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Linux Malware Infects Raspberry Pi Devices And Makes Them Mine Cryptocurrency (hothardware.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the easy-as-Pi dept.

An anonymous reader quotes Hot Hardware: If you're a Raspberry Pi user who's never changed the default password of the "pi" user, then heed this warning: change it. A brand new piece of malware has hit the web, called "Linux.MulDrop.14", and it preys on those who haven't secured their devices properly... After scanning for RPis with an open (and default) SSH port, the "pi" user is logged into (if the password is left default), and the password is subsequently changed. After that, the malware installs ZMap and sshpass software, and then it configures itself. The ultimate goal of Linux.MulDrop.14 is to make digital money for someone else, namely the author of the malware, using your Raspberry Pi.

7 of 84 comments (clear)

  1. So... not "Linux malware" afterall by franzrogar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's the same as saying that if you have an app with internet access and you left the default passwords (imagine one of e-commerce).

    It's the user's fault and program's bad design (it should create a random pass on first install, never a "default" one).

    1. Re:So... not "Linux malware" afterall by techno-vampire · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No, it shouldn't create a random password when you install it. Part of logging in for the first time should be a mandatory password change, leaving as little time for something like this as possible. And, remote access should be disabled until after the password has been changed.

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    2. Re:So... not "Linux malware" afterall by thegarbz · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's the same as saying that if you have an app with internet access and you left the default passwords (imagine one of e-commerce).

      Yes because when a Windows user purposefully executes malware and it takes over the system it's all Window's fault, but when a Linux user permits the same thing it's not Linux at all.

      Sorry but you don't get to laugh at Microsoft's attempts at limiting the user's ability to accidentally execute malware and excuse a Linux OS for something as mindbogglingly stupid as not prompting the user for a username and password during setup.

      Malware is malware. Linux is Linux. This is by every definition of the word Linux Malware. Whether it's assisted by stupid users or stupid designers is irrelevant.

  2. Get Rich Slowly... by Powercntrl · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm not too familiar with the Raspberry Pi, but a cursory view of the specs tells me even a huge botnet of 'em still wouldn't make you wealthy through mining crypto any sooner than the heat death of the universe. Most crypto mining these days is done on specialized hardware or large banks of high-end video cards. Seems to be the reason why most malicious software intent on acquiring wealth through Bitcoins simply encrypts your files for ransom.

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    1. Re:Get Rich Slowly... by religionofpeas · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Depends on what cryptocurrency they are mining, how suitable the Pi is for that, and what the value of that currency is.

      Take bitcoin for example. One PI can do about 0.2 Mhash/second. A botnet consisting of 1 million devices can mine about $6.50 in a month. And you don't even get to keep all that, because a million devices mining will produce a great deal of very small transactions, which take up a lot of space in the blockchain, and you'll have to pay quite a large transaction fee. You'd be lucky to keep half of that money.

      Instead of the developing the malware, you could make more money as a Walmart greeter.

  3. Re: Is this even worth it? by KGIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I cheated and RTFA. Please don't hold it against me. Basically, the article says, "If you're functionally retarded, this could happen under a very limited set of circumstances."

    My comment history shows I am biased towards Linux but not a zealot. This is a problem if you're stupid. That's about it. Even stupid people are pretty well protected, as they are behind a NAT that disallows ingress.

    I have some Pi (pies?) so I looked at the article. Sorry... You'd have to expose it to the net AND keep default passwords the same. Then, maybe, if will effect you but only if you have those services running.

    I am trying to not minimize this but, really, it is a wee bit silly. Maybe I am missing something?

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  4. Re: Is this even worth it? by maple_shaft · · Score: 4, Informative

    In my opinion no. Having expiremented with creating a Pi miner for Litecoin, back before ASICs existed for mining Scrypt algo, I got an abysmal hashrate of 0.2MH, and that was with overclocking on a Model B. To put into more perspective I had a cheap second hand Radeon graphics card on my desktop that got hundreds of times better hashrate. When mining 24/7 on a pool I would still only get about .5 LTC which was worth scarcely a few dollars at the time. Now that is worth about $15 today though. Pis make terrible miners.