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In the news: New Linux Botnet Discovered; The Next Linux Kernel Turns 7.0; Linux From Scratch Drops SysVinit Support; LibreOffice 26.2 Now Available; Linux Kernel Project Releases Project Continuity Document; Mecha Systems Introduces Linux Handheld; MX Linux 25.1 Features Dual Init System ISO; and Photoshop on Linux?
New Linux Botnet Discovered
There's a new bit of nastiness that's attacking Linux systems, by way of the Internet Relay Chat IRC) communication protocol to execute command-and-control (C2) takeovers.
This new, old-school botnet, called SSHStalker, was discovered by the Flare research team (https://flare.io/learn/resources/blog/old-school-irc-new-victims-inside-the-newly-discovered-sshstalker-linux-botnet) using an SSH honeypot. During a two-month period, Flare detected several attempts revealing a fairly sophisticated operation that used old-school technology with modern automation.
According to the report, SSHStalker chains an SSH scanner with rapid staging to hand off enrollment into IRC channels, and it is optimized for scale.
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