Microsoft: accepted on the Linux private list

     Yes Microsoft loves Linux: Most open-source development work, as the name implies, is open source. The only exception is a few security steps. Unresolved security vulnerabilities are discussed behind closed doors.

So we had mentioned to previous publication that Microsoft was claiming a place in the private mailing list of Linux developers dealing with security, as yet another linux-distro programmer.

This list, (linux-distros), includes developers from FreeBSD, NetBSD and most of the major Linux distributions. For example, the mailing list can be seen by developers of Canonical, Debian, Red Hat, SUSE distributions, but also cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle.

Sasha Levin, developer of the Microsoft Linux kernel - yes, there are - asked for access to Microsoft because, in short, the Microsoft is a Linux distributor.

In particular, Microsoft provides many distro-type builds that do not exist in an existing distribution and are based on open source components.

These are:

• Azure Sphere: for IoT devices. It is Linux based and provides, among other things, security updates for IoT devices.
• Windows Subsystem for Linux v2: Linux-based and works like a virtual machine on Windows computers. WSL2 is currently available for public viewing and is scheduled for public release in early 2020.
• Products like Azure HDInsight and the service Azure Kubernetes provide public access to a Linux-based distribution.

In addition, Levin stated:

Η Microsoft έχει εδώ και δεκαετίες μακρά ιστορία αντιμετώπισης ζητημάτων ασφαλείας μέσω του [Microsoft Security Response Center] MSRC. Είμαστε σε θέση να δημιουργήσουμε γρήγορα (αποτελέσματα αλλά απαιτούμε εκτεταμένες δοκιμές και επικύρωση, πριν δημιουργήσουμε αυτές τις δομές. Ως μέλη αυτής της λίστας αλληλογραφίας θα παράσχουμε βοήθεια και θα έχουμε την δυνατότητα για εκτεταμένες δοκιμές.

As of today, Microsoft will also be able to access the private mailing list of Linux devs. Alexander "Solar Designer" Peslyak, security developer and founder of the open source security website Openwall, announced that Microsoft will join the list. Some people, however, are still opposed to the idea, Peslyak said that their allegations were "irrelevant to the acceptance criteria established today". So Microsoft Linux Systems Group will be officially added to the list by August 8, 2019 at the latest.