Linux boxen are very usable as bots. I am currently involved in a forensic investigation of a compromised system that was used as part of a bot-net.

Don't fool yourself into thinking you are any safer than Windows users. You will simply be pwnt by moderately more talented hackers is all. Lock down your system, turn off unnecessary services, tunnel everything via encrypted communication channels and follow bugtraq for any application that you have interacting with potentially hostile users (i.e. internet facing).

There is no excuse for not having a robust security plan for all of your systems.

Cheers.

- Erich

On Sun, Mar 16, 2008 at 11:49 PM, der.hans <PLUGd@lufthans.com> wrote:
Am 16. Mar, 2008 schwätzte Josef Lowder so:

> Are Linux boxes vulnerable to be used by botnets?

Theoretically yes, but not really. If there were a security hole that
could be exploited someone could take advantage of it to deliver a payload
that would turn GNU/Linux boxen into trojans. GNU/Linux bot would actually
be much more powerful bots than windows boxen becuase the OS isn't
using most of the computer's resources.

GNU/Linux doesn't have as many vulnerabilities as windows or windows
applications on other OSen. That insulates us, but it's important that we
install security updates from our distributions or other upstream sources.

ciao,

der.hans
--
#  https://www.LuftHans.com/        http://www.CiscoLearning.org/
#  "Who decided that holders of government-granted monopolies should
#  determine the future of high tech? I don't remember reading that memo."
#    -- Will Rodger, director of public policy, Computer and Communications
#       Industry Association

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