News from PANUG - August 28, 2001
http://panug.org

OPERATING SYSTEM SECURITY
by Ed Sawicki

The vast majority of computer users use operating systems
that are not secure. They choose operating systems that
run their easy to use software and security is dead last
on their list of concerns. This is because most computer
users don't think they'll personally suffer a significant
loss if a security problem occurs.

But what of companies and organizations that stand to lose
a lot? What operating systems do they use?

To answer these questions, I'll tell you a story. About
20 years ago, I was at a party and had an opportunity to
informaly speak with a manager from SIAC - the Securities
Industry Automation Corp, located in downtown Manhattan -
Wall Street. SIAC provided Electronic Data Processing
services for the New York and American stock exchanges.

SIAC takes the issue of operating system security seriously
because there is a LOT of money on Wall Street. With
billions (or is it trillions?) of dollars changing hands
each day, SIAC goes to great lengths to protect these
electronic transactions.

SIAC was, at the time, firmly committed to IBM products
because they could be trusted. Cost was not an issue. He
said that changes to their system were never made without
a great deal of research into the security aspects of
any new product or technology. Clearly, an operating system
with the security problems of Windows would have no hope of
being used in a SIAC system.

SIAC and IBM are still together and are in the news today.
They've announced that the electronic trading service that
supplies brokers with data from the New York and American
stock exchanges is shifting its key applications to Linux.
The system handles about 4 to 5 billion trades daily from
the exchanges.

SIAC is not converting its whole operation to Linux - just
an important piece of it. We'll likely see announcements
in the near future from organizations like the Federal
Reserve Bank that Linux is being used in their system to
support member banks.

In any debate over which operating system is more secure -
Linux or Windows - the security experts at SIAC have
answered the question and made any further discussion moot.

This news is significant to the Linux and Open Source
communities. Having "The Street" embrace Linux in such a
significant way puts an end to the threat of Microsoft
convincing our government officials that Linux stifles
innovation and to enact laws to curb its use.

If you or your company have been holding off deploying Linux
because of the uncertainty of whether it will survive the
Microsoft juggernaut, today marks the turning point.

Care to comment on this article? Send your comments to
info@panug.org.