“The US National Security Agency, known to conspiracy theorists
as the No Such Agency, is taking a noticeable interest in Linux, in
the belief that it can develop an almost uncrackable secure
operating system for sensitive file storage.”
“The NSA first announced its interest in the Linux operating
system in early January, when it announced a prototype version of
‘security enhanced’ Linux. VMware has now been drafted in to make
sure that security stretches out over the network. The prototype
includes enhancements providing stronger protection against
tampering and bypassing of application security mechanisms, and
greater limits on the damage that can be caused by malicious or
flawed applications.”
“Open source software plays an increasingly important role
in federal IT systems, and NSA’s security experts are also making a
valuable contribution to the open source community,” said Jeffery
Hunker, senior director for critical infrastructure at the White
House National Security Council.”