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Antivirus Firm Kaspersky Launches Its Own Hackproof OS, Based On Microkernel (fossbytes.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the nothing-but-the-basics dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Fossbytes: Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity and antivirus company, has announced their new operating system which was in development for the last 14 years. Dubbed as Kaspersky OS, it has made its debut on a Kraftway Layer 3 Switch. Not many details have been revealed by the CEO Eugene Kaspersky in his blog post. The GUI-less OS -- as it appears in the image -- has been designed from scratch and Eugene said it doesn't have "even the slightest smell of Linux." He actually tagged "Kaspersky OS being non-Linux" as one of the three main distinctive features he mentioned. The other two features he briefly described are rather fascinating. The first feature is that the Kaspersky OS is based on microkernel architecture, which basically means using the minimum amount of ingredients to bake your own operating system. The OS can be custom-designed as per requirements by using different modification blocks. The second distinctive feature is the inbuilt security system which can control application behavior and OS modules. It touts Kaspersky OS as practically unhackable, unless a cyber-baddie has a quantum computer -- which will be required to crack the digital signature of the platform -- at his disposal.

12 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Reports of it being hacked in 5...4...3... by Moheeheeko · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nothing is Hackproof, the internet always finds a way.

  2. How is it licensed? by subk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't see any mention of the source code being available, and if that turns out to be the case, I wouldn't touch this "secure OS" with a ten foot pole. Who says it's secure? They do? And I'm supposed to just believe it?

    --
    Now, if you'll excuse me, I have backups to corrupt.
    1. Re:How is it licensed? by PRMan · · Score: 2

      Works for Microsoft...

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    2. Re:How is it licensed? by amiga3D · · Score: 2

      Maybe no one has poured over every line of code in the Linux kernel but then you don't know that either. For sure it can be looked at. This new OS can't be looked at. I guess it depends on your level of trust. I'd bet any amount of money that it'll be backdoored. You know it'll have bugs.

  3. Re:OpenBSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    OpenBSD is secure, correct, microkernel-based and doesn't contain any parts of Linux. What is essentially different?

    Uhh, no. OpenBSD is monolithic instead of microkernel, and may contain Linux parts, at least in the userland.

  4. Guys! by The-Ixian · · Score: 5, Funny

    I was a skeptic until I read this:

    First, it’s based on microkernel architecture

    Ok... say no more... I am convinced!

    Second, there’s its built-in security system

    Woah.... slow down! Here's my money! TAKE IT!

    Third, everything has been built from scratch

    I am not sure how I continue to type this with and exploded head....

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
  5. Re:OpenBSD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Same shit. Different asshole.

  6. QNX just called. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    There is already an OS which is all of those things. Nothing is completely "unhackable" but I'd trust something which is as mature as QNX way way more than this new experimental crap.

    1. Re:QNX just called. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      But this comes with a free trial of their anti-virus software.

    2. Re:QNX just called. by Pseudonym · · Score: 2

      There is already an OS which is all of those things.

      Sounds good! I have a shiny new 64-bit CPU and I would like to run this QNX on it please!

      Oh, really? Never mind, then.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
    3. Re:QNX just called. by Pseudonym · · Score: 2

      [...] awful design choices (synchronous messaging).

      QNX has asynchronous messaging now, but of course, the point was always that the kernel's synchronous messages were just building blocks. QNX has supported POSIX message queues for as long as I can remember, and it has also told you (though, yes, the documentation was crap) how to roll your own if that didn't suit your needs.

      --
      sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f(q{sub f{($f)=@_;print"$f(q{$f});";}f});
  7. Does this guy know what a microkernel is? by kamakazi · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you read TFA this guys says:

    "The first feature is that the Kaspersky OS is based on microkernel architecture, which basically means using the minimum amount of ingredients to bake your own operating system. The OS can be custom-designed as per requirements by using different modification blocks. This is similar to what Cyanogen Inc. has implemented in the module-based form of Cyanogen Modular OS for smartphones."

    Unless I have missed something Cyanogen's OS is still using a normal monolithic kernel. Actually this guys description would pretty well include normal module loading and unloading in the linux OS. Why do people who don't understand things try to explain them by comparing them to other things they probably also don't understand?

    But then I read Fossbytes 'about us' page and realized that they are just another aggregator running out of Delhi, and their biggest claim to fame is 300,000 followers on social media. Can't we at least get a link to the horse's mouth like
      https://eugene.kaspersky.com/2...
    instead of re-aggregating an poorly written per-aggregated mention of the news?

    --
    "Proximity to wonder has blunted our perception and appreciation of it" --Tim Hartnell in 'Exploring ARTIFICIAL INTELLI