LinuxLock.org: Interview with Kevin Sexton of Protectix

[ Thanks to -gnuchris- for this link.
]

“…LinuxLock: You mentioned building your distribution from
scratch, and partnering with an embedded OS manufacturer, but was
Kernal are you going to run? Linux? FreeBSD?”

“Kevin: The kernel? The ApplianceOS is based on a Linux kernel
as well as many GNU programs and tools. Our embedded OS partner is
Lynx Real-Time Systems. We have been establishing a solid
partnership and communication channel with Lynx for some time now
for OS co-development. Our ApplianceOS will be a specialized
version of BlueCat Linux optimized for security and applications
focused on access control. We are both going to add quite a bit to
each others product offerings. We are quite excited about the
partnership and what it will mean to application development in the
embedded space. “

“…LinuxLock: What do you think is the most commonly overlooked
security concern?”

“Kevin: Well, there are many to choose from, some of which I
mentioned above but I think the most commonly overlooked is
setup & configuration with software maintenance a close second.
Installing Red Hat, for example on a new machine could be a
disaster for the security unaware. Many ports are open by default
for ease of use but at the expense of network integrity.
Sendmail and BIND are widely-used, and unfortunately are good
examples of where individual programs fail; because they run as
root, that turns bugs into root exploits. As most software has bugs
and elements of insecurity, it is extremely important to keep
informed about the programs used on one’s systems. This is
difficult to do each day, particularly with larger networks and a
diverse group of systems and software. With Protectix we hope to
take a little of the work out of not only setting up a secure
network but maintaining it as well. “

Complete
Story