Briefs: Linux security certification

<FONT SIZE=2>IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., and Oracle Corp., Redwood Shores, Calif., are both sponsoring Common Criteria evaluations of the Linux operating system. </FONT>

IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., and Oracle Corp., Redwood Shores, Calif., are both sponsoring Common Criteria evaluations of the Linux operating system.

Industry observers have long speculated that Linux would not be sponsored because of the costs -- usually ranging from $500,000 to $1 million, according to Oracle -- and the fact that no competitive advantage would ensue from sponsoring an open source-licensed product.

IBM will submit a version of Linux used in its eServer. Oracle's sponsorship, independent of IBM's, uses Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat Inc.'s version of Linux.

Recent certification wins include the Windows 2000 operating system, which was awarded Common Criteria Level 4. And Red Hat's Advanced Server Linux won the Defense Information Systems Agency's Common Operating Environment certification, used to validate software for command and control, computers, communications and intelligence systems.

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