Cracking Linux with the backspace key?

I agree that this attack is much less critical than the media reports. On the other hand the media often hyped Linux as this super secure system compared to Windows, same as it hyped OS X this way. And the reality is that neither Linux nor OS X are super secure but that there are actually lots of owned Linux systems out there as part of botnets. Often these systems are installed once and left unpatched because the owner believed the hype. This combined with vulnerable Wordpress or similar installations leads to an easy compromise.

It might actually improve the security of the internet if the public realizes that Linux is not that secure as often claimed and that it needs regular patches like most of the other systems. And sometimes it needs some overreaction like now to correct a wrong perception.