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Unnoticed For Years, Malware Turned Linux Servers Into Spamming Machines

Posted by timothy on from the just-where-you-least-expect-it dept.

An anonymous reader writes: For over 5 years, and perhaps even longer, servers around the world running Linux and FreeBSD operating systems have been targeted by an individual or group that compromised them via a backdoor Trojan, then made them send out spam, ESET researchers have found. What's more, it seems that the spammers are connected with a software company called Yellsoft, which sells DirectMailer, a "system for automated e-mail distribution" that allows users to send out anonymous email in bulk. Here's the white paper in which the researchers explain the exploit.

10 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Most Linux distros ship with malware by default by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Would you like some cheese with your whine?

  2. Which OS has yet to be compromised? by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 5, Funny

    So Windoze, Linux, BSD have all been compromised ... how about Hurd / Plan-9? Have they been compromized?

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
    1. Re:Which OS has yet to be compromised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      as soon as someone starts using hurd, we'll let you know how it's holding up.

    2. Re: Which OS has yet to be compromised? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      When is the +1 button :-)

    3. Re:Which OS has yet to be compromised? by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 3, Funny

      Ultrix 4.2a, here. have not seen a virus on this machine, ever.

      still clean after all these years.

      as long as you can find scsi1 disks, you can keep running Mosaic and some versions of lynx. DECwindows rocks!

      (what? whaaaaat?)

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  3. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh a denial, this is gonna hit +5 fast!

  4. Re:Spamming daemon packed inside ELF binary by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's as good as fact, then. Oh, wait, remember a few years back when that powerful country sold a war to the world because they *believed* a country was harboring powerful weapons? It turned out they were wrong.

  5. Re:It took 5 years? by dbIII · · Score: 4, Funny

    You certainly didn't wait long enough to read the article before posting.

  6. Imo, that is rather funny. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    this malware is pretty unix-y about the way it does things. its small, does few things and does them efficiently.
    The author should be complemented on his adherence to the unix philosophy. Even his social engineering campaign is that way.

    Functionality wise, an equal malware executable on windows would be megabytes in size and be installed as a service :D

  7. Re:Most Linux distros ship with malware by default by killkillkill · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cheese is a GNOME application and runs natively , no need for a Windows compatibility layer.