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.

BackTrack 5 R3 adds tools for Arduino and Teensy attacks (Aug 14)

The third release of version 5 of the BackTrack Linux security distribution fixes several bugs discovered since the R2 release in March and adds over 60 new tools. Several of the new tools were released as part of presentations at the recent Black Hat and DEFCON conferences.
(Aug 14)

Windows is seen by many as an insecure operating system, inferior security-wise to Linux and even Mac OS X. And while it certainly can seem that way, considering that most malware authors concentrate on Windows thanks to the operating system's crushing market share, others have suggested that this impression comes more from the concentration on Windows than superior security of other operating systems.
(Aug 13)

A moderately skilled hacker can get into your online accounts and wreak havoc - and changing your passwords will barely slow them down. Here are four steps to protect yourself and your data.
Mars rover 'Curiosity' under hacker attack? (Aug 16)

NASA's Mars rover 'Curiosity' might be facing a hacking threat from the notorious hacker group, Anonymous, a US security firm has claimed.
The Hack That Kept Me Awake at Night (Aug 13)

If I've seemed a little bleary-eyed and inattentive this week you can blame Jim Fallows. Late on Tuesday night I read his post about gmail, which linked to Mat Honan's piece for Wired about the destruction of his (Honan's) digital life. I was then up most of the night implementing Jim's advice about improving my computer security. This is by no means the first warning Jim has issued.
(Aug 14)

The U.S. Cyber Command, which directs network offensive operations for the Pentagon and protects its networks, is becoming more open about the military's capabilities in cyberspace. Recently, the Defense Department was forced to show part of its hand when leaks surfaced about U.S.-manufactured cyber weapons and cyber espionage missions.
(Aug 17)

A security firm announced this week it plans to launch a new security system that will not only protect you from hackers but will also go after them.
(Aug 14)

Compromises in security are necessary to make cloud services easy to use for non-technical consumers, experts have said.
(Aug 16)

Well the Secure Boot saga keeps going on and on as Linux distributions far and wide decide how they're going to work around Windows 8's planned restrictions, and this week we heard from yet another project.
Executives advocate a military approach to cybersecurity (Aug 14)

A new study being released by a private Internet security company highlights cyberworld weaknesses when it comes to gathering intelligence on hackers and suggests that businesses take a more military-minded approach to defense.
(Aug 17)

I just read an interesting article by Peter Pachal in Mashable's tech section, in which Mike Calce, the former hacker known as "mafiaboy," says most of today's hackers are motivated by the desire to make a quick buck. Calce makes some decent points, but I think he's unfairly swiping the entire hacking community with the same, big brush.
(Aug 16)

During June, Google researchers seeking to strengthen the security posture of the embedded PDF reader for Chrome discovered numerous vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader. Most of these were patched in this week's Adobe security update