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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:

Review: The Official Ubuntu Book - If you haven't used Linux before, are new to Ubuntu, or would like a quick update on the latest in open source advancements for the desktop, then The Official Ubuntu Book is a great place to start. Authored by a group of some of the most experienced open source administrators and developers, this 400-page user guide details everything you need to know about how to make the most of your Ubuntu, Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE), and Xubuntu (Ubuntu with Xfce) computer.

Review: Zabbix 1.8 Network Monitoring - If you have anything more than a small home network, you need to be monitoring the status of your systems to ensure they are providing the services they were designed to provide. Rihards Olups has created a comprehensive reference and usability guide for the latest version of Zabbix that anyone being tasked with implementing should have by their side.

Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.22 (Version 3.0, Release 22). This release includes many updated packages and bug fixes and some feature enhancements to the EnGarde Secure Linux Installer and the SELinux policy.
Wikileaks DDoS tool downloads grow rapidly (Dec 10)

A disproportionate number of people downloading the open source DIY tool being used to launch DDoS attacks on companies deemed hostile to Wikileaks appear to be based in the UK, new figures have suggested.
(Dec 9)

A security researcher has posted an exploit for the Linux on the Full Disclosure mailing list that utilizes three different bugs to permit an attacker to get root access.
Why security pros fail (and what to do about it) (Dec 6)

You've probably heard the phrase, "Failure is the key to success." But are security professionals really learning from their mistakes? As identity theft and online risks keep growing, is our industry rising to the challenge or repeating the miscues of the past? While security technology is improving, the bad guys also have access to better tools. So are the good guys working smarter?
(Dec 8)

Google. Twitter. Government websites. Fortune 500 companies. All have been victims of crippling distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. The attacks have grown in reach and intensity thanks to botnets and a bounty of application flaws. And Akamai Technologies has a seen it all firsthand.
(Dec 8)

WikiLeaks has been experiencing some issues lately ranging from having its Web hosting services shutdown to having its accounts frozen and the flow of money cut off. Some cheer those actions, while others see them as an attack on liberty and free speech and are coming to WikiLeaks' defense.
16-Year-Old Arrested For Pro-WikiLeaks Cyber Attacks (Dec 9)

Dutch police arrested a 16-year-old teenager on Wednesday for his involvement in the online attacks against Visa and Mastercard, organized by supporters of WikiLeaks.
99.98% Of Domains Unsigned By DNS Security Extensions (Dec 8)

Use of the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) specifications for securing domain names increased by 340% from 2009 to 2010. Even so, only 0.02% of Internet zones are now being signed with DNSSEC, and 23% of those are using expired signatures.
Fast-encryption feature arrives in Chrome (Dec 7)

Google has begun shipping a feature called False Start in its Chrome browser to speed up secure communications. False Start essentially cuts out one set of the back-and-forth conversation needed to set up a secure channel between a Web browser and Web pages.
(Dec 9)

PayPal's website was hit late Wednesday by two botnets as online activists continued their Web attacks on companies that have severed their relationships with WikiLeaks.
(Dec 6)

Security expert Bruce Schneier has called for governments to establish 'hotlines' between their cyber commands, much like the those between nuclear commands, to help them battle against cyber attacks.
Red Hat: more reliable than Microsoft, apparently... (Dec 7)

With Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 now cutting its way into the enterprise-calibre open source operating systems space, there is much to talk about as the terms security and virtualisation are increasingly used to highlight its key new features.
WikiLeaks hacker a villain or a hero? (Dec 7)

Julian Assange of WikiLeaks is fighting a lot of enemies right now, including at least one from an unexpected place: The computer underground. A hacker calling himself The Jester