Another day, another piece of malware designed to trick users into running it. However, this one is slightly different from the norm. It’s a piece of software that infects your computer and every single running process on your Linux system at once. This type of attack is known as metasploitting and involves taking advantage of the trust users generally have for a file. In this case, the file is named ‘Symbiote’ – an organism that feeds on another organism called its host. This new malware does exactly that. It infects all running processes on a user’s Linux system as a Symbiote host to trick them into executing it as a Symbiote parasite.
Infecting Processes
The Symbiote malware infects all running processes on a user’s Linux system. It does this by exploiting a ‘kill’ feature that allows a user to terminate a running process. By abusing this feature, the Symbiote malware terminates every process on a user’s system and replaces it with itself. This approach makes it difficult for antivirus software to identify the malware. making it seem like a normal system part. Once the Symbiote malware has been run, it will return every time the user restarts their computer and runs every process, infecting them again. This type of attack is known as metasploitting and involves taking advantage of the trust users generally have for a file. In this case, the file is named ‘Symbiote’ – an organism that feeds on another organism called its host.
What does the Symbiote malware do?
The Symbiote malware does everything it can to sabotage a user’s computer. It replaces every running process with itself, and changes the computer’s host file. That way, a user’s computer cannot find their own Wi-Fi network. It changes the system’s network settings so that the computer cannot access any network. However, the malware has a third feature that makes it particularly insidious: it restarts the computer before the user can shut it down. Once users realize the malware has infected them, they need to restart their computer. This will reset all the changes made to their system.
Why is this type of attack increasing?
The increase in malware designed to infect all running processes on a Linux system is likely due to the increase in popularity of the Linux operating system. Linux is often used for servers and other computers that require a high level of security and stability. As many more people are using the Linux operating system, it is likely to increase the number of people who accidentally run a malicious piece of software designed to look like a harmless file. If one user accidentally runs a malicious software, the software will infect their system and make changes to it. If that user sends an attachment to another user, they are likely to infect the other user’s computer with the same malicious software.
Final Thoughts
The Symbiote malware may be new, but it is a particularly nasty piece of software. It can only be removed from a computer by restarting it, which makes it particularly frustrating for victims. To avoid this type of malware, it is important to ensure you know what you are clicking on. Especially regarding email attachments. If you aren’t expecting an attachment, verify its source before clicking on it. Once it is run, the only way to remove the Symbiote malware is to restart your computer. If you believe that you may have run the Symbiote malware, it is important to reset your computer as soon as possible.
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