Microsoft wants to kill off Linux malware for good

[Karlston]

Microsoft wants to kill off Linux malware for good

Project Freta detects Linux malware for free

(Image credit: Shutterstock.com)

 

Microsoft has unveiled a new threat detection service that it hopes can greatly improve security protection on Linux systems.

 

Project Freta is a free cloud-based tool that is able to detect new forms of malware and other malicious software such as rootkits and cryptominers that Microsoft says could have previously gone undetected in Linux systems.

 

The company notes that such threats can often be found lurking in Linux cloud VM images, putting users of the open-source platform at risk.

Linux security

Microsoft says that Project Freta offers a whole new way of detecting malware threats, going beyond existing methods that rely on sensors to predict the presence of something untoward.

 

Such methods can often be swerved or bypassed entirely by malware authors, meaning a new approach was needed. Project Freta is able to analyse virtual machines (VMs) in order to learn about new environments and how they are affected by malware, before using this knowledge to spot emerging threats.

 

Microsoft says Project Freta automatically analyses images of thousands of Linux cloud VMs in order to detect new forms of malware and sensor corruption, and supports over 4,000 kernel versions at launch. 

 

This makes it incredibly resilient, meaning malware authors would have to invest heavily in developing new threats that can get around the new scanning technology. Project Freta users, who will need a Microsoft account to access the service, can also submit a captured image to generate a report of its content, helping boost the initiative's reach and expertise.

 

"We often think about the field of computer security as a field of walls and barriers that keep intruders out," Mike Walker, Microsoft Senior Director, New Security Ventures wrote in a blog post announcing the launch.

 

"With Project Freta, we invite readers to think not of walls but of sunlight...Project Freta is a roadmap toward trusted sensing for the cloud that can allow enterprises to engage in regular, complete discovery sweeps for undetected malware."

 

Initially only available for Linux systems, Microsoft says it plans to add Windows support for Project Freta soon, as well as AI technology that can boost decision-making potential.

 

"We hope that Project Freta empowers administrators and responders and is used globally as it has been used at Microsoft: to hunt advanced intruders and their toolkits," Walker concluded.

 

 

Via BleepingComputer

 

 

Microsoft wants to kill off Linux malware for good

 

[mp68terr]

Quote

Microsoft wants to kill off Linux malware for good

What about microsoft taking care first of windows malwares?

[gerinho]

1 minute ago, mp68terr said:

What about microsoft taking care first of windows malwares?

 

That's a huge task, so they will go the easier way

[SPECTRUM]

3 hours ago, mp68terr said:

What about microsoft taking care first of windows malwares?

 

they already do that, the big trouble is that people continue executing things downloaded from fake emails or fake websites.

[Marcus Thunder]

14 hours ago, mp68terr said:

What about microsoft taking care first of windows malwares?

I do not think it is about malware, it is about having Microsoft as a brand being attached to Linux Images (Linux Project scanned and verified by Microsoft). A kind of smooth and subtle takeover of Linux by Microsoft, may be in some years to come there will be a paid Linux project that is compatiable with windows. They'll probably call it WinNux and given that such emulators already exist, people will pay Microsoft for security updates & support for miscellaneous line of flexible products.

[mp68terr]

5 minutes ago, Marcus Thunder said:

I do not think it is about malware, it is about having Microsoft as a brand being attached to Linux Images (Linux Project scanned and verified by Microsoft). A kind of smooth and subtle takeover of Linux by Microsoft, may be in some years to come there will be a paid Linux project that is compatiable with windows. They'll probably call it WinNux and given that such emulators already exist, people will pay Microsoft for security updates & support for miscellaneous line of flexible products.

Very bad it would be.

M$oft win or m$oft linux: what a nice choice!