Ubuntu servers hijacked, used for attack

Oh noes: It looks like somebody out there doesn't like Linux. Last Monday, Ubuntu had to pull five of the eight Canonical-sponsored Ubuntu community servers offline, due to an attack that hijacked the machines and used them for nefarious purposes. After analyzing the servers after the attack, members of the Ubuntu team discovered the machines were not as up-to-date as they had thought. "FTP (not sftp, without SSL) was being used to access the machines, so an attacker (in the right place) could also have gotten access by sniffing the clear-text passwords," Ubuntu Community Manager Jono Bacon said, adding, "the servers have not been upgraded past breezy due to problems with the network card and later kernels. This probably allowed the attacker to gain root." I don't think I need to tell you the moral of this story, do I? Luckily, no data was lost in the incident and the Ubuntu team is currently working to fully restore the servers.

For more on the security breach:
- see this eWeek article