Secure boot: Linux Foundation, vendors offer solutions
Microsoft's proposal for a secure boot process in Windows 8 has alarmed GNU/Linux vendors and the body that caters to kernel development to the extent that they have drafted documents to specify how such a process can be used without hindering the use of other operating systems.
Both papers, one from the Linux Foundation, and the second a joint effort from Red Hat, Canonical and Parallels, were released on October 28.
But, as the Linux Foundation paper (PDF) points out, GNU/Linux and other open operating systems can only take advantage of secure boot if it is implemented properly in the hardware. Control rests with the hardware vendor who, in turn, will be under pressure from Microsoft. The Windows 8 secure boot process was made public in September when a developer preview of the operating system was released.
