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So who is targeting the Linux distributions?

So who is targeting the Linux distributions?

Posted Dec 3, 2003 18:57 UTC (Wed) by lolando (subscriber, #7139)
In reply to: So who is targeting the Linux distributions? by sphealey
Parent article: Gentoo rsync server compromised

> First Debian, now Gentoo.

I suppose you mean "First GNU, then Linux, then Debian, then Gentoo."

Or should we include SCO in there too? ;-)


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So who is targeting the Linux distributions?

Posted Dec 3, 2003 19:00 UTC (Wed) by miah (guest, #639) [Link]

I've been wondering about this for a little while too.. It seems strange that all this happened
so close together. I'd say somebody is definately targeting linux.

ftp.gnu.org got owned
somebody tried to backdoor the kernel
debian servers got owned
gentoo server got owned...


whats next?

So who is targeting the Linux distributions?

Posted Dec 3, 2003 19:12 UTC (Wed) by amtota (guest, #4012) [Link]

conspiracy theory #1: microsoft has just announced that they would counter
attack linux on security ... see headlines from last week.

So who is targeting the Linux distributions?

Posted Dec 4, 2003 13:32 UTC (Thu) by davidl (guest, #12156) [Link]

Well it wouldn't surprise me. Microsoft see free software and the free software projects as the real threat.

So who is targeting the Linux distributions?

Posted Dec 3, 2003 20:55 UTC (Wed) by freethinker (guest, #4397) [Link]

> What's next?

Why, LWN, of course, so people won't get these warnings :)

So who is targeting the Linux distributions?

Posted Dec 3, 2003 22:03 UTC (Wed) by sdoyon (subscriber, #4221) [Link]

Erm well, http://savannah.gnu.org says
"On December 1st, 2003, we discovered that the "Savannah" system, which
is maintained by the Free Software Foundation and provides CVS and
development services to the GNU project and other Free Software
projects, was compromised at circa November 2nd, 2003.

The compromise seems to be of the same nature as the recent attacks on
Debian project servers; the attacker seemed to operate identically.
However, this incident was distinctly different from the modus
operandi we found in the attacks on our FTP server in August 2003. We
have also confirmed that an unauthorized party gained root access and
installed a root-kit ("SucKIT") on November 2nd, 2003."

So who is targeting the Linux distributions?

Posted Dec 17, 2003 14:55 UTC (Wed) by wookey (subscriber, #5501) [Link]

One thing that may well contribute to a lot of attacks close together is that once you've sniffed a Debian Developer's password you have a good chance of using it to get into more than one machine. A lot of people use the same password in multiple places, even knowing it's poor practice, because there's a limit to how many you can remember.

Quite a few passwords and keys could have become compromised in the Debian attack, and whilst we are all supposed to change all our affected passwords and keys on all the machines we use it's easy to forget one on some obscure box you haven't used for ages or otherwise leave a crack in a door somewhere, especially when multiplied by 1000 people, even if they are all essentially reasonably competent.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are more break-ins using the info gleaned from this one (and maybe gentoo's). This would be a factor in the apparent clustering of attacks.

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