Reasonably secure Linux

Put a lock on your door and they get in through a window. Lock the window and they’ll just smash it. Put bars on the windows and they pick your door lock. Deadbolt the door and they will trick their way in pretending to be the gas man. An analogy, how quaint!

Computer security can, at times, feel like an arms race between global superpowers. Yet at least with the Linux kernel and open source everything’s out in the open. Indeed, there’s an entire world of developers whose livelihoods depend on the FOSS ecosystem being secured.

While we can’t guarantee absolute security, we can at least take the sensible steps down the path of reasonable security. Keep in mind that the majority of security breaches occur through human error. All too often an unsuspecting victim will fall for a phishing scam of one sort or another – clicking a compromised link or running disguised malware, for example.

The thycotic.com Black Hat 2018 survey revealed that 64 per cent of hackers report social engineering or stolen identities as the best way to compromise a network. Looking at the top choice of attacks, a crazy 85 per cent are entirely avoidable: 47 per cent use reused passwords, 18 per cent open Wi-fi hotspots and 19 per cent involve people using compromised USB drives. Taking the wider view, the various Windows Oses make up 64 per cent of target attacks, with Linux down at 18 per cent.

It’s clear that taking even the most basic of security steps can significantly lower your chance of attack – attackers are naturally going to go for the easy targets out there. So follow the sage advice from Jonni this issue for a securer Linux system and enjoy!