Malware writers target open source

The recent OpenOffice worm may be a sign that malware writers are starting to target the increasingly popular open source software, industry experts say.

First discovered last month, the OpenOffice macro-based worm is spread through a file called badbunny.odg. The worm, named SB/Badbunny-A, affects OpenOffice users on Windows, Linux and Mac platforms.

In an interview, Wilvin Chee, research director at IDC's Asia-Pacific software research group, noted that the OpenOffice worm could be an isolated incident but could also be a sign that malware writers are starting to capitalise on the rising popularity of open source software.

Say what?

Find out all about Chip and PIN, Itil, wi-fi and more in our Cheat Sheets.

Chee said: "We have to see how much of this malware is coming out into the open."

Symantec said the prevalence of the Badbunny worm in the wild is "very low". The impact on businesses and consumers has so far been minimal, thanks to coding errors in the worm that limit its ability to spread, Symantec said. As of Tuesday, the security vendor had not received any new reports of the threat from customers.

Ooi Szu-Khiam, senior security consultant at Symantec Singapore, said that the author of the Badbunny worm has clearly noted that OpenOffice has been downloaded over 80 million times and saw in it the opportunity to create something that could work across many platforms.

Ooi said: "Malware creators are always on the lookout for new avenues to exploit in order to spread their worms and Trojans and the home-user sector is a particularly attractive target."

Ooi noted that open source software in itself is not more vulnerable to attacks compared to proprietary software.

Aaron Tan writes for ZDNet Asia