From: "Tony Stanco" <Tony@FreeDevelopers.net> To: <lwn@lwn.net> Subject: FOSE SELinux Panel Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 11:37:56 -0500 +++++++++++++ SELinux Panel at FOSE in Washington DC, Thursday March 21 between 2:45-3:00. Check at FOSE for room location. The Panel includes: Peter A. Loscocco, Security-enhanced Linux Project Leader, National Security Agency Mark Westerman, Westcam Inc., SELinux community developer Martin R. Dean, PhD Candidate in Computer Science at George Washington University, responsible for the Cyberspace Policy Institute's SELinux Distribution project. Moderator is: Tony Stanco, Senior Policy Analyst, Cyberspace Policy Institute, George Washington University About SELinux: Security-enhanced Linux incorporates into Linux a strong, flexible mandatory access control architecture that enables threats to system security to be effectively addressed. The NSA's Information Assurance Research Group has long been interested in the problems associated with creating secure systems. SELinux draws from the results of that research. The release of SELinux to the open source community has proven to be an effective strategy for achieving many research and technology transfer goals. However, participation in this community is a new endeavor for NSA that has presented a number of challenges that needed to be overcome. This presentation will give an overview of SELinux and how its security features enable systems to be configured more securely than is currently possible using mainstream operating systems. In addition. it will touch upon the benefits, as well as the challenges, of the federal government working in the open source arena. About the Participants: Mr. Loscocco is a senior research scientist with the Information Assurance Research Group of NSA where he has studied problems associated with computer and network security since 1985. Since 1990, he has concentrated in the area of operating system security where he has helped develop a series of prototype secure operating systems. He currently leads NSA's operating system research program. Mr. Loscocco and his team developed SELinux, the secure variant of Linux that NSA released in December 2000 to help influence the direction of security in mainstream operating systems. Mark Westerman Managing Partner for Westcam, Inc., has over 15 years of experience in all phases of computer network design, network security, encryption technology, and firewalls as well as UNIX, Windows NT, and Windows 2000 expertise. Mark has designed AIS level 3 security systems and network security systems for NASA. He was the head security designer of one of NASA's AIS 3 network development environments. For the last 2 years he has been implementing SELinux systems for use in connecting single computers to multiple security level system for NASA. SNARE background at http://www.intersectalliance.com/projects/Snare/Documentation/index.html#SNA RE=5Finstallation Martin R. Dean represents the Cyberspace Policy Institute’s Security-Enhanced Linux project. The project’s goal is to create, maintain, and continually improve a secure Linux version and to develop a community of Security-Enhanced Linux support to eGovernment organizations. Mr. Dean holds a BS degree in Computer and Information Science, an MS in Information Systems Management and currently pursues a Ph.D. in Computer Science at The George Washington University. Mr. Dean specializes in computer security in his academic endeavors. Mr. Dean is a principal engineer with SAIC and has strong experience in systems engineering, software engineering and computer networking. At The George Washington University, Mr. Dean has taught three times the operating system lab, where he has guided his students in writing kernel modules and device drivers using the Linux operating system. Tony Stanco is a Senior Policy Analyst of the Cyberspace Policy Institute (CPI) at The George Washington University, where he advocates both the commercial and philosophical advantages of Open Source/Free Software around the world. Before joining CPI, Tony worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC as a senior attorney in the Internet and software group. Tony is a listed speaker on behalf of the Free Software Foundation and GNU Project.