Mirai malware and its many variants which have targeted CPU architectures in the past, is now targeting the second most popular type of CPU core – ARC processors. Mirai Okiru is a Mirai variant targeting ARC processors, which are embedded processors used in IoT, auto, mobile, TVs, cameras and a nearly endless list of products.
According to industry experts, ARC CPUs are reportedly shipped in over a billion products per year. Independent security researcher going by the name of ‘Odisseus’ noted that this situation is pretty damn serious, noting “the landscape of Linus IoT infection will change”.
According to test service VirusTotal, there are 19 anti-virus tools that can detect the Okiru threat, However, they may only be effective if they can be deployed to protect networks of IoT devices. Mirai has caused havoc in the past, having knocked DNS servers provided by Dyn offline which had a knock-on effect on the services of major companies that used the DNS service.
