Last week, an attacker compromised several key servers belonging to Linux distribution maker Debian Project, an event that seems to mirror problems Microsoft had 2 years ago when attackers compromised its network. The Debian incursion, however, was more dramatic: The project's bug-tracking, mail-list, Web server, and security-component servers were compromised. But in the aftermath of the attack, Debian officials said the code for its Linux distribution was unchanged.
"Fortunately, open-source developers tend to be very good at keeping cryptographic signatures on files and multiple backups to make sure that everything stays all right," Debian Cofounder Ian Murdoch told eWEEK. Murdoch claims that the attacker was really just interested in Debian's most recent Linux release, which is due this week. Arguably, the same might be said of the people who tried to attack Microsoft's network.
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