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The Trouble with Microsoft (2)

Microsoft is inherently less secure than Linux. There I said it.
Written by Richard Stiennon, Contributor

Microsoft is inherently less secure than Linux. There I said it. The simple truth.

Many millions of words have been written and said on this topic. I have a couple of pictures. The basic argument goes like this. In its long evolution, Windows has grown so complicated that it is harder to secure. Well these images make the point very well. Both images are a complete map of the system calls that occur when a web server serves up a single page of html with a single picture. The same page and picture. A system call in an opportunity to address memory. A hacker investigates each memory access to see if it is vulnerable to a buffer overflow attack. The developer must do QA on each of these entry points. More system calls, greater potential for vulnerability, more effort needed to create secure applications.

The first picture is of the system calls that occur on a Linux server running Apache.

SysCallApache.jpg

This second image is of a Windows Server running IIS.

SysCallIIS.jpg

A picture is worth millions of words.

Thanks to Sana Security for generating and providing these images.

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