Microsoft turns to Linux for improving security of internet-connected computing devices

Microsoft is turning to a former rival to improve the security of computing devices. [caption id=“attachment_3100658” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Microsoft logo. Reuters.[/caption] Microsoft President Brad Smith said on 16 April at the RSA security conference in San Francisco that the company will use software-based on the Linux operating system, not its own Windows operating system, for new security features to protect internet-connected toys and other consumer devices. Microsoft once deemed the free, open-source Linux system as a threat to its intellectual property, but has changed its approach in recent years. Smith says Microsoft wants to build better security for the tiny microcontrollers increasingly used to power a variety of internet-connected household devices. He says the threat was demonstrated by a 2016 “botnet” attack that took down large chunks of the internet by hijacking routers, webcams, and other connected devices.