Microsoft builds itself a Linux-based system
Reporters scramble to check for flying pigs and evidence of hell freezing over, while elsewhere a mysterious hacker patches routers.
We experienced a move recently which would have seemed utterly unthinkable just a few years ago, Microsoft revealed in a blog posting for its Azure cloud platform that it had developed its very own Linux based distro. Before we all get too carried away about whether Microsoft prefers KDE or Gnome though we should point out that in this case, Linux is being used as the base for something called the Azure Cloud Switch. This is Microsoft venturing into writing software for network devices.
Due to its flexibility, Linux excels at this kind of scenario and is a common sight in network cabinets. Details are a bit thin on the ground but this is quite a departure on the part of Microsoft, which has previously attempted to squeeze Windows into any development effort.
Don’t expect to see ACS on the LXFDVD anytime soon, but this is yet another example of the Redmond giant shifting its position in regards to our favourite operating system.
In another unusual event, Symantec this month released details of a piece of malware seen in the wild [ seep7, News for more] which it’s calling Linux.Wifatch. This code, which looks for home routers and other devices connected to the internet (such as web-enabled cameras) actually seems to be fixing vulnerabilities on devices that it takes over. The software, written in Perl, doesn’t appear to obfuscate itself to the same extent as other, more malicious worms. Instead, there are actually debug messages which aid analysis. Among the actions taken by the software are disabling of open telnet ports on home routers, which are accompanied by it leaving a message asking the owner of the device to patch firmware and disable open ports. So far, Symantec has not observed any malicious actions taking place over the network established by the bot, but they warn that backdoors do make up part of the code. While the vigilante nature of this worm seems to be well-intentioned it does still take over systems without consent and the mysterious owner could use it for nefarious purposes in the future (or lose control of it).