The control systems for U.S. military drones appear to have been switched from Windows to Linux as part of a recent upgrade. This comes in the wake of a malware attack last September that saw a credential stealer somehow wind up in a system on a standalone network.

The obvious embarrassment aside, it is also quickly evident that the incident is more of a nuisance than an actual threat. Unfortunately, if simple, flash drive-transmitted malware could end up on a protected network, what does it say about the chances for success in the face of a focused, sophisticated attack by enemies of the state?

Indeed, while there is no evidence that the transition to Linux was made as a direct result of the malware debacle, the new Linux network would not have succumbed to Windows malware.

But it's not like Linux is immune to security threats either, as any system administrator will tell you. Indeed, an inexperienced administrator could actually jeopardize security by setting the wrong security permissions or a misconfiguration. Yet in a world chock-full of malware crafted to run on the Windows platform, there is much solace to be found in a non-mainstream operating system.

Have you or a company you have worked at ever switched to Linux on the basis of security alone? I would love to hear about your experiences. - Paul Mah  (Twitter @paulmah)