Free Newsletters
InfoWorld Daily

InfoWorld
Log-in | Register

German agency to release open source security suite

GNU Privacy Guard for Windows enables data encryption, easy integration with Outlook 2003

By John Blau, IDG News Service
May 02, 2006
 

Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) will present several new open source-based desktop and security applications on Wednesday at a local Linux event.

Free IT resource

Hear how top CIOs turn change into a competitive advantage.

Sponsored by HP

Free IT resource

Attend the SOA Executive Forum: Breaking SOA Bottlenecks SOAExecForum.com/may2007

Sponsored by InfoWorld

The applications include an e-mail encryption tool for Windows users, a security suite for the public and private sectors, and desktop systems for public administrations, BSI said Tuesday.

The GNU Privacy Guard for Windows (gpg4win) application is based on the free software GnuPG, designed to enable data encryption and easy integration with other applications, including Microsoft's Outlook 2003. The software, available for free under terms of the GNU General Public License, can be used not only by public administrations and businesses but also by consumers.

The product is available for download at: http://www.gpg4win.de.

BSI's open source security suite (BOSS) allows public and private sector organizations to centrally monitor the security of their entire IT networks. The application is based largely on the open source scanner Nessus and the tool Security Local Auditing Daemon (SLAD), designed to perform local security checks against GNU/Linux systems.

The product is available for download at: http://www.bsi.bund.de/produkte/boss/index.htm#download.

As part of the government-funded Experiment with Open Source Software (ERPOSS) project, which aims to make open source software more easy to install and use by public administrations, BSI and Credative collaborated to make the ERPOSS4 desktop application. The application, based on the Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 operating system and KDE 3.3 graphic interface, includes OpenOffice, KMail with integrated virus and spam protection and the Mozilla Firefox browser, as well as a preconfigured personal firewall.

The product is available at: http://www.bsi.bund.de/produkte/erposs/index.htm.

Most of the information about the BSI products is in German only, but the agency points out that because of the input from international groups, some information is also available in English.

English-language information about BSI is available at: http://www.bsi.bund.de/english/index.htm.

The agency will present the open source applications at the LinuxTag conference and exhibition, which runs from May 3-6 in Wiesbaden, Germany.





 

TOP NEWS:


»  Four quick tips for choosing an IM security product
71 percent of businesses will invest in real-time messaging this year. If you're one of them, be sure to protect your enterprise

»  Forrester analysts ID hot IT jobs
Research group finds 16 IT roles with a promising future

»  Nvidia claims 10 hours of HD video on Tegra chip
The Tegra 600 and 650 can be used with hard disk drives and are designed partly for mobile Internet devices

»  Database vendors add Google's MapReduce
Greenplum and Aster Data Systems will support Google's programming technique, developed for parallel processing of large data sets across commodity hardware

»  Network management: Tips for managing costs
New technologies, changing requirements, and ongoing equipment maintenance and upgrades cost money, but there are ways to manage expenses

»  EMC targets SMBs, branch offices with new low-end storage
Celerra NX4 highlights include thin provisioning, snapshot technology for data recovery and backups, and Web-based console for management of storage volumes




SLM AND BSM: THE FUTURE OF IT MANAGEMENT. ARE YOU READY?
Driven by globalization and competition, businesses increasingly look to IT to enable them to quickly adapt to changing business conditions, speed the delivery of products and services, and automate processes, all at lower costs. Additionally, service quality and positive customer experiences are also top priorities. The only way to meet these expectations is to cohesively manage IT-across the enterprise-from a business service point-of-view.

»  Click here to view this Webcast
  Protection for Remote Sites and Branch Offices
This Whitepaper reviews the challenges of creating appropriate data protection, especially for small and midsize companies with remote and branch offices. It offers suggestions on how you can choose the most appropriate data protection solution for your company's needs. Sponsored by Overland

»  Click here to download now

- Special Advertising Partners -
WHITE PAPERS
 

» Technology White Papers Library

Technology White Papers by Topic

Technology White Papers E-mail Alert

Find out when the latest white paper is available:
 
 
INFOWORLD MARKETPLACE
 
» BUY A LINK NOW
 

FIND PRODUCTS AND COMPANIES
» COMPLETE PRODUCT GUIDE



TECHNOLOGY INDEX
• Applications
• Application Development
• Security
• Networking
• Wireless
• Platforms
• Hardware
• Data Management
• Storage
• Web Services
• Business
• Telecom
• Professional Services
• Standards

TECH WATCH 


What's the 411 on GOOG-411?
Just as Google has become synonymous with "performing a Web search," 411 is understood to mean "information" -- as in "what's the 411?" I was thus surprised to discover, from a billboard, no less, that the king of search is taking on the ...

Apple HTML source reveals 'iPhone Extreme'
"This one's a stretch..." reports AppleInsider. Um, yeah. Reporting on HTML code sightings of product names could be called a stretch, but iPhone Extreme has a ring to it. Now, that sounds like the product Apple should have released first, rather ...

COLUMNISTS

Unified under law
Ephraim Schwartz's Column and Blog (InfoWorld) - In the litigious world we live in, deploying a unified communications platform in your enterprise could...
» MORE COLUMNISTS

MORE INFOWORLD BLOGS


Open Sources 
Product Management
When I joined MySQL four years ago, there was quite a lot of debate about product management. We didn't actually have ...

Zero Day 
Botnet herders tending smaller flocks
New research backs up the theory that botnet operators are keeping their networks smaller in a continued effort to keep ...



• Advice Line
• Database Underground
• The Deep End
• Enterprise Mac
• Geeks in Paradise
• Grid Meter
• The Gripe Line
• InfoWorld Daily
• Inside IT
• IT Troubleshooter
• ITXtreme
• Open Sources
• ProdBlog
• Real World SOA
• Reality Check
• Security Adviser
• SMB IT
• The Storage Network
• Tech Watch
• Virtualization Report
• Zero Day

ADVERTISEMENT


RESOURCE CENTERadvertisement 

GOVERNMENT IT & POLICY
'If you don't go after the network, you're never going to stop these guys. Never.'
From the State Department, All the News for Inquiring Minds
TechPresident, the Internet Citizenry's New Consensus Taker



Sponsored Technology Links

 
 
 HOME  NEWS  BLOGS  PODCASTS  VIDEOS  TECHNOLOGIES  TEST CENTER  EVENTS   About | Advertise | Awards | RSS | Contact Us 

Copyright © 2008, Reprints, Permissions, Licensing, IDG Network, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service.
All Rights reserved. InfoWorld is a leading publisher of technology information and product reviews on topics including viruses,
phishing, worms, firewalls, security, servers, storage, networking, wireless, databases, and web services.

CIO :: ComputerWorld :: CSO :: Demo :: GamePro :: Games.net :: IDG Connect :: IDG World Expo
Industry Standard :: IT World :: JavaWorld :: LinuxWorld :: MacUser :: Macworld :: Network World :: PC World :: Playlist