Thanks to David for the heads up on this one.

Hackers are increasingly targeting Web servers based on the Linux operating system, while the number of successful attacks on Windows systems decreases, according to a new report from UK system integrator Mi2g. The study also found that successful attacks on UK and US government sites have decreased, which may be due to tougher laws and improved security. In the past, hackers and virus writers have largely focused their efforts on the Windows platform, as its dominance on desktop PCs makes it a ready target. However, Linux has a large share of the Web server market, and Linux server applications are often vulnerable to attack because of mismanagement, according to the study.

Mi2g has evidence of 7,630 successful attacks on Linux systems in the first six months of this year, sharply up from last year's 5,736 attacks. In the meantime, successful attacks on Windows systems running Microsoft's Internet Information Server have fallen by 20 percent from 11,828 in the first half of 2001 to 9,404 in the first half of this year.