I agree with what the others have said in general, and it's correct
that you need to know a fair amount about several OS'es. Sorry to
tell you this, but you will have to wait until you get into the
environment you're going to to find out what you'll be dealing with.
In general, non-technical users almost always use Windows, and this
trend will likely continue. So, if you're supporting them, you'll
need to know Windows inside and out. Technical folks tend to run some
version of *nix far more often.
One thing I haven't seen mentioned here yet that I'll throw in is
learning SELinux. SELinux is a project concerned with bringing
mandatory access control features to Linux. It is the most mainstream
effort to actually perform this task. It is being distributed on
several of the Linux distributions now, including Fedora and Gentoo.
It has some great security features, though there is a bit of a
learning curve. I'd imagine, though, that it will be a desirable
skill in the next few years. The hardened Gentoo project is also
something I'd look at since it involves various security enhancing
projects for Linux, not just SELinux.
Hope this helps.
~jtm
-----Original Message-----
From: John Williams [mailto:ibmros@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 1:42 AM
To: security-basics@securityfocus.com
Subject: OS to know.
I am a graduate student at George Mason University obtaining
my MS in Information Security and Assurance. What operating
system is used more for security administration in the
private sector versus the government sector?
Pretty much I would like to know what operating system I
should focus on if I wanted to pursue a government career in
security or if I wanted to purse a career in the private
sector. Thanks.
Mark Jacobs
