A New Linux Malware Targeting High-Performance Computing Clusters
Feb 03, 2021
High-performance computing clusters belonging to university networks as well as servers associated with government agencies, endpoint security vendors, and internet service providers have been targeted by a newly discovered backdoor that gives attackers the ability to execute arbitrary commands on the systems remotely. Cybersecurity firm ESET named the malware " Kobalos " — a nod to a " mischievous creature " of the same name from Greek mythology — for its "tiny code size and many tricks." "Kobalos is a generic backdoor in the sense that it contains broad commands that don't reveal the intent of the attackers," researchers Marc-Etienne M. Léveillé and Ignacio Sanmillan said in a Tuesday analysis. "In short, Kobalos grants remote access to the file system, provides the ability to spawn terminal sessions, and allows proxying connections to other Kobalos-infected servers." Besides tracing the malware back to attacks against a nu...