Thank you for reading the LinuxSecurity.com weekly security newsletter. The purpose of this document is to provide our readers with a quick summary of each week's most relevant Linux security headlines.

LinuxSecurity.com Feature Extras:

Password guessing with Medusa 2.0 - Medusa was created by the fine folks at foofus.net, in fact the much awaited Medusa 2.0 update was released in February of 2010. For a complete change log please visit

Password guessing as an attack vector - Using password guessing as an attack vector. Over the years we've been taught a strong password must be long and complex to be considered secure. Some of us have taken that notion to heart and always ensure our passwords are strong. But some don't give a second thought to the complexity or length of our password.

Ten must-see Black Hat 2012 sessions (Jul 19)

Some editors have posted their thoughts on what they think will be the hot topics of Black Hat 2012, but I'm going to respectfully disagree with them this round, and I'll walk alongside Robert Frost on his road not taken.
Hacker Opens High Security Handcuffs With 3D-Printed And Laser-Cut Keys (Jul 17)

The security of high-end handcuffs depends on a detainee not having access to certain small, precisely-shaped objects. In the age of easy 3D printing and other DIY innovations, that assumption may no longer apply.
WikiLeaks Wins Icelandic Court Battle Against Visa for Blocking Donations (Jul 16)

The Icelandic partner of Visa and MasterCard violated contract laws when it imposed a block against credit card donations to the secret-spilling site WikiLeaks, a district court there has ruled.
(Jul 17)

We all know that Windows 8 PCs will come locked up tight Microsoft's UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) secure boot on. This will prevent you from easily installing Linux or any other operating system, such as Windows 7 or XP, on a Windows 8 system. What we don't know is exactly how original equipment manufacturers (OEM)s will be implementing UEFI, never mind secure boot, on these new machines.
Spam attack on Dropbox users (Jul 18)

Spammers are currently sending large volumes of spam to users of cloud storage service provider Dropbox. The H's associates at heise Security have so far received four different pieces of German-language spam at an email address used solely to register with Dropbox, and some of their readers have reported the same problem; similar reports can also be found on the Dropbox forums. In almost all cases, the spam is for suspicious-looking online casinos.
(Jul 20)

Good news for your email inbox: You'll be seeing less spam in it now, thanks to a global takedown effort that knocked one of the world's biggest spammers offline this week.
Millions Will Flow to Privacy Groups Supporting Weak Facebook Settlement (Jul 16)

Privacy and consumer groups are urging a federal judge to sign off on a controversial Facebook settlement over its "Sponsored Stories" advertising program which will net them a combined payout of $10 million, despite indifference to or confusion over the terms of the vaguely written settlement, according to interviews, e-mail and court records.
(Jul 19)

Expect some notable security improvements in Android 4.1, code-named Jelly Bean. In particular, it will be the first version of Android to properly implement address space layout randomization (ASLR), thus foiling would-be kernel attackers.
Firefox 14 contains vulnerability patches, security-related features (Jul 19)

Version 14 of the Mozilla Firefox browser, released Tuesday, offers several new security-related features as well as patches for numerous vulnerabilities.
Dave & Buster's Hacker Sentenced (Jul 19)

Estonian hacker Aleksandr Suvorov has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in two hacking schemes that involved more than 240,000 stolen credit card numbers.
Nominations are in for the "Security Oscars" (Jul 23)

The Pwnie Awards are intended to be the Oscars of the security community. The show has opened with the nomination of the candidates; the winners will be announced on Wednesday 25 July. Similar to Hollywood, this community also has bright stars who sometimes use dubious methods to try and improve their chances of winning a trophy