14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is fully committed to the Linux ecosystem, and after investing aggressively in bringing Windows and Linux closer together, the software giant now wants to become a member of the coolest kids in the open-source world.
Microsoft to join the Linux security developer list, which would technically provide the company with access to discussions and information regarding issues in Linux distros that are yet to be made public.
The closed Linux distro list already counts high-profile members like Canonical, Debian, Red Hat, SUSE, Oracle and others, so Microsoft would basically be able to work together with all these companies on resolving bugs in Linux.
A vote will be made in the coming days
As reported by ZDNet, Sasha Levin, a Microsoft Linux kernel developer, requested access for the company to the Linux developer list as part of all the investments that the software giant makes in the Linux world, and which include the Windows Subsystem for Linux, or WSL, Azure Sphere, and Azure Kubernetes.
The Windows Subsystem for Linux, which has already reached its second generation, allows users to run Linux on top of Windows 10.
Joining the dev list would thus allow Microsoft to service its Linux software as fast as Linux developers, technically being able to protect its customers just like they’d run Linux natively.
“Microsoft has decades long history of addressing security issues via [the Microsoft Security Response Center] MSRC. While we are able to quickly (<1-2 hours) create a build to address disclosed security issues, we require extensive testing and validation before we make these builds public. Being members of this mailing list would provide us the additional time we need for extensive testing,” Microsoft said as per the cited source.
A decision on whether Microsoft should join the Linux developer list or not will be made in the coming days.
However, the company has already received the support of several renown Linux devs, including Greg Kroah-Hartman, the Linux stable branch kernel maintainer. Tyler Hicks, a Canonical Linux kernel engineer, also supports Microsoft’s efforts in the Linux world.
“They've been beneficial to the greater Linux community and I feel like their direct involvement on linux-distros would benefit other members,” he said.