China DOS Union

Microsoft ought to be happy. According to a report released by the Aberdeen Group, the operating system with the worst security is not Windows, but Linux.
　　Nikkei BP reported that the report points out that, in the 10 months since the start of this year, more than half of the security warning notices, “Security Advisories,” issued by the U.S. security organization CERT were related to Linux and open-source solutions. This conclusion is bound to change the view that independently developed software such as Windows is worse than open source in terms of security. In addition, another part of the report also points out that for independently developed UNIX, the number of reports during the same period was about the same as for Linux. So, among the current mainstream OSes, is Windows the safest OS? The report states that “the vast majority of Linux, UNIX, network devices, and open-source software have become a major cause of security vulnerabilities continually spreading to IT buyers. Of the 29 Security Advisories reports received in the 10 months since the start of 2002, 16—in other words, one out of every two—were related to open source and Linux. During the same period, there were 7 vulnerability reports related to Microsoft products, accounting for about 1/4.”

　　This highly shocking report is, in many respects, completely opposite to what society widely accepts as common sense. Specifically, “first, the peak period of ‘Trojan horse’ attacks targeting Windows was in 2001, when CERT reported a total of 6 cases, but since the start of this year they have completely disappeared, not even one. However, Trojan horse attacks aimed at Linux, UNIX, and open source doubled in 2002 compared with 2001. This shows that, contrary to media reports, Linux and UNIX are more easily attacked by Trojan horses than other OSes, and the UNIX-based Mac OS X has the same vulnerability. The most serious problem is open-source software used in routers, Web servers, and Internet-connected devices such as firewalls. It can be said that the state of using these devices and software products has already become an ‘unfortunate accomplice’ for intruders to seize privileges.”

　　In addition, the report also points out that “with regard to six kinds of vulnerabilities, the open-source camp has always stressed that compared with developers making their own proprietary products, open source is rapidly improving and is therefore less affected. Hardware and software using open source must undergo extremely strict security testing before product shipment. An especially serious problem with the vast majority of Linux distribution packages is the lack of automatic update technology like that provided by recent Windows versions.”

　　When it comes to security measures, criticizing Microsoft is actually very easy. But what cannot be denied is that, compared with competing products, the vast majority of users and systems are using Microsoft's software. Before it is used by as many users and systems as Windows, it may be very difficult for Linux to achieve security on the same level as Windows. At least today, when its popularity is still far below that of Windows, reports of damage involving Linux will continue to increase.

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