[K12OSN] Linux vulnerabilities?

[Christopher K. Johnson]

Jonathan Kallay wrote:

>Hi all,
>  I'm trying to push K12LTSP to the district IT office.  The managers are in a strange position where they seem to be tiptoeing around the 'techies' to which they have outsourced some of the network administration.  These 'techies' refuse to have anything to do with a single Linux box on a network of several thousand computers, professing at once both ignorance about Linux and at the same time spouting all kinds of misinformation about how open source software is insecure.  I've been told that it would be to my benefit to identify what the big Linux security holes are, to 'get everything out in the open,' so to speak.  Because of the openness of the operating system, the only security holes I know of are simply the result of system admin error or ignorance.  Can anyone help me out?
>
>Jonathan
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>K12OSN mailing list
>K12OSN at redhat.com
>https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/k12osn
>For more info see <http://www.k12os.org>
>
>
>  
>
That in a nutshell is it.  There are of course security flaws discovered 
and patched on a regular basis, but Linux's record on the number of 
flaws, their severity, and fixes promptly being made available is very 
good compared to Windows.
The concept that open source software is inherently less secure is 
completely wrong.  It makes no more sense than someone arguing that food 
you buy which documents its ingredients on the label must be worse than 
food which doesn't.

I concur with the several replies before this, but if your district 
needs someone more credible to counter the current network outsource 
people's opinions...

http://www-1.ibm.com/linux/files/LINUXExecutiveReportebookletFINAL.zip

It's just a zipped pdf which touches on lots of good IT executive 
questions about Linux and answers, including security:
pg 35 - "As mentioned, security is one of the key driving factors for 
the use of Linux and open source software in Germany in the public 
sector... Open source software offers a lot of advantages in regard to 
security..."


-- 
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   "Spend less!  Do more!  Go Open Source..." -- Dirigo.net
   Chris Johnson, RHCE #807000448202021