The organizers of last year’s CanSecWest security contest plan to pit Linux, Leopard and Vista against each other in an ethical hacking contest next month in Vancouver, according to organizer Dragos Ruiu.
Last year, the prize was shared between security researchers Dino Dai Zovi and Shane Macauley for finding a security flaw in QuickTime that affected both Mac OS X and Windows.
This time around, the goal is to look at the real vulnerabilities of the three OSes. “The fur is flying right now about which is more secure — Linux, Vista, or Leopard,” Ruiu said on Thursday. “Linux guys have their propaganda, Windows guys are saying this and that, Apple guys have buried their heads in the sand as usual. I guess the proof is in the pudding.”
The organizers are currently shopping for a prizes for the winner(s), a new “new and thrilling” notebook computer. “We want the prizes to inspire lust amongst geeks,” said Ruiu. “It’s going to be something lustworthy.”
Perhaps an Apple MacBook Air should be on his list.