.

There are many misconceptions around Linux security, and attacks are not
something only Windows users need to worry about. The main threats facing
Linux systems aren't zero-day vulnerabilities or malware, but things such
as Trojanized applications, PHP backdoors, and malicious login attempts
over SSH. ESET recommends webmasters and system administrators check their
systems to see if they are compromised, and has published a detailed report
presenting the findings and instructions on how to remove the malicious
code if it is present."

-- 
Arthur


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