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:

Securing a Linux Web Server - With the significant prevalence of Linux web servers globally, security is often touted as a strength of the platform for such a purpose. However, a Linux based web server is only as secure as its configuration and very often many are quite vulnerable to compromise. While specific configurations vary wildly due to environments or specific use, there are various general steps that can be taken to insure basic security considerations are in place.

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

(Apr 2)

Here's a shocking fact I've learned from 25-plus years of security consulting: Most security projects fail to improve the safety of the organizations launching them. Security will be compromised as frequently after the project as before.
How valuable are security certifications today? (Apr 2)

When it comes to education, most people agree, more is better. No one embodies that principle at least in regard to IT certifications better than Jerry Irvine. CIO of IT consulting firm Prescient Solutions and member of the National Cyber Security Task Force, Irvine holds more than 20 IT certifications, of which at least six are specifically information security-oriented.
(Apr 1)

Hispalinux, a Spanish association representing Linux users and developers, has filed an EU complaint against Windows 8's UEFI Secure Boot, calling it "a de facto technological jail for computer booting systems."
(Apr 1)

Parameter Security moved from the Economic Development Center in St. Peters to an office on Main Street St. Charles. Parameter's hackers hack like bad guys in order to see where businesses and organizations are the most vulnerable.
Firefox 20 has per-window privacy and fixes three critical bugs (Apr 3)

Mozilla has released Firefox 20, the latest update to the browser. As has been the case with most recent Firefox updates, there is a limited number of new features and a number of security fixes. Amongst the new features is the per-window private browsing, first seen in the beta of Firefox 20
North Korea's Twitter, Flickr accounts hacked; Anonymous speaks up (Apr 4)

As North Korea continues to threaten the U.S. and South Korea with war rhetoric, hackers have taken over the country's social media accounts and many of its websites.
(Apr 3)

Known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns all lurk in public clouds, but you can stay ahead of the exploits. Whether or not you liked former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, you had to chuckle over his famous "unknown unknowns" quote:
Spammers dodge junk filters with Google Translate (Apr 4)

Spammers are using Google's good reputation to dodge mail filters deliver their irritable spew to inboxes across the Internet.
AMI Firmware Source Code, Private Key Leaked (Apr 5)

Source code and a private signing key for firmware manufactured by a popular PC hardware maker American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) have been found on an open FTP server hosted in Taiwan.
Apple's iMessage encryption trips up feds' surveillance (Apr 4)

Internal document from the Drug Enforcement Administration complains that messages sent with Apple's encrypted chat service are "impossible to intercept," even with a warrant.
(Apr 4)

A dean at Harvard University who led a probe into leaked information in a cheating scandal admitted Tuesday that she failed to report two secret searches of a fellow dean's email accounts.
(Apr 8)

There is so much new technology when it comes to phones and computers, but do you ever wonder if having access to so many apps and features could possibly put your personal information in jeopardy?