Linux sites still down after security breach

The Linux community has been hit by more security woes after a breach forced the temporary closure of the web sites of the Linux Foundation and others.

At the time of writing, LinuxFoundation.org, Linux.com and all sub domains were offline and replaced with a message informing visitors that a security breach occurred on 8 September, most likely as a result of an intrusion on Kernel.org at the end of August.

"We are in the process of restoring services in a secure manner as quickly as possible. As with any intrusion and as a matter of caution, you should consider the passwords and SSH keys that you have used on these sites compromised," the message continued.

"If you have reused these passwords on other sites, please change them immediately. We are currently auditing all systems and will update this statement when we have more information."

The Kernel.org site was also down at the time of writing and replaced with a message indicating that it too is undergoing "maintenance".

The Linux Foundation was at pains to point out that the breach did not affect the Linux kernel or its code repositories.

Paul Ducklin, head of technology at Sophos Asia Pacific, argued that the incident might actually act in a positive way for Linux by persuading its more die hard proponents that "insecurity isn't just about Microsoft".

"Whilst Linux malware is not new, this is probably the closest it has ever come to the heart of their beloved operating system," he said in a blog post.

"In a perversely back-handed sort of way, perhaps this incident is just what Linux needs to raise its profile outside the world of cloud service providers."