Today, an important update has come from Clement Lefebvre, the leader of the Linux Mint project for the users of the Linux Mint OS. According to this update, the servers where the Linux Mint website is hosted have been hacked and the download links for ISOs are compromised.
Linux Mint OS website hacked
As per the important update, a group of hackers hacked the Linux Mint OS and modified it with a backdoor. Using this, the hackers could also hack into the Linux Mint website; after which they compromised the download links to trick users into downloading the malicious ISO image.
Clement Lefebvre made the announcement on the official blog,
“I’m sorry I have to come with bad news. We were exposed to an intrusion today. It was brief and it shouldn’t impact many people, but if it impacts you, it’s very important you read the information below,”
He further mentioned about the danger this incident may have caused;
“As far as we know, the only compromised edition was Linux Mint 17.3 Cinnamon edition. If you downloaded another release or another edition, this does not affect you. If you downloaded via torrents or via a direct HTTP link, this doesn’t affect you either. Finally, the situation happened today, so it should only impact people who downloaded this edition on February 20th.”
If you have downloaded the compromised version of Linux Mint ISO
In case you have downloaded the compromised version of the ISO, then Clement Lefebvre has also given the fix for it.
Fist of all, delete the ISO. If you have burnt it to DVD, don’t use the disc again. In case you have burnt it to USB, you need to format the USB. In case you have installed the Linux Mint ISO on your PC, then follow these steps.
- Put the computer offline.
- Backup your personal data, if any.
- Reinstall the OS or format the partition.
- Change your passwords for sensitive websites (for your email in particular).
As per Clement Lefebvre’s announcement, only the 17.3 Cinnamon edition has been compromised. Currently not everything is all right and they had taken the server down to fix the issues. It is recommended that affected users must disconnect their computers from the Internet as soon as possible, wipe the disk drive and change all of their passwords. Besides, in case you are affected due to compromised Linux Mint ISO, inform the leaders on this website.
