FC: PGP and NSA link arms to create secure Linux version
R. A. Hettinga
rah at shipwright.com
Mon Apr 9 17:16:21 EDT 2001
Oh, boy. I bet *this* drums up some business for Hush Communications, boys
and girls.
Cheers,
RAH
--- begin forwarded text
Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2001 12:22:07 -0400
From: Declan McCullagh <declan at well.com>
To: politech at politechbot.com
Subject: FC: PGP and NSA link arms to create secure Linux version
User-Agent: Mutt/1.2.2i
Sender: owner-politech at politechbot.com
Reply-To: declan at well.com
[Bet y'all didn't see this coming, say, five years ago. --Declan]
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-09-2001/0001464825&EDATE=
PGP Security's NAI Labs Partner With National Security Agency to
Develop Secure Linux
Contract Will Ensure Secure Open Source Operating System for Business
Critical Internet Infrastructures
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- NAI Labs, a division of
PGP Security, a Network Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: NETA) company, today
announced they are joining with the National Security Agency (NSA) and its
other partners to further develop the NSA's Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux)
prototype. The $1.2 million will be paid over the life of the two-year
contract, and the work will focus on research and development to improve the
security of open-source operating system platforms, the core of Internet
infrastructures that have become business critical in today's economy.
The work will reduce the threat of security breaches caused by flawed or
even malicious applications. The contract builds upon NSA's prior work in
developing a set of new security controls for the Linux kernel and NAI Labs'
prior work in developing an example security policy configuration for these
controls and several additional kernel controls.
"NAI Labs continues to work with the government to ensure secure Internet
infrastructure. The President's National Coordinator for Security and the
President's Information Technology Advisory Committee have called for
increasing the federal government's role as both a user and contributor of
open source software," said Terry Benzel, Vice President, Advanced Security
Research and Director of NAI Labs. "Open source platforms provide the basis
for developing online communication and business strategies, and our work
ensures that the building blocks are secure."
Operating systems provide the foundation for system security, yet
mainstream operating systems lack critical security features needed to enforce
security policies. NSA and NAI Labs have recognized the need to improve the
security of operating systems. Linux was chosen by the NSA because its
growing success and open development environment provided an opportunity to
demonstrate that the security functionality added by SELinux can be successful
in a mainstream operating system. NAI Labs will work with the NSA and its
other partners to develop additional security controls, configure the security
policy and represent the security enhancements to the Linux community.
SELinux includes security enhancements to the operating system that can
enforce the separation of information based on the confidentiality and
integrity requirements.
The security mechanisms of SELinux provide flexible support that allows
customization for a wide range of security policies in order to meet various
security requirements. Support for security policies is required in order to
protect data on end systems; however, needs are different for every company
and every industry. Flexible support for policies is required, since an
organization must be able to tailor the policy to meet its particular security
requirements and threat environment. NAI Labs' and NSA's efforts will improve
the security of open source operating systems so that they can be effectively
applied to protect corporate data.
NAI Labs is an industry leading security research organization with
100 dedicated researchers in four research facilities throughout the
United States and is a founding member of the Security Research Alliance.
NAI Labs is a multi-discipline research organization with world-renowned
expertise in the areas of network security, applied cryptographic
technologies, secure execution environments, security infrastructure, adaptive
network defenses, distributed systems security, and information assurance. In
addition to its prominent role in the security research community, all
unclassified network and cryptographic research is shared with Network
Associates' product development and support organizations to enable superior
solutions for Network Associates customers.
PGP Security, a Network Associates company, is a worldwide leader in
products and services focusing on solving privacy and data confidentiality
issues, and has a strong history of setting security industry standards.
PGP Security's breadth of security products, including firewall, encryption,
intrusion detection, risk assessment and VPN technologies, address the full
range of security and privacy issues, anywhere information is transmitted or
stored. PGP Security's products secure over seven million users and include
several of the industry's well-known security brands, including Gauntlet
Firewall and VPN, PGP Data Security, CyberCop Scanner, and PGP e-ppliances.
PGP Security's COVERT research team identifies and works to resolve serious
vulnerabilities before attackers are able to exploit them. The findings are
incorporated into the product offerings, ensuring protection from the latest
vulnerabilities. For more information and software evaluations, visit
http://www.pgp.com .
About Network Associates
With headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., Network Associates, Inc. is a
leading supplier of security and availability solutions for e-businesses.
Network Associates is comprised of four business units: McAfee, delivering
world class anti-virus products; PGP Security, providing firewall, intrusion
detection and encryption products; Sniffer Technologies, a leader in network
and application management; and Magic Solutions, providing web-based service
desk solutions. For more information, Network Associates can be reached at
972-308-9960 or on the Internet at http://www.nai.com .
NOTE: Network Associates, PGP, McAfee, Sniffer, Magic Solutions,
Gauntlet, CyberCop and CyberCop Scanner are registered trademarks of
Network Associates, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other
countries. All other registered and unregistered trademarks in this document
are the sole property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Network Associates Inc.
Web Site: http://www.nai.com
Photo Notes: NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19991104/NETALOGO AP Archive:
http://photoarchive.ap.org PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or
201-369-3467
Company News On Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/124004.html or fax, 800-758-5804,
ext. 124004
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-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
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