RE: OS to know.

["Andrew Chong" <andrewjw () singnet com sg>]

I would suggest that you learn and understand the fundamental concepts
of security first.
If you are not a technical person, understanding the IT Security from a
broad perspective is the best approach. Areas which are hot in the
government and private sector are "IT Governance" (Sarbanes Oxley) and
Information Risk Assessment (IRM).
These two fields deals with technical controls, management controls,
enforcement of corporate policies etc..
As usual, I will recommend a must have security book for all IT Security
Professional.

Information Security Management Handbook, Fifth Edition.
http://www.sweetfantasy.biz/prod_details.aspx?AsinSearch=0849319978&type
=heavy&f=xml

Regards,
Andrew Chong, cissp

-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Kane [mailto:kane () linkitsoftware com] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 3:30 AM
To: John Williams
Cc: security-basics () securityfocus com
Subject: Re: OS to know.


John Williams wrote:

> > I am a graduate student at George Mason University obtaining my MS in
> > Information Security and Assurance. What operating system is used 
> > more for security administration in the private sector versus the 
> > government sector? Pretty much I would like to know what operating 
> > system I should focus on if I wanted to pursue a government career in

> > security or if I wanted to purse a career in the private sector.
Thanks.
> > Mark Jacobs
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on
> > how to get there!
http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement
> >

I would suggest a simple X based distribution to start with.  Look into 
Fedora (red hat) or Mandrake.  However, I would not get too comfortable 
with these distro's, as I have always been against new Linux users 
starting out in an X based environment.  If you really want to learn 
Linux you should become familiar with the console before you move onto 
allowing GUI based tools do all your console work for you.

my 2 cents.

Adam Kane