A collection of new Mirai malware samples compiled to run on new processors and architectures have been discovered by Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 in the wild during late February 2019.
Unit 42's report says that "the newly discovered samples are compiled for Altera Nios II, OpenRISC, Tensilica Xtensa, and Xilinx MicroBlaze processors" which allows the attackers using this new variant of Mirai to expand their attack surface and target new devices.
While this can also be done by adding more exploits to be used in the attacks, adding more supported architectures is another simple way to increase the number of devices that can be added to the botnet they control.
Additionally,
the Unit 42 researchers state that "If the latest innovations lead to an increase in the number of infected devices, that means that Mirai attackers would have access to additional firepower for use in denial of service attacks."
