Re: [Fed-Talk] RE: Army AD and Macs: Not??
Re: [Fed-Talk] RE: Army AD and Macs: Not??
- Subject: Re: [Fed-Talk] RE: Army AD and Macs: Not??
- From: Rex Sanders <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 13:20:44 -0800
Improving security is more than choosing the most secure platform. We're
fighting similar battles in DOI/USGS, and getting nowhere with the "Macs
are more secure" argument. Other security considerations include (for
better or worse):
- Centralized assurance. There are lots of tools available that let
someone in HQ push a button or look at a screen that says "all my Windows
computers are patched and secure". Very few of those tools work on Macs.
Microsoft barely plays in this area; all the third party tools target
Windows first/only because of market share in large organizations.
- Expertise. You can find lots of people in Windows-dominated
organizations, and plenty of consultants, that promise (and sometimes
deliver) on making Windows more secure. Similar Mac experts are much
harder to find. Despite Macs being more secure, they still have
vulnerabilities, and a naive or malicious user can quickly compromise
security. If you have dozens of people keeping an eye on your Windows
boxes, and nobody watching the Macs, which platform will be more secure?
A few years ago I found many desktop AppleShare volumes that shared the
whole hard drive read/write with no login required. That's a people
problem, not a platform problem, that gets solved by having Mac experts
looking for the problem and finding ways to fix it. If you don't have
anybody but bad guys looking...
"Security is a process" and process problems are almost always people
problems. We'll have to solve these problems and others to keep using Macs.
-- Rex
At 1:53 PM -0600 11/29/04, Paul Nelson wrote:
Apparently, the Army must be weakening its security, thus the requirement
to remove Macs and Linux. That would be the only conclusion one can make.
Otherwise, if they were strengthening security, it wouldn't be a problem
for Macs and Linux systems to stay connected...
_______________________________________________
Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored.
Fed-talk mailing list (email@hidden)
Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription:
This email sent to email@hidden