Tl;Dr new Linux malware specific to a flavor used by the Indian government uses emojis as a c2 comms path
this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2024
125 points (95.6% liked)
Linux
5501 readers
226 users here now
A community for everything relating to the linux operating system
Also check out [email protected]
Original icon base courtesy of [email protected] and The GIMP
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
The joke's on you, malware devs! I never use Discord, and never did on my Linux machines.
And it targets the BOSS environment, which is used by Indian officials.
BOSS environment
Bee Open Source Software?
We talking about software for Haiku?
I would assume this just relies on the Discord API being read by the bot - and not on having a local discord installed...
Let's see if the flatpak ideas about sandboxing being pushed down our throats actually prevent these abuses or not...
I'm honestly so sick of everything being sandboxed. The security is not worth the hassle.
More so, if it is easily sandboxed, it should just be a webapp. Which discord already is.
Just use the website.
Browsers are already easily themed, have plenty of tools to change deeper functionality, and are way more sandboxed than any other app packaging ecosystem.
I tried that, but I had problems with my audio setup every time I used it.
This
That’s a good argument.
what hassle?
Everything is ever so slightly broken in a way that I just can't ignore. Personalization doesn't quite work. Permissions are overwhelming and usually lead to silent failures. Integration with the rest of the system is weak at best.
so problems from programs that don't support flatpak, not flatpak fault, because everything you said is supported
Everything is ever so slightly broken in a way that I just can't ignore.
this isn't even caused by flatpak, it's the app fault
I don't care whose fault it is, it's obnoxious and I don't want to bother with it. Lately though, it seems like everything is only being released as a flatpak app despite those issues.
Asking as someone who is absolutely not tech proficient compared to most lemmy users: is this a vulnerability with Linux or Discord specifically, or is this something that could be carried out on any OS/messenger if the computer was infected?
It looks like there isn’t a vulnerability at all. Just a malware executable disguised as a pdf in a zip file that uses discord as a communication method
From the article, it sounds as though this isn't something a normal user should be worried about. They said the security researched believe it targets a Linux distribution used by the Indian government, and the phishing/malicious links seem intended to target Indian officials.
According to Volexity, the malware was discovered after the researchers spotted a UPX-packed ELF executable in a ZIP archive, likely distributed through phishing emails. Volexity believes that the malware targets a custom Linux distribution named BOSS that Indian government agencies use as their desktop.
I use Arch, btw. /s
Interesting, thanks!