Hack-proof Linux: That's the promise

Start-up Guardian Digital has launched an effort to sell a version of Linux that's less vulnerable to attack, a niche the company hopes will gain it a foothold in the market for the Unix-like operating system.

The company released its EnGarde Secure Professional product Tuesday, a version of Linux that comes with management tools and server software designed to thwart attacks. The product costs $549, plus $219 per year for a mandatory software update service.

Linux, like the Unix operating system on which it's based and other operating systems, has had its share of security problems, but often the problems come with higher-level software such as the SNMP service for letting administrators manage servers or the Apache program for sending Web pages to browsers.

Guardian Digital aims to stomp out many of those problems by what software is used, testing it with the other software and in some cases writing new programs, said CEO Dave Wreski.

For example, the company wrote management software that substitutes for SNMP. It's not as vulnerable to attack, Wreski said, though widely used management software such as IBM's Tivoli can't control it.

"It's a viable niche for a select group of customers," said Giga Information Group analyst Stacey Quandt of Guardian Digital's product. But it's not easy to find a place at the Linux table where revenue is sparse and Red Hat dominates.

Competition is plentiful. Red Hat is billing better security as one advantage of its Advanced Server edition. The Cyberspace Security and Policy Research Institute, a technology think tank at George Washington University, is pushing for Linux to be certified under the Common Criteria, a standard that must be met before the United States and other countries can use products for sensitive government applications. Hewlett-Packard is working on its own Secure Linux version.

Perhaps the most direct competitor is WireX, which sells a secure Linux version called Immunix. WireX has sales partnerships with HP and Dell.

Guardian Digital has a start, though. The 20-person company is profitable, in part because of consulting services it sells. Its EnGarde customers include Sony, Hong Kong University, AT&T New Zealand and Piedmont Natural Gas.

Stephen Shankland writes for News.com