By saying "my linux box just got hacked, and now I'm going to get sued", he also pretty much said:
"I downloaded something from an untrusted source, intentionally set it to executable, and then intentionally executed it. I gave the hacker your money. Now I am going to get sued because I am an idiot."
There are quite a few other ways to exploit a box running Linux. Attempting the method you described there would be my last thought.