- by Tina Gasperson -
The Open Source Development Group (OSDgroup) has developed courseware for Security Enhanced Linux, the National Security Agency's beefed-up Linux distribution that is also being developed as a commercial distribution by Westcam Consultants.

OSDgroup is working with Westcam to promote an upcoming commercial release of SELinux. Proprietor Mark Westerman told developers that the release is RPM based, and it is for "people that might not want to compile and install the kernel." The government's SELinux, which is freely available for download, must be installed over top of an existing Red Hat install; it is basically a custom kernel configuration. Westcam's implementation of SELinux is not endorsed or sponsored by the National Security Agency (NSA).
Westerman says that Westcam's distro is completely GPL'ed and they will not put any proprietary code in there. Additionally, developers are working to convert the security rules to XML in order to handle policies more efficiently. The beta of Westcam's SELinux is available by mail order.

OSDgroup's SELinux courseware is available separately or in conjunction with a three day training session conducted at the client's location. OSDgroup sends contracted trainers to locations around the country to administer the Security Enhanced Linux Fundamentals course, at a cost of $1,495 per person per session.

John Weathersby, president of OSDgroup, was one of the founders of the SAIR GNU/Linux training and certification company. Now he is putting his expertise into identifying and developing niche markets, such as the SELinux training. OSDgroup also develops customized training for the needs of different companies. "We focus mainly on implementation" of training materials, says Weathersby, but in the case of a clearly-defined need, such as SELinux, Weathersby's experience allows him to oversee the production of original courseware.

Security Enhanced Linux Fundamentals contains 16 modules, five of which are specifically related to SELinux. The first eleven modules are concerned with more basic Linux administration efforts, like installation, UI and environment, software management, partitions and file systems, and user groups. The five modules that pertain to SELinux are 1) SELinux overview, 2) Developing SELinux Policies, 3) Installing SELinux, 4)Administering SELinux, and 5) SELinux usage scenarios.

OSDgroup also provides a five day-long Linux boot camp. "It covers the basics of Linux and provides an introduction to security and how SElinux can be adopted into a security plan," says Richard Kuebler, OSDgroup's vp of sales and marketing.