From securityboulevard.com
Linux operating systems are being targeted by malicious actors as organizations increase their digital footprint in the cloud, with many attackers of the open source OS likely taking advantage of outdated software with unpatched vulnerabilities, according to the Linux Threat Report 2021 1H from Trend Micro.
The Trend Micro report, which investigates the top malware families affecting Linux servers during the first half of 2021, found a quarter of the malware attacks were cryptocurrency miners (coinminers) followed by Web shells (20%) and ransomware (12%).
Web shell and coinmining attacks differ in the ways they operate but are both very popular styles of attacks due to their potential profitability. Coinmining is directly profitable for cybercriminals who hijack an organization’s resources to mine cryptocurrency. As a result, without proper resource monitoring, this style of attack can go undetected for months—while the attackers sit back and collect the money.