KeRanger Mac Ransomware Based On Linux Forebear, Not Windows

Posted by timothy on Tuesday March 8, 2016 @05:58PM from the at-your-disservice dept.

An anonymous reader writes: It appears that the KeRanger ransomware that's been tormenting Mac users for the past days is actually based on a ransomware variant that targets Linux servers, and not on a ransomware family coming from Windows. That particular Linux ransomware is also based on an open-source ransomware called Hidden Tear that was uploaded to GitHub by a Turkish security researcher. So obviously, the conclusion is that GitHub is to blame for the KeRanger Mac ransomware. (Note to readers: That last bit is tongue in anonymous cheek.)

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Is that surprising? by Harlequin80 · 2016-03-08 18:36 · Score: 3, Insightful

I would have assumed that it would have come from a Linux or BSD based one rather than a windows one.... The systems are much closer than windows to mac.
Or am I being overly simplistic?