A roadmap to address future threats
Having a strong security posture means being prepared for future threats and able to comply with emerging requirements. Some Linux distributions may require users to take on this preparation independently, leaving them to look for community solutions.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is backed by a product and development team that actively observes for new threats and develops approaches to preparing for them. These Red Hat experts are active members of the security community, with many involved in the OpenSCAP project, an open source framework for security and compliance monitoring of Linux systems.
Adherence to global demands for regional compliance
Another important consideration when selecting a Linux distribution is whether it will be able to support the various compliance mandates that your teams and customers will require. Does it support a range of common cybersecurity validations and certifications, or will your team need to figure that out afterwards?
Over the years, Red Hat has made significant investments to make sure that Red Hat Enterprise Linux is best able to help organizations meet the strict global security requirements of their region and to position them to take advantage of security best practices as efficiently as possible. With over 100 offices in more than 40 countries, the team at Red Hat understands that there are a multitude of compliance regulations that differ from country to country.
To meet regional compliance demands, Red Hat has achieved a wide array of validations and certifications for its products and solutions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Efficient deployment methods
Meeting security requirements and following necessary best practices can place a burden on security teams. Scanning, validating, and attestation can be time-consuming, and require a high level of effort from multiple teams.
Image mode, a deployment method for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, takes a container-native approach to building, deploying, and managing the OS. This means security teams can apply container security tools, from those for scanning and validation to cryptography and attestation, to the base elements of the OS, making their jobs far less complex. This approach not only lowers risk, but also increases efficiency.
Proactive risk management
Your operating system should make it simple and efficient for your teams to maintain ongoing awareness of potential threats and security-related issues.
Red Hat Lightspeed, an end-to-end system management solution integrated with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, helps Red Hat Enterprise Linux users self-identify and report issues, prioritize risks based on the potential effect to their business, and even trigger the next action in an automation toolchain. Red Hat Lightspeed can scan for Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs), and help to prioritize remediation actions based on the risk type, severity, and effect.
It can help your teams be proactive by auditing regulatory compliance with OpenSCAP policies, correct noncompliant systems, and generate compliance reports. You can also use Red Hat Lightspeed to rapidly detect active malware signatures in systems across your hybrid cloud environment.
Ongoing security support
Choosing which Linux platform to standardize on will have implications for your organization for many years to come. As such, it is essential to explore what type of support you can expect after deployment, and further into the future.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux users can operate with confidence, knowing they are backed by 10 years of updates and support for major releases, and access to the Red Hat Customer Portal, which delivers information about ongoing security vulnerabilities and the critical steps teams can take to mitigate their effect. Red Hat’s Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) helps users understand the risk and effect of emerging CVEs, and provides guidance for remediation.
Trusted partnerships and a history of collaboration
Red Hat works with many industry-led coordinated responsible disclosure programs. With a long, documented history of participating in security organizations such as Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), Oasis, and others, Red Hat remains a global partner in security collaboration.
As 1 of 6 organizations globally to hold a special role as a Root participant with the CVE organization, Red Hat partners with CVE.org on their mission to identify, define, and catalog publicly disclosed cybersecurity vulnerabilities. In addition to the Root role, Red Hat is also a CVE Numbering Authority (CNA), which lets Red Hat assign CVE IDs to vulnerabilities and publish CVE records. This means that by the time a Red Hat Enterprise Linux user is notified of a new CVE, a team of security experts who are intrinsically familiar with the platform has already been actively involved in the search, assessment, and investigation into any necessary remediation steps.
Community sharing
Even users of other Linux distributions will likely benefit from Red Hat’s security practices. In keeping with the open source ethos, Red Hat believes in community collaboration when it comes to rapid response, patching, and mitigation strategies for vulnerabilities that affect the Linux system, in order to maintain the reputation of Linux as a highly security-focused OS.
The Red Hat team collaborates with teams around the world in the development of open source security practices. Some examples of this include the creation of OpenSCAP, membership in OpenSSF, and contributions to OSV.dev.
This collaboration also extends to Red Hat code, which is open to community members to inspect, audit, review, and contribute to.
