NewsForge: Linux kernel to have NSA inside?

“Later this month, when Linus Torvalds and the other movers and
shakers gather for the Linux kernel summit to map out the
development course for Linux kernel 2.5, they’ll be hit with a
proposed modification from an unlikely party — the U.S. National
Security Agency. There, Peter Loscocco, of NSA’s Information
and Assurance Research group, will propose a mandatory access
control (MAC) architecture for the Linux kernel, a piece of code
that could go along way toward making the Penguin OS the obvious
choice for security-minded businesses and government
agencies.“

“But will normally open-minded Linux devotees accept code from
America’s premier spy agency?”

“This month, members of the Maryland Columbia Area Linux Users
Group (CALUG) got a peak at Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux), as
the modified-by-NSA version of Linux is called. CALUG coordinator
Randy Schrickel, who does some consulting for NSA himself, knew a
bit about NSA’s work. And because NSA’s headquarters at Fort Meade
is near Columbia, Schrickel called the agency to ask if someone
would be willing to come to the group’s meeting to talk about
it.”

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