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from the how-can-you-not-trust-the-NSA dept.
El Reg is reporting:
The NSA today revealed it has uploaded source code to GitHub to help IT admins lock down their networks of Linux machines.
The open-source software is called the System Integrity Management Platform (SIMP). It is designed to make sure networks comply with US Department of Defense security standards, but the spy agency says it can be adapted by admins to meet individual security needs as well.
"The open-source software method of transferring technology from the federal laboratory to the marketplace is extremely efficient," said Linda Burger, director of the NSA Technology Transfer Program.
"The open-source community can leverage the work that NSA has produced, and the government can benefit from that community's expertise and perspective. It's a win for everyone – and for the nation itself."
So, not only do they want your secrets, they want you to help them get them. Yes, it's open-source software and the source code can be examined, but the NSA skeptic in me thinks this sounds very dodgy.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 03 2015, @02:07AM
Indeed. Unlike the case of them deliberately weakening DUAL_EC_DRBG [wikipedia.org] when it came to DES 30 years earlier they improved the strength of the S-boxes - making them more resistant to differential analysis which had not even been (publicly) invented at the time.. Although they apparently pushed for a reduction in key size, at least that push wasn't a secret.
It is easy to be suspicious of NSA now, they've really burned up a ton of good will. But, this sort of thing is really their only road to redemption so its better that they release something than nothing.