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: Modernize Your Intrusion Detection Strategy with an AI-Powered, Open-Source NIDS and Anatomy of a Linux Ransomware Attack. We also examine various topics including the recent discovery of PyMICROPSIA - a Windows trojan linked to the AridViper threat group showing signs that it might be used to infect computers running Linux and macOS as well and Red Hat's plans to end support for CentOS Linux 8 in 2021. Happy Monday - and happy reading!

Yours in Open Source,

Brittany Signature 150

LinuxSecurity.com Feature Extras:

Modernize Your Intrusion Detection Strategy with an AI-Powered, Open-Source NIDS - To help you modernize your intrusion detection strategy heading into the new year, we’ll examine the benefits and potential drawbacks of implementing an AI-powered network intrusion detection system (NIDS) and introduce you to a fast and flexible open-source NIDS we love called AIEngine.

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.

  New Windows malware may soon target Linux, macOS devices (Dec 16)
 

A newly discovered Windows trojan linked to the AridViper threat group, dubbed PyMICROPSIA, shows signs that it might be used to infect computers running Linux and macOS as well.
  CentOS 8/6 Linux would end, what are the best possible alternatives in 2021? (Dec 15)
 

Much to the dismay of CentOS users, Red Hat recently announced that CentOS Linux 8 will no longer be supported and will be discontinued at the end of 2021. CentOS 8 will be replaced by the rolling version, CentOS Stream, as the downstream branch of RHEL, which will continue to make the upstream version more stable and secure.
  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."
  Why I'm not concerned about the rise in Linux attacks (Dec 16)
 

Linux is becoming increasingly popular, and for good reason - the open-source OS is flexible, customizable and highly secure. Luckily, Linux is superior in design to most platforms, making the inevitable increase in attacks targeting Linux less of a threat. Jack Wallen offers an eplanation, along with his perspective on the topic.
  Moving To Linux From Windows: Is Linux Hard To Use? (Dec 15)
 

Considering making the switch from Windows to Linux? Linux has a shallow learning curve and is highly secure and customizable. Learn about the benefits of moving to Linux, and how you can get started with this exciting transition.
  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."
  CloudLinux to invest more than a million dollars a year into CentOS clone (Dec 18)
 

With Red Hat ending support for CentOS Linux 8 and changing the popular distro into a rolling release, CloudLinux has announced that it's making a bigger and better stable point CentOS: Lenix.
  The annual report of the Linux Foundation summarizes 2020 in an ‘open source’ key (Dec 18)
 

The Linux Foundation has released its annual report summarizing key Open Source trends and milestones in 2020.
  Linux Mint 20.1 Beta Released With New IPTV App And WebApp Manager (Dec 17)
 

The beta version of Linux Mint 20.1 Ulyssa has finally been released with a selection of valuable new features including the Linux kernel 5.4, Cinnamon 4.8, MATE 1.24 and the Xfce 4.14 desktop. Learn the details.
  Get No-Fuss File-Level Crypto With Fscrypt (Dec 17)
 

Learn how to use fscrypt to create an encrypted filesystem - but be warned: this involves tinkering on the command line and doing a partially or fully manual operating system installation. However, if you are willing to put in the time and effort, you will enjoy a high-performing computing experience with seamless modern encryption protection.
  Where Fedora fits in the new Red Hat/CentOS Stream Linux world (Dec 21)
 

With CentOS Stream now "tracking ahead" of RHEL, where exactly does this leave Fedora, Red Hat's community Linux distro and long-time RHEL test release? Find out in this article.
  4 Docker security best practices to minimize container risks (Dec 21)
 

Without the right tools and processes in place, Docker security can feel like a moving target. Learn four best practices for keeping deployments safe in this helpful TechTarget tutorial.