“The debate over whether a virus could infect and seriously
affect Linux has gathered momentum with leading advocates of the
open source operating system conceding that clever malicious code
could damage the system. At the same time, the methods employed by
anti-virus companies to sell their wares were called into
question.“
“Claims that an influx of Chinese viruses specifically targeted
at Linux sparked off the debate following a ZDNet UK News article
earlier this week. Most observers however, including programming
guru and authority an all matters Linux, Alan Cox, suggest the
warning from Russian anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab Anti-Virus was
nothing more than a marketing ploy, designed to talk up a new
market. But the debate is far from over.”
“Says Cox in an email to ZDNet: “While I’m inclined to take this
as someone talking up business for himself, vendors already take
security seriously. All authentic Red Hat packages are
cryptographically signed to avoid tampering or impersonation for
example.”