There is a notion by many people that Linux-based operating systems are impervious to malware and are 100 percent safe. While operating systems that use that kernel are rather secure, they are certainly not impenetrable. In fact, users are arguably less safe when they believe that stereotype, since they could be less vigilant.
Many of these same people view Windows as being Swiss cheese-like. With that said, would you be surprised if I told you that threat methods for Linux increased an astonishing 300 percent in 2016, while Microsoft’s operating systems saw a decrease? Well, according to a new report, that is true.
Does this mean Linux is unsafe? No way, José! There are some important takeaways here. Microsoft’s Windows operating systems are still the most targeted platforms despite the year over year decline — far beyond Linux. Also, just because there is an increase in malware attack methods doesn’t necessarily mean that more systems will be infected. Let us not forget that it is easier to find a vulnerability with open source too; Microsoft largely uses closed source code.
Source: https://betanews.com/2017/07/05/linux-safe/
Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht
I’ve been watching the US-CERT vulnerabilities https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/bulletins/ with just this in mind over the last year. I’ve not formally collected the evidence but it seems to me that Windows vulnerabilities are almost always exposed to the world but Linux vulnerabilities require a local user actor to become a threat.
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