Funky-Penguin: A daft assertion Aug 16, 2000, 12 :35 UTC (4 Talkback[s]) (4052 reads)
"An article appeared on the Silicon.com website in March in which a "security expert" claimed that Linux was insecure because of the open source
nature of the code, a surprising if not astonishing claim. The expert went on to claim that Unix in general was less secure than other operating
systems because of its more open nature, which, given the modern history of computing, is curious to say the least. One has to ask, are these
experts serious?"
"Unix was designed from the ground up as a networking system with in-built multi-user security, assured by file read and write protection. Any
system is only as secure as it is allowed to be by the users and administrators. The basic principle behind any Unix system is that the system
administrator or super-user has complete access, but any individual user has access only to the files under his or her immediate control or the files
to which group access has been allocated. This would not include system files which are accessible only by the superuser. Therefore, a properly
supervised system, with proper backup regimes and sound practices, is relatively secure. An intruder has to have access to the superuser
password to seriously damage the system, or to damage the files of any other user, and this is unlikely. Given a password of 8 or more
unpredictable character combinations, even the most advanced cracking tools are unlikely to decode the password. Perhaps the expert would
argue that though this is true, in the real world people don't behave as they should, and this is why crackers can break into networking systems.
In that case, I suggest they employ a responsible "security expert", and deploy the numerous tools available to secure them. No system with any
kind of world access is invulnerable. To pretend that Microsoft or other propprietary systems offer greater security is laughable, if only because
events have proved otherwise."
"Moreover, the kind of practices that have led to the biggest virus scares on Microsoft systems, centred around macro code, VB and ActiveX,
imported by browser and e-mail facilities, are not permissible in a properly modular operating system. This fact, as much as anti-competitive
practices, is the primary argument why the browser is not and should not be an integral part of the operating system, and why so much of system
security is dedicated to Anti-Virus activities. A multi-billion dollar business exists with little other purpose than to protect Microsoft operating
systems from their inherent vulnerabilities, vulnerabilities that would not be possible on a Posix-compliant Unix, namely self-activating modules
that can access any part of the operating system. These systems are not open source and users have to wait months for non-specific upgrades
and service packs."
