Last week, the National Security Agency (NSA) released security guidance for securely configuring a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 machine.

Red Hat’s Security Standards team worked with the NSA on this effort and we are excited about it because it’s the most thorough and clear security guide to date for any Linux distribution. It should prove useful to admins and tool vendors looking for guidance on how to lock down any Linux system. As the guidance is specifically aimed at the options available with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and the version of packages shipped with this operating system, it will be particularly useful for locking down Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

We are looking to continue to collaborate with governmental organizations and others to make the best practices for Red Hat Enterprise Linux security available.