The meagre living of Linux virus writers
According to anti-virus firm Trend Micro, the number of Linux viruses in the wild has not changed dramatically for two years, but its figure of 500 dangerous and exploitative programs dashing around the Internet seeking unprotected systems is cause for concern, until you look closer at the reasoning.
Rainer Link, assistant to head of the company's EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) Operations, admits the figures can be misleading and says it refers to Linux malware in general, including malware running on Linux whose ultimate target is Windows.
The figure also includes viruses, worms and software tools written for the purpose of helping or propagating other malware. For example, "root kits" are applications that invade a Linux server and acquire root privileges for the user. Root privileges are required to install or configure applications on a Linux operating system, so are a useful first step to wider exploitation.
In addition, multiple variations of the same virus are counted separately and the accounting mechanism Trend Micro uses is somewhat broad brushed.
