Bernadette Rose submits, " IBM today announced that it will work with the Linux community to enter the Common Criteria certification process for the Linux operating system early this year and proceed with a progressive plan for certifying Linux at increasing security levels through 2003 and 2004. . . .
Bernadette Rose submits, " IBM today announced that it will work with the Linux community to enter the Common Criteria certification process for the Linux operating system early this year and proceed with a progressive plan for certifying Linux at increasing security levels through 2003 and 2004. The Common Criteria (CC) is an internationally endorsed, independently tested and rigorous set of standards used by the Federal government, and other organizations around the world, to evaluate the security and assurance levels of technology products.

"With Linux experiencing significant traction among governments around the world, securing Common Criteria certification for Linux will demonstrate that Linux is secure for government applications," said Jon "Maddog" Hall, President and Executive Director of Linux International. "The Linux community is actively working on security enhancements to make Linux even more secure than it is today, which will enable progressively higher levels of certification in the future."

With today's announcement, IBM is committing to partner with the Linux community to complete the CC evaluation and certification, to develop additional security enhancements, and to work with Linux distributors to make them available. In addition, IBM will continue to accelerate its investment in the certification of its servers and family of IBM middleware, including WebSphere®, DB2®, Lotus® and Tivoli® software.

Through its Linux Technology Center, IBM will invest development resources to enable Linux for CC certification across IBM eServer(tm) platforms, and will fund initial evaluations in 2003. Other investments will include ongoing certifications for new and existing IBM products, at or above customer-specified levels.

"Linux is the fastest-growing operating system in the world today, and we see governments and customers across all industries worldwide adopting it at an ever rapid pace because it frees them from dependence on a proprietary approach," said Jim Stallings, IBM General Manager, Linux. "This investment represents the next step in IBM's ongoing commitment to accelerate the development of Linux as a secure, industrial strength operating system."

The United States Federal government requires that all commercially-acquired information technology products used in national security systems be independently certified by approved testing facilities against the Common Criteria, and many other countries adhere to similar standards.