Novell contributes AppArmor code, inviting and encouraging community collaboration to advance enterprise application security capabilities for Linux
Novell today announced the creation of the AppArmor project, a new open source project dedicated to advancing the state of the art of Linux* application security. Linux application security technology is vital for protecting Linux systems from external or internal attacks, viruses, and malicious applications. The technology fills a major void among open source offerings by providing easy-to-use configuration and monitoring tools along with tight integration with the Linux operating system. As a result, businesses can reduce threats, protect critical corporate data, reduce security administration costs and comply with government regulations.
Novell has donated the core components of its Novell® AppArmor framework to provide a foundation for the project. Novell AppArmor is the only enterprise-deployable Linux application security solution that can be applied in hours, not days, and maintained cost-effectively without requiring high-level Linux and security expertise.
“Novell is focused on ensuring open source technology can meet the most demanding enterprise needs, and few issues are as important to enterprises as having a very simple means to ensure application security,” said Jeff Jaffe, executive vice president and chief technology officer for Novell. “With AppArmor technology now freely available under open source license, the community has at its disposal some excellent technology to address security issues. This demonstrates Novell's ongoing commitment to enterprise-class security as well as our continuing leadership of key community initiatives.”
According to a recent report by the SANS Institute, applications have become the primary target of attackers trying to break into business and government networks. AppArmor protects critical data on Linux by making sure application flaws can't be exploited by attackers, easily protecting applications from intrusions and threats without forcing IT staff to rely on emergency patching. Novell's project provides security that is simple enough to achieve widespread adoption, instead of being switched off and ignored as often happens with complex access control systems like SELinux.
The AppArmor project is the latest addition to Novell's portfolio of open source initiatives, including the fast-growing openSUSETM project. The community-based effort provides developers complete access to the latest AppArmor code and tools to facilitate the review, testing and development of the AppArmor technology.
Industry and Community Leaders Support the AppArmor Project
Industry leaders are expressing strong support for the AppArmor project and agree the project will create better technologies which protect mission-critical data hosted on Linux systems in the enterprise.
Open Source Development Lab CEO Stuart Cohen: “Novell's move to open source AppArmor will help advance the state of the art of Linux and open source computing platforms. Novell's AppArmor development team helped to pioneer the Linux Security Modules technology. Now open source developers can contribute to the advancement of AppArmor technology and adopt it into other open source computing solutions.”
HP Open Source and Linux Vice President Christine Martino: “Security is a major focus for HP – as our recent advancement in Common Criteria certification demonstrates – as it enables our customers to deploy mission-critical applications on Linux with confidence. By extending our alliance with Novell through SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 and the AppArmor project, we will offer our customers increased choice and improved ease with their Linux solutions.”
IBM Linux and Open Technology Vice President Dan Frye: “Novell and IBM have a history of bringing enterprise-class technologies to Linux, including collaborative work for Linux on the mainframe and the Common Criteria Security Certification for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9. We're excited about expanding our community involvement in Linux security technologies through participation in the AppArmor project and other security initiatives such as SELinux.”
Oracle Linux Engineering Senior Director Wim Coekaerts: “Security has been a priority for Oracle from day one. For decades, customers have trusted Oracle products and solutions to help secure business critical data and applications. We welcome Novell's efforts to further enhance security at the Linux layer and expect that our joint customers will benefit significantly.”
Groundwork President and CEO Ranga Rangachari: “Application security and platform management go hand in hand. If you don't have the ability to easily manage application security, it's likely you won't use any at all. Novell's new open source project really helps in this regard, and we look forward to integrating it into our arsenal of leading open source IT management solutions.”
JBoss Product Management Vice President Shaun Connolly: “JBoss is pleased to see Novell creating such an important open source project to address a real-world need inenterprise Linux computing. We commend Novell for taking this crucial step and helping ensure open source is a safe choice for the enterprise.”
MySQL AB Co-founder and Vice President David Axmark: “No matter the size of the customer or the volume of data, security is always paramount. It's great to see Novell has donated technology to the community that can safeguard the integrity of servers that run MySQL. We are excited to work together to help propel this technology forward to the benefit of customers.”
SugarCRM Chairman and CEO John Roberts: “Application security and system protection are crucial to enterprise applications such as ours. Participating in the AppArmor project will help us provide business tools that customers can use in a secure environment with confidence.”
Novacoast Linux Practice Manager Dan Elder: “Our customers need to implement application security in the data center, but current solutions are hard to use and maintain. I'm pleased to see Novell taking steps to address those problems and making the solution widely available.”
Novell AppArmor is based on technology Novell obtained with its acquisition of Immunix in 2005. It is now shipping with SUSE® Linux 10.0, Novell's community Linux distribution available at http://www.opensuse.org, and Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 Service Pack 3 (SP3). The AppArmor project is licensed as open source under the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise™. With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With over 20 years of experience, more than 5,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environment while reducing cost. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com.
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