Updates on technologies, trends, and tools.

News

Article from Issue 305/2026
Author(s):

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.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Download Article PDF now with Express Checkout
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

Related content

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News