NewsForge went to Jay Beale with our questions about the current state of Linux security. He's a security consultant specializing in host lockdown, network security and security audits. Jay also serves as lead developer of the Bastille project, which creates a hardening script for Linux and HP-UX, is a member of the Honeynet Project, and is a core participant in the Center for Internet Security.

More about Jay: He writes the Center for Internet Security's Unix host security tool, currently in use worldwide by organizations from the Fortune 500 to the Department of Defense. He maintains the Center's Linux Security benchmark document and, as a core participant in the non-profit Center's Unix team, is working with U.S. agencies to develop a Unix security standard for industry and government. A former security team director for MandrakeSoft, he is currently finishing the Addison Wesley book, "Locking Down Linux the Bastille Way."

Read on for Beale's take on how you can make your system more secure, on the Linux vs. Windows security debate, and on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's impact on security testing.

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