A recently observed piece of malware targeting embedded Linux systems can provide attackers with full control over the infected devices, ESET security researchers warn.

Dubbed Rakos, the newly discovered malware is attacking vulnerable devices via brute force SSH login attempts, a method already observed in various other Linux threats. The new malicious program is looking to infect both embedded devices and servers that have an open SSH port by preying on their weak credentials, with the purpose of building a large botnet.