Welcome to the February 2022 issue of your Computing Security Newsletter.

It is deeply concerning to see that Linux, a core part of digital infrastructure, is quickly becoming an attacker’s ticket into a multi-cloud environment.

Now, VMware has released a threat report titled ‘Exposing Malware in Linux-Based Multi-Cloud Environments’. Key findings that detail how cybercriminals are using malware to target Linux-based operating systems include:

•Ransomware is evolving to target host images used to spin workloads in virtualized environments

•89% of cryptojacking attacks use XMRig-related libraries

•More than half of Cobalt Strike users may be cybercriminals or at least using Cobalt Strike illicitly.

“Cybercriminals are dramatically expanding their scope and adding malware that targets Linux-based operating systems to their attack toolkit, in order to maximise their impact with as little effort as possible,” says Giovanni Vigna, senior director of threat intelligence at VMware.

Rather than infecting an endpoint and then navigating to a higher value target, cybercriminals have discovered that compromising a single server can deliver the massive payoff and access they’re looking for.

With current malware countermeasures mostly focused on addressing Windows-based threats, this leaves many public and private cloud deployments vulnerable to attacks on Linux-based operating systems – a weakness that organisations on this continuum need to be very aware, and wary, of.

Brian Wall, Editor
Computing Security

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