Linux Devices 'Increasingly' Under Attack from Hackers, Warn Security Researchers

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Ransomware groups want to make as much money as possible - that means they're going after more varied targets:

There's been a big rise in ransomware attacks targeting Linux as cyber criminals look to expand their options and exploit an operating system that is often overlooked when businesses think about security.

According to analysis by cybersecurity researchers at Trend Micro, Linux servers are "increasingly coming under fire" from ransomware attacks, with detections up by 75% over the course of the last year as cyber criminals look to expand their attacks beyond Windows operating systems.

[...] Researchers note that ransomware groups are increasingly tailoring their attacks to focus specifically on Linux systems.

For example, LockBit is one of the most prolific and successful ransomware operations of recent times and now offers the option of a Linux-based variant that is designed to target Linux systems and has been used to conduct attacks in the wild.

[...] And it isn't just ransomware groups that are increasingly turning their attentions towards Linux - according to Trend Micro, there's been a 145% increase in Linux-based cryptocurrency-mining malware attacks, where cyber criminals secretly exploit the power of infected computers and servers to mine for cryptocurrency for themselves.

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