Open Source becomes Secure

[Jackson2]

Technology developed by the National Security Agency (NSA) has been integrated into the latest version of Monta Vista’s mobile Linux operating system, Mobilinux 5.0. MicroSELinux, a compact version of Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux), developed by the NSA to protect the confidentiality of messages and the integrity of files and system software, is only one of the highlights of the latest version.

Others include dynamic power management, multicore processor support and improved support for connectivity.

Claiming it can connect to more types of devices than any other Linux build, Mobilinux 5.0 comes with out-of-the-box support for SDIO, Wi-Lan/Wi-Fi over USB, Bluetooth over USB and USB On-The-Go, as well as support for many new devices and the protocol stacks to support them. A fully featured network stack with IPv6 is also included.

The company is aiming squarely at mobile devices, in particular Smartphones. As well as features now considered standard on Smartphones, such as touch-screen control, email processing, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and video/multimedia support, the company states developers will be able to easily provide custom functions.

According to analyst firm VDC, handset manufactures including NEC, Motorola and Panasonic have made Monta Vista the most widely used provider of commercial quality Linux software to the mobile telephony market, as well as the fastest growing commercial operating system provider in that market.

“No other mobile operating system today gives developers so many ways to unleash their creativity to add new functions,” said Jim Ready, CTO and Founder of Monta Vista Software. “Mobilinux 5.0 delivers new technologies invented by Monta Vista for configurable dynamic power management, plus a powerful security framework that competitors can only dream about.”

With support for Linux 2.6.21, Monta Vista claims it is the first mobile operating system to deliver the functionality, performance and connectivity benefits of the 2.6.21 kernel.

Other applications targeted by the OS vendor with Mobilinux 5.0 include GPS devices, portable medical devices and wireless point-of-sale terminals. Available from November, initial support will be focused on Texas Instruments’ OMAP family.

[mv]

There is an kind of big growth in open source today. Today within few months time open source operating systems are released and new support and security are provided on the same. Putting the code accessible to everyone is risky. If someone finds a security hole, nothing prevents him to keep him in order to derive any benefit. Everybody knows that security based on a proprietary program is not assured. This is why open source is generally considered more secure than proprietary code.