Re: Linux Security

["Binand Raj S." <binand@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Krishnan Venkatachalam forced the electrons to say:
> Hi,
> 
> I had an interesting discussion with a friend who thought that
> "Proprietary Unices" were a better hedge as regards security than an OS
> like Linux which is developed over the net and whose "Source Code" was
> freely available. His argument was that since the "Code" was available
> the OS could be compromised more easily.

The argument your friend provides "for" proprietary Unices as opposed to
Linux is actually the other way round; the very fact that linux is open
sourced makes it more robust and secure than proprietary Unices. The
moment hacker X discovers a security hole in linux, he looks into
the source code of the OS, locates the bug, fixes it, and publishes a
description and a patch for the bug. It is easier for the serious hacker
(as opposed to cracker) to identify a particular hole/bug to a particular
module of the OS if the source code is available to him. How many people
are working on increasing the reliability of a proprietary OS? I am sure
it is just a fraction of the number of people who are (albeit maybe just
as a hobby) hacking into linux kernel code and adding new features/fixing
old bugs. The enormous popularity linux enjoys in the Usenet community
surely vouches for this fact. 

Also, I believe Unix giants tend to hide the bugs discovered in their OS
till they are ready for an upgrade or a new release, since they cannot
afford a patch within weeks of the release of a new version, as this would
compromise the reliability of their product. 

Of course I don't say that linux is totally bug free; but its share is much
less than that of proprietary Unices.

Regards,

Binand
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