Re: [ISN] "Is Linux a net security risk?"

  As a nice antidote:

http://www.attrition.org/mirror/attrition/os-graphs.html
http://www.attrition.org/mirror/attrition/os.html

Matt

On Thu, Jun 08, 2000 at 08:57:16AM -0600, kw wrote:
> Never in my life have I seen such a high degree of utter fucking bullshit
> in one single article.  I am not even going to bother countering on a
> point-by-point basis.  I expected this level of crap to come only from the
> White House, DoJ, and FBI.
>
> --
> ken williams
>
>
> http://www.idg.net/ic_186624_1794_9-10000.html
>
> Is Linux a net security risk?
> By Helen Han
>
>
> SYDNEY, 7 June, 2000 - A SANS Institute of America report has named Linux
> and Unix operated sites as more vulnerable to internet attacks than
> Windows and Mac powered sites.
>
> Compiled by US industry, government, and academics, the June 1 paper,
> titled How to Eliminate the Ten Most Critical Internet Security Threats:
> The Experts' Consensus, names versions of Unix and Linux systems in nine
> out of a "top ten" list of security vulnerabilities for operating systems
> that engineers "need to eliminate".
>
> Dean Stockwell, director of sales and support, Network Associates
> Asia-Pacific, dismissed SANS's report as "skewed".
>
> "Virus peddlers target the most popular system," said Stockwell. These
> happen to be Unix or Linux in the enterprise space, he believes.
>
> "Most hackers graduate from Unix and Linux platforms. They know them
> intimately. They don't try to exploit them," Stockwell said.
>
> Fifteen per cent of Australian organisations use a Linux system somewhere
> in their network server infrastructure, according to Rolf Jester, regional
> director of market services, Gartner Asia-Pacific.
>
> Moreover, Stockwell suggested that local "up and coming" IT administrators
> are being trained in Unix or Linux platforms.
>
> Stockwell also observed an "anti-Microsoft camp growing in Australia.
> They're turning to more stable platforms," he said, declining to name
> alternative brands.
>
> A spokesperson from Sydney IT consultancy startup Working Technology
> begged to differ. "Unix and Linux are the geek operating systems," the
> representative said. "Windows NT is supported by 90 to 100 per cent of
> developers worldwide."
>
> So how does network security health rate in Australia?
>
> "Security is not a high enough priority for IT networks here," Stockwell
> said. "We're concerned about Y2K and GST problems. Security is priority
> two or three. It needs to be number one."
>
> Stockwell attributes the perceived negligence to corporate Australia's
> "lack of best practices" and increasingly "busy" IT departments.
>
> "To apply a security patch to any software literally takes minutes," he
> said. "I've often had to do it myself."
>
> His advice to ensure Australian businesses are safe from network attack
> via the net is to enforce a policy of mandatory systems testing,
> particularly for file servers and mail servers, and committing to regular
> upgrading.
>
> Industry ignorance to IT security threats are dire to the economy,
> Stockwell warned.
>
> He pointed to the fallout from the notorious I Love You virus as an
> expensive example of a country unprepared for a "simple" security attack
> "written by a student in a matter of days".
>
> The Love Bug cost Australian business an estimated $1.5 billion in
> down-time over four days.
>
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