Many Security-Critical Military Systems Are Now Using Linux

guest · Dec 21, 2019

Linux: An OS Capable of Effectively Meeting the US Government’s Security Needs Heading into 2020
December 16, 2019
https://linuxsecurity.com/features/...government-s-security-needs-heading-into-2020

As Open Source has become increasingly mainstream and widely accepted for its numerous benefits, the use of Linux as a flexible, transparent and highly secure operating system has also increasingly become a prominent choice among corporations, educational institutions and government sectors alike.

With national security concerns at an all time high heading into 2020, it appears that the implementation of Linux could effectively meet the United States government’s critical security needs for application development and installations.
Because of its open-source roots, Linux is foundationally secure, highly reliable, and incredibly adaptable.

In order to be approved for use in critical government functions, software and applications must be certified to ensure that they meet certain security standards. Common Criteria, FIPS 140-2 and Secure Technical Implementation Guidelines (STIG) are three security certifications required by the United States Department of Defense.
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An Open Source Revolution is Underway
The United States Department of Defense recognizes the key benefits associated with open-source development and trusts Linux as its operating system. In fact, the US Army is the single largest installed base for RedHat Linux and the US Navy nuclear submarine fleet runs on Linux, including their sonar systems
Open Source Freedom
What makes this debate illogical is the fact that there is not a single mainstream operating system, proprietary or open-source, that in its current state should be used to run critical national security applications. This is because any chosen system would have to be adjusted and re-worked to be a proper fit for the government's unique and critical IT needs.

However, assuming that the government is turning to Linux for national defense applications, the availability of the source code is exactly what makes Linux the obvious choice. Linux and other open-source applications provide the freedom to customize programs to suit specific requirements, a liberty unfounded in proprietary systems. If the security provided by a particular installation is insufficient it can be modified to ensure the highest levels of protection.
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Many Security-Critical Military Systems Are Now Using Linux

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