MacMillan USA Moves To Secure Linux

MacMillan Publishing USA has entered into a strategic alliance with SecurityPortal.com to bring online security technologies to users of the Linux operating system (OS).

The new product, Maximum Security Linux, will be jointly-released to provide administrators who run Linux with security-related capabilities such as intrusion detection, system auditing and monitoring along with virus protection.

The package suite will bundle a wide range of security software made available through the GNU General Public License (GPL), and will provide access to “best practices” FAQs, policy guides and various security tips.

“MacMillan’s retail distribution and SecurityPortal’s security knowledge makes for a great partnership,” commented Steve Schafer, Sr., title manager for Macmillan’s Linux software. “Getting this knowledge and these tools into the hands of the Linux user is essential to help ensure the security of the many personal and corporate Linux systems being installed every day.”

Rising Security Threats

Jim Reavis, SecurityPortal.com Webmaster, designed the product in response to “the ever increasing size and complexity of networked software, combined with the sophistication of today’s hackers.” He added that Internet professionals need to more seriously consider securing their operations, pointing out that “we are more exposed to security threats than at any other time.”

There are some 12 million Linux users worldwide, according to International Data Corp. (IDC). Those numbers alone, say industry analysts, should serve as incentive for companies to move into the relatively quiet Linux security solutions market.

Maximum Secure Linux works with systems running the Linux kernel version 2.2.5 or higher. Internet security information provider SecurityPortal.com also offers “technotes” and opinion pieces from IT security experts, security-related news and links to security alerts, tools and other resources.

The third largest operating system provider after Microsoft and Apple, MacMillan offers The Complete Linux OS, a Linux distribution by MandrakeSoft that is based on Red Hat. Establishing an early strategic relationship with Red Hat, Inc., MacMillan has been involved with the Linux community for almost four years.

E-Commerce Security

Linux is increasingly being deployed by e-commerce operations, and IDC numbers show that the open-source environment captured more than 17 percent of all server shipments last year. Security concerns among e-commerce professionals, including those working with Linux-based systems, are sometimes justified.

A study conducted by Information Security Magazine earlier this year indicated that e-commerce operations are 57 percent more likely to experience a security breach than other online sites. Additionally, e-commerce sites are 24 percent more likely to be the target of a hacker/cracker attack.