NSA updates SELinux

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.gcn.com/online/vol1_no1/45973-1.html

By Joab Jackson
GCN.com
03/14/08 

The National Security Agency has released a new version of Security 
Enhanced Linux (SElinux), NSA program manager Stephen Smalley announced 
on the software's mailing list last week.

This new version, build R080305, is the first update of the software 
since last September.

New features in the update include improved error reporting, reduced 
memory usage, some new policy capabilities and additions to the library.

SELinux is a patch for the Linux operating system kernel that provides 
mandatory access control, one that uses NSA's Flask MAC architecture. 
MAC confines each process executed on the machine according to 
predefined security policies set by the organization.

Users can install the SELinux core in their own Linux systems or run 
NSA's own version of the operating system.

Red Hat incorporates SELinux in its Red Hat Enterprise Linux 
distribution. The volunteer-led Debian distribution also includes 
SElinux, and Canonical is preparing to include SELinux in its next 
version of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, due in April. 


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