Security News > 2022 > May > New ‘Cheers’ Linux ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers
A new ransomware named 'Cheers' has appeared in the cybercrime space and has started its operations by targeting vulnerable VMware ESXi servers.
We have seen many ransomware groups targeting the VMware ESXi platform in the past, with the most recent additions being LockBit and Hive.
The addition of Cheers ransomware to the club was discovered by analysts at Trend Micro, who call the new variant 'Cheerscrypt'.
These file extensions are associated with ESXi snapshots, log files, swap files, paging files, and virtual disks.
While scanning folders for files to encrypt, the ransomware will create ransom notes named 'How To Restore Your Files.
BleepingComputer found the data leak and victim extortion Onion site for the Cheers ransomware operation, which lists only four victims for now.