HP to sell secure version of Linux

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-6943901.html?tag=mn_hd

By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News.com 
August 21, 2001, 9:00 p.m. PT 

Hewlett-Packard will sell a secure version of Linux, a product that
marks a departure for computer makers that traditionally have favored
partnerships with companies such as Red Hat that sell Linux.

HP Secure OS Software for Linux, which will be announced Wednesday,
will cost about $3,000, said Roberto Medrano, general manager of HP's
Internet Security division. It includes a version 2.4 of Linux with
open-source HP enhancements, higher-level software such as Apache Web
server, and utilities that tightly control communications between
programs and detect attacks.

The move is a departure for companies such as HP that sell servers,
the powerful networked computers on which the Linux operating system
is most popular. HP, IBM, Compaq Computer and Dell Computer
historically have preferred partnerships with the major companies that
sell Linux--Red Hat, Caldera International, SuSE and Turbolinux--to
creating a version of Linux of their own.

The secure Linux product will be available for HP servers or others
that pass the qualification tests Red Hat uses to assure a computer
can run its latest version 7.1, said Bill Wear, product manager for
HP's secure Linux offerings. HP will also sell consulting services to
ensure a customer site has a secure enough infrastructure for the
product, he added.

Other organizations, including Guardian Digital and Bastille Linux,
already are working on secure versions of Linux, while the National
Security Agency is funding Network Associates to create a more secure
version.

HP's first version is a software package that is installed from
scratch on a server. The company plans to accommodate upgrades of
existing systems with version 2.0.

In addition to the secure version of Linux, HP announced a software
product, Chai-LX, that mixes Linux with HP's Chai software--a clone of
Sun Microsystems' Java product.

The software is used in HP's Digital Entertainment Center, a device
expected later this year that can accept audio streams from the
Internet and record CDs. HP plans to use Chai-LX in other consumer
products, said Dino Brusco, marketing manager for HP's embedded
software division.




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