Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Development

    Linux 5.0 Introduces New Security Capabilities

    By
    Sean Michael Kerner
    -
    March 4, 2019
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Linus Torvalds LA

      Linux 5.0, the first major milestone release of the open-source Linux kernel in 2019, launched on March 3.

      Linux 5.0 is the first version of the kernel since April 2015, when Linux 4.0 was released, with a major new version number. That said, Linux creator Linus Torvalds really doesn’t assign a specific significance to new major version numbers, but rather the incremental number adjustment is somewhat arbitrary.

      “The numbering change is not indicative of anything special,” Torvalds wrote in Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) message. “If you want to have an official reason, it’s that I ran out of fingers and toes to count on, so 4.21 became 5.0.”

      The Linux kernel is the core set of capabilities that enable a Linux operating system, including CPU, memory, networking and storage drivers. Linux 5.0 follows the Linux 4.20 kernel release, which became available in December 2018 as the sixth major kernel update for Linux in 2018. Development for the Linux 5.0 kernel included eight release candidates, beginning with the first release candidate on Jan. 7.

      New Features

      Among the new features in Linux 5.0 is support for the Adiantum encryption system, developed by Google for low-power devices. Google’s Android mobile operating system and ChromeOS desktop operating system both rely on the Linux kernel.

      “Storage encryption protects your data if your phone falls into someone else’s hands,” Paul Crowley and Eric Biggers, of the Android Security & Privacy Team at Google, wrote in a blog post. “Adiantum is an innovation in cryptography designed to make storage encryption more efficient for devices without cryptographic acceleration, to ensure that all devices can be encrypted.” 

      Memory management in Linux also gets a boost in the 5.0 kernel with a series of improvements designed to help prevent memory fragmentation, which can reduce performance.

      “Given sufficient time or an adverse workload, memory gets fragmented and the long-term success of high-order allocations degrades,” Linux developer Mel Gorman wrote in his code commit message.

      Improved graphics support is also part of the new Linux kernel. Among the new graphics capabilities that have landed in Linux 5.0 is support for variable refresh rates (VRR), which is a feature that is available on modern display hardware.

      Container Security

      Linux 5.0 also will help to improve container security with a series of patches and improvement to the seccomp engine. Seccomp provides a way to filter system calls to help improve security and reduce the risk of a malicious process from running.

      “This patch introduces a means for syscalls matched in seccomp to notify some other task that a particular filter has been triggered,” Linux kernel developer Tycho Andersen wrote in his commit message. “The motivation for this is primarily for use with containers.”

      Linux 5.1 on Tap

      With Linux 5.0 now generally available, Torvalds is already turning his attention to the next kernel release.

      “Anyway, with this, the merge window for 5.1 is obviously open, and I’m happy to see that I already have several early pull requests, which I’ll start processing tomorrow,” Torvalds wrote in his release announcement for Linux 5.0.

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and contributor to several leading IT business web sites.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×