Linux version of RansomEXX ransomware discovered

 

This marks the first time a major Windows ransomware strain has been ported to Linux to aid hackers in their targeted intrusions.

Security firm Kaspersky said today that it discovered a Linux version of the RansomEXX ransomware, marking the first time a major Windows ransomware strain has been ported to Linux to aid in targeted intrusions.

RansomEXX is what security researchers call a "big-game hunter" or "human-operated ransomware." These two terms are used to describe ransomware groups that hunt large targets in search for big paydays, knowing that some companies or government agencies can't afford to stay down while they recover their systems.

These groups buy access or breach networks themselves, expand access to as many systems as possible, and then manually deploy their ransomware binary as a final payload to cripple as much of the target's infrastructure as possible.

But over the past year, there has been a paradigm shift into how these groups operate.