Lucifer botnet now infecting Linux-based systems
Lucifer, a botnet using infected Windows devices to mine cryptocurrency, is now affecting Linux-based systems as well.
That's according to the researchers from Netscout's ATLAS Security Engineering & Response Team (ASERT), who claim that the Linux version of Lucifer is as powerful as its Windows counterpart. The malware includes modules for cryptojacking as well as launching UCP, ICMP, TCP and HTTP-based distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against vulnerable systems.
Researchers at Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 uncovered Lucifer in May. They showed the botnet was exploiting various unpatched bugs in Windows devices to enable attackers to run arbitrary code on compromised systems. The researchers also noticed that cyber criminals were using Lucifer malware to deploy an XMRig miner on vulnerable machines. After infecting a device, the botnet would plant XMRig to mine Monero cryptocurrency, and start using the compromised device to launch DDoS attacks against other targets.
