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.

Linux: An OS Capable of Effectively Meeting the US Governments Security Needs Heading into 2020 - As Open Source has become increasingly mainstream and widely accepted for its numerous benefits, the use of Linux as a flexible, transparent and highly secure operating system has also increasingly become a prominent choice among corporations, educational institutions and government sectors alike. With national security concerns at an all time high heading into 2020, it appears that the implementation of Linux could effectively meet the United States governments critical security needs for application development and installations.

Linux Kernel Security in a Nutshell: How to Secure Your Linux System - The Linux kernel is the core component of the Linux operating system, maintaining complete control over everything in the system. It is the interface between applications and data processing at the hardware level, connecting the system hardware to the application software. The kernel manages input/output requests from software, memory, processes, peripherals and security, among other hefty responsibilities. Needless to say, the Linux kernel is pretty important.

  Lazarus leverages Dacls Trojan to infect Windows and Linux systems (Dec 25)
 

Security experts from Netlab 360 have uncovereda new Remote Access Trojan (RAT) used on Linux and Windows operating systems " currently being used in the wild by exploiting a known code execution vulnerability. Dubbed Dacls, the malware was in use since at least May this year and is attributed to the North Korean advanced persistent threat group Lazarus, also known as Hidden Cobra,Guardians of Peace, or Zinc. Learn more:
  US military loves Linux (Dec 23)
 

The US government is increasingly using open-source software as a way to roll out advanced, highly secure technology in an economical manner. So chances are if you get hit by US munitions chances are the software is open source " which should make you feel better. Learn more:
  Fancy New Terms, Same Old Backdoors: The Encryption Debate in 2019 (Dec 26)
 

Almost every week, we hear about another corporate data breach or government attack on privacy . For anyone who wants real privacy online, encryption is the essential component. Learn more about the importance of maintaining strong encryption:
  CCPA: Everything you need to know about California's new privacy law (Dec 27)
 

The most sweeping data-privacy law in the country kicks in Jan. 1. The CCPA, short for the California Consumer Privacy Act, gives residents of the Golden State the right to learn what data companies collect about them. It also lets Californians ask companies to delete their data and not to sell it. Learn more about CCPA in a comprehensive CNet article:
  BlackArch Linux Ethical Hacking OS Gets First 2020 Release with 120 New Tools (Dec 30)
 

BlackArch Linux developers have announced the release of new ISOs and OVA image for their penetration testing and ethical hacking operating system with new tools and many improvements. Learn more:
  Linux and open-source rules: 2019's five biggest stories show why (Dec 30)
 

This was the year when, once and for all, it became clear that the future of technology belongs to Linux and open-source software. Get the details in an interesting ZDNet article:
  Linux Kernel 5.3 Reached End of Life, Users Urged to Upgrade to Linux Kernel 5.4 (Dec 30)
 

The Linux 5.3 kernel series has reached end of life and it will no longer receive maintenance updates that fix critical security issues or bugs. Learn more: