PDA

View Full Version : ubuntu servers hacked


jonathan21
August 21st, 2007, 11:09 AM
whats everyone think about the recent story about some ubuntu servers been hacked.does this mean that soon symantec will be offering us security software soon:).what is you take and could this have been prevented
bluenova
August 21st, 2007, 11:32 AM
These servers were found to have a variety of problems including, but not limited to, missing security patches, FTP (not sftp, without SSL) was being used to access the machines, and no upgrades past breezy due to problems with the network cards and later kernels.

Yes I think it could have been prevented.
original_jamingrit
August 21st, 2007, 11:56 AM
I think this is it: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=527020&highlight=ubuntu+server+hacked

It was way out of date security, on servers running "lots of web software".
fuscia
August 21st, 2007, 01:05 PM
didn't some openbsd servers get hacked a while back?
Spr0k3t
August 21st, 2007, 01:09 PM
It was way out of date security, on servers running "lots of web software".

+1 ... not to mention unsupported.
eentonig
August 21st, 2007, 01:09 PM
Yes I think it could have been prevented.

No, it couldn't have been prevented. No matter which OS you throw at a problem. If the administrators are lazy, foolish and non-security aware... it will always get hacked.

Security is not a technological issue. It's a mindset.
PartisanEntity
August 21st, 2007, 01:14 PM
It's really a non-story isn't it? Regardless of OS, using an obsolete and no longer supported system without the latest patches is a security risk begging to happen. I fail to see what is 'news' about this. It's like saying "Humans need oxygen to live".
Dragonbite
August 21st, 2007, 02:47 PM
No, it couldn't have been prevented. No matter which OS you throw at a problem. If the administrators are lazy, foolish and non-security aware... it will always get hacked.

Security is not a technological issue. It's a mindset.I think part of the issue here is WHY they did not update/patch.
From the Article (read here (http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2171318,00.asp))
the servers have not been upgraded past breezy due to problems with the network card and later kernels.This *IS* a technological issue.

In the computer club I am a part of they wanted to install CentOS (a RedHat clone) on the server but could not because of the RAID drivers ( I believe). They tried Fiesty but that didn't work either. Dapper was successful so in the end they went with it.

Yes, they could have done more but that's a lot of work for something the system should have been able to do.
n.aggel
August 21st, 2007, 03:21 PM
didn't some openbsd servers get hacked a while back?
no way this could have happen....openbsd is by far the more ssecure os in this planet......
qpieus
August 21st, 2007, 05:08 PM
jonathan21 - you do understand that these servers were NOT Canonical production servers, right? They were local community servers that were not well maintained, security-wise. Canonical had no control of these servers. The people running the servers are at fault for not keeping their servers up to date and secure, not Canonical or Ubuntu. As someone earlier in this thread said, bad lazy admins could make just about any server insecure.