OS Cage Match

Looks like the organizers of CanSecWest 2008 are going to pit Leopard against Linux against Vista this year.  After a Mac got hacked last year (in what really turned out to be a Quicktime hack that also affected Windows), it looks like some real questions are going to get answered on which OS is more secure. 

My favorite quote in the article was from CanSecWest organiser Dragos Ruiu:

The fur is flying right now about which is more secure: Linux, Vista or Leopard. Linux guys have their propaganda; Windows guys are saying this and that; Apple guys have buried their heads in the sand as usual. I guess the proof is in the pudding.

So true.  Everyone is peeing on everything to mark their territory, so it should be interesting to see what happens.  Which OS will be the Alpha male, and which ones will go running with their proverbial tales between their legs?

I know I will probably get some flames for this, but I kinda hope Leopard takes some lumps.  Though I think it is getting somewhat better, I concur with Ruiu's comment that Apple people just don't want to admit that there might be something there.  It is still on the level of a religious debate with so many people.

On the flip side, I also know that there are a lot of people on the assessment team where I work that have switched to Mac because of it being a BSD core.  They can port over all their security tools, and my thought is that they would not switch over it if wasn't fairly secure.  That tells me something is to be said for Mac security, or at the very least it is easier to lock down.

Either way, I am sure it will be fun to watch.