Thank you for reading our Linux Security Week newsletter! In this weekly newsletter, we strive to provide readers with a comprehensive overview of the week's most relevant open source security news. We want to provide you with the type of content you are interested in, and would love to hear your thoughts on this week's articles.

Today’s newsletter highlights our two most recent feature articles: Anatomy of a Linux Ransomware Attack and Verifying Linux Server Security: What Every Admin Needs to Know. We also examine various topics including Red Hat's decision to end CentOS Linux 8 in 2021 and the upcoming launch of System76's AMD-only Pangolin Linux laptop. Wishing you and your loved ones a safe, happy and secure holiday season!

Yours in Open Source,

Brittany Signature 150

LinuxSecurity.com Feature Extras:

Anatomy of a Linux Ransomware Attack - In this article, we’ll examine the anatomy of a Linux ransomware attack, explore the magnitude of the ransomware risk Linux users face compared to Windows users and offer some tips and advice for protecting against Linux ransomware.

Verifying Linux Server Security: What Every Admin Needs to Know - Linux is a widespread OS known for its robust security . That being said, vulnerabilities are inevitable in any OS, and Linux system administrators must be vigilant about monitoring and verifying the security of their servers on an ongoing basis in order to protect sensitive data and prevent attacks. After all, the majority of attacks on Linux systems can be attributed to poor administration. 

  System76 to Launch Their First AMD-Only “Pangolin” Linux Laptop (Dec 7)
 

System76 has hinted at the upcoming launch of the AMD-only Pangolin Linux laptop powered by AMD Ryzen 4000 series of processors and featuring integrated AMD Radeon graphics. System76 hasn't said when their AMD-only Pangolin laptop will be available, but we're willing to bet it will come just in time for the Christmas holiday - in case you were planning on buying a powerful, fast Linux laptop for one of your loved ones.
  Red Hat resets CentOS Linux and users are angry (Dec 10)
 

CentOS is becoming a rolling Linux distribution - and many users aren't happy about it. This change leaves businesses depending on CentOS for a stable server or embedded operating system in the lurch.
  Linux Foundation debuts new, secure, open source cloud native access management software platform (Dec 9)
 

The Linux Foundation has announced a new, secure cloud-native identity and access management software platform -  the Janssen Project .
  For the love of open source: Why developers work on Linux and open-source software (Dec 10)
 

A new survey conducted by  The Linux Foundation 's  Open Source Security Foundation (OSSF)  and the  Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard  (LISH) reveals that while  open-source jobs are in high demand  and the pay is great, it's not money that drives programmers to work on Open Source, but the love of solving problems and creation. The survey also reveals a worrisome trend: security is being neglected in open-source development.
  KDE Plasma 5.20.4 Released with Bug Fixes and Improvements (Dec 7)
 

The KDE team has  announced  the 4th installment of its Plasma desktop environment " KDE Plasma 5.20.4 - which is currently in the bugfix release mode. Here is whats fixed and what's new.
  How to use journalctl to View and Analyze Systemd Logs [With Examples] (Dec 8)
 

There are various commands available to Linux users for troubleshooting desktop and server logs. Learn  the basics of the journalctl utility of  Systemd  and its commands that can be used to view and analyze Systemd Logs in this DebugPoint.com guide.
  How to audit permissions with the find command (Dec 8)
 

Learn how to audit permissions on your Linux system using the find command with the -perm option - along with four bonus permissions auditing methods - in this RedHat tutorial.
  How to install fail2ban on Fedora 33 for protection against unwanted logins (Dec 11)
 

Fail2ban is one of the most popular open-source tools for the banning of unwanted logins on a Linux system. In this TechRepublic tutorial, Jack Wallen demonstrates how to install and configure fail2ban on the latest release of Fedora Linux.
  Transfer Files Between Any Devices Using Piping Server (Dec 11)
 

Piping Server is a free web service used to share data between devices over HTTP/HTTPS. Learn how to use Piping Server to securely transfer files - both from the command line and via a web browser - in this OSTechnix guide.
  Logical Volume Manager (LVM) versus standard partitioning in Linux (Dec 9)
 

This guide demonstrates how to integrate the flexibility, scalability, and increased features of LVM into your server storage strategies. Traditional partitioning is good, but LVM is better - find out how.
  CentOS Linux 8 will end in 2021 and shifts focus to CentOS Stream (Dec 14)
 

The free ride is over for CentOS users. Red Hat has announced that it is shifting its focus to CentOS Stream - the upstream branch of RHEL, and support for CentOS Linux 8 will end in 2021. According to Red Hat, "CentOS Stream will be getting fixes and features ahead of RHEL. Generally speaking, we expect CentOS Stream to have fewer bugs and more runtime features than RHEL until those packages make it into the RHEL release."
  How Kali Linux creators plan to handle the future of penetration testing (Dec 14)
 

Offensive Security might best known as the company behind  Kali Linux , the popular (and free) open-source pen testing platform, but its contribution to the information security industry is definitely not limited to it. According to Offensive Security CEO Ning Wang, "The companys main goal, according to her, is to train millions of professionals to embrace the hacker mindset and the essential ethical hacking skills needed to break into and to succeed within the cybersecurity industry."