Off-topic, slightly - Hand of Thief Linux Virus

[linuxnutster at videotron.ca]

I was just reading about this new malware threat. I'm not clear on how 
exactly this thing can get installed on a Linux system. Would it require 
100% social engineering? I installed Fedora on my elderly mother's last 
two laptops so she can do her banking without being paranoid about 
keyloggers, trojans, etc... She is a news hound, so it's only a matter 
of time before she comes flying at me demanding reassurances.