Posted by Virus Bulletin on Apr 11, 2007
New minority platform joins infectable list.
Virus analysts have reported receiving samples of a proof-of-concept virus for the iPodLinux operating system, a port of the open-source platform to Apple's popular media-player device.
The proof-of-concept is far from stable and has fairly limited functionality, requiring manual installation and launching, but once running can infect .elf executable files found on the device. With the platform itself in use only by a small number of specialist users, the significance of the find is generally thought to be minor.
'With the onslaught of targeted stealth malware backed by organised crime, many thought the old days of viruses created purely to push boundaries and break new ground were behind us,' said John Hawes, Technical Consultant at Virus Bulletin. 'However, it seems that just as serious Linux hackers seem to take endless pleasure in porting their favourite operating system to the latest and most unlikely platforms, there are also people who remain enchanted with the idea of proving that the core functionality of a virus can be transposed to new environments. It's pretty unlikely that this example will pave the way for a flood of threats for this minority platform, but it will of course add more work for the virus analysts, and further complexity to classification systems.'
The proof-of-concept proved too buggy for researchers at F-Secure to activate, but Kaspersky had more luck, and posted a blog entry and a more detailed release on the subject.
Posted on 11 April 2007 by Virus Bulletin
