Multi-platform backdoor malware targets Windows, Mac and Linux users

Most of the malware that we analyse inside SophosLabs targets Windows users.

And that makes sense for the cybercriminals – after all, more people are using Windows as their desktop operating system than any other platform.

But if malicious hackers want to go the extra mile, and maximise their chances of infecting more people’s computers, they might well try to develop a multi-platform attack.

Yesterday, our friends at F-Secure discovered malware on a compromised Colombian transport website that was capable of infecting Windows, Mac and Linux users.

Visiting a hacked webpage, triggers a JAR (Java Archive) file which will ask permission to do its business – secretly determining if you are running Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.

Once it has found out which operating system you are running, the Java class file will download the appropriate flavour of malware, with the…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.