“In order to have complete trust in the security of an
operating system you need to be able to audit what it does. And
that means Open Source – and thus Linux. So goes the logic as
attributed to Stuart Troughton by ZDNet. Stuart Troughton is a
consultant at the UK Government’s Communications-Electronics
Security Group (CESG) and provides advice to government departments
on computer security….”
“In addition to the auditability of Linux there is the potential
for extending the security features if they are found lacking in
any way. While it would no longer be feasible for a government body
to build its own secure operating system because of the costs
involved, Open Source provides an excellent starting point. Our
expectation is that CESG will be likely to bolster the standard
security provisions for extremely sensitive applications.”