Fw: [pro_tech] Study: Safest OS isn't Windows--or Linux

[The Man With His Guide Dog At The Tent Store]

----- Original Message ----- 
Subject: [pro_tech] Study: Safest OS isn't Windows--or Linux

> "Study: Safest OS isn't Windows--or Linux
> By Angus Kidman
> ZDNet Australia
> February 23, 2004, 4:28 AM PT
>
> Linux advocates often take pride in the operating system being more
> secure than Windows but this claim may have attracted unwanted
> attention from the hacking community.
>
> An analysis of hacker attacks on online servers in January by UK-
> based security consultancy mi2g found that Linux servers were the
> most frequently hit, accounting for 13,654 successful attacks, or 80
> percent of the survey total. Windows came in a distant second with
> 2,005 attacks.
>
> A detailed analysis of government servers also found Linux to be
> more susceptible, accounting for 57 percent of all security
breaches.
>
> In a similar study last year, Microsoft Windows proved to be more
> vulnerable, accounting for 51 percent of successful attacks on
> government servers.
>
> However, the sharp rise in Linux breaches probably reflects a lack
> of training and deployment expertise rather than inherent security
> problems within Linux, mi2g officials suggested.
>
> "The swift adoption of Linux last year within the online government
> and non-government server community, coupled with inadequate
> training and knowledge on how to keep that environment secure when
> running vulnerable third party applications, has contributed to a
> consistently higher proportion of compromised Linux servers," mi2g
> chairman DK Matai said in a statement.
>
> According to the study, the most secure OS turned out to be BSD
> (Berkley Software Distribution) and Mac OS X. mi2g said its study
> focused on "overt digital attacks" and did not include other methods
> of intrusion such as viruses and worms." (end extract...)
> Source--http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105_2-5162348.html



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