* Tommy Malloy said: > Doesn't the fact that I can go to any Linux box with an install disk or > cd and gain root access mean that the all Linux systems are > fundamentally insecure? Perhaps the install process could be changed > so that root password, or some other verification system is required, > before a reinstall is permitted. It is true that compromising a system > this way requires unfettered access to the box. However as Linux is > used more and more in commercial environments this issue will need to be > addressed. Hmm... I think that you've got the idea a little bit wrong. An administrator must have such access to the server in case something with the system goes wrong and the only way out is a rescue disk. But, note what I have said - "An administrator". Servers should be kept away from the reach of the normal users and, for that matter, of the administrator himself - I'm talking about physical access. There's no need, in normal everyday administrator's job, to access the server physically - he can use either a terminal connected directly to the server or some other, freely chosen, means of connecting to the server. With the latest linux kernels you can even have a console on a serial port, so there IS NO NEED to make the server PHYSICALLY accessible. Physical access was always a security issue and one seriously concerned with it will simply disallow acces to the server. And if we are talking about Linux WORKSTATIONS then just don't put a floppy drive into the case...
regards, marek
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