Daily Archives: Tuesday, January 14, 2014

  • UK’s CESG finds Ubuntu most secure OS

    Steve WoodsLinux, Open Source, Tech

    Ubuntu logoUbuntu 12.04 LTS proved to be the most secure product in a client operating system investigation by British security body Communications Electronics Security Group (CESG), which is part of GCHQ and provides assistance to government departments on their own communications security, according to a report today in Germany’s Linux-Magazin.

    The test field consisted of 11 desktop and mobile operating systems, including Windows 7 and 8, Windows RT, Android 4.2, Apple’s iOS 6 and Mac OS X 10.8, as well as Google Chrome OS 26. CESG investigated the security of the systems in various categories, e.g. VPN, hard drive encryption, secure boot, sandboxing, implementation of security policy and update policy.

    No system was able to meet all demands for use by the British authorities, but Ubuntu 12.04 LTS was shown to be the most secure system of those tested. Windows Phone 8 has the most critical vulnerabilities.

    Ubuntu supplier Canonical has summarised the results as it sees them in a PDF. The company is hoping to do even better with the forthcoming Ubuntu 14.0 LTS version of its operating system, particularly by supporting secure boot.

    More detailed information about the test is available on the CESG website, including CESG’s Ubuntu-specific report.

    First published by Bristol Wireless.

  • Italy puts free software first in public sector

    Steve WoodsOpen Source, Politics, Tech

    The Italian government has made free software the default choice for public sector organisations, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) reports. In a document (PDF, Italian) published last Wednesday, the Italian Digital Agency (Agenzia per l’Italia Digitale) issued rules saying that all the country’s government organisations must consider using free software before buying licences for proprietary programs.

    logo of Italian Digital Agency
    Logo of Italian Digital Agency

    The document, “Guidelines on comparative evaluation [of software]”, sets out a detailed method which public bodies must follow when deciding which software to use. They are required to look for suitable free software programs or choose software developed by the public sector. They may only consider procuring proprietary software no suitable programs of these types are available.

    “There is no excuse. All public administrations must opt for free software or re-use whenever possible”, says FSFE General Counsel Carlo Piana, who was part of the committee that advised on the guideline. “Now free software and re-use are the norm, proprietary software the exception. This is the most advanced affirmative action in Europe so far. I’m so proud that Italy leads the way, for once”.

    The document was authored by the Italian Digital Agency, which for the first time consulted representatives from the public sector, the free software community, and proprietary software makers.

    Importantly, the new rules come with a mechanism to ensure they are followed. Both public bodies and members of the public can ask the Italian Digital Agency to check if a given organisation is following the correct procedure. Administrative courts can annul decisions that contravene these rules and, in the event of negligence, individual public servants may be held personally liable.

  • Bristol Post Balls – headlining

    Steve WoodsBristol, Language, Media

    According to Collins English Dictionary, headline has the following definition as a noun:

    a phrase at the top of a newspaper or magazine article indicating the subject of the article, usually in larger and heavier type

    Here’s a headline from a piece in today’s Bristol Post (since corrected after being ridiculed by a sharp-eyed reader. Ed.).

    screenshot of Bristol Post article

    When it comes to how to use a headline, dictionaries unfortunately do not give guidance regarding their making sense. 🙂