Canonical has released Ubuntu Core 18 with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS now available on high-security embedded devices. Ubuntu Core is a smaller version of Ubuntu designed for applications such as IoT devices or large-scale cloud container deployments.
According to Canonical, devices built using Ubuntu Core are more resistant to tampering and corruption because any component can be verified at any time.
Ubuntu Core 18 will feature 10 years of support in the form of security maintenance, which enables it to be used in long-term industrial or mission-critical deployments, the company explained. Updates will be delivered with device-specific SLAs, which ensures that changes are managed by the individual manufactures and ensures rapid response times when vulnerabilities are detected, Canonical explained.
This release also aims to reduce the attack surface of Ubuntu Core by making very few packages installed in the base OS and reducing the size and frequency of security updates.
“Modern devices compete primarily on the quality of their software experience rather than hardware. It is a significant competitive advantage to be able to hire standard Ubuntu engineers and enable them to develop using the full range of familiar tools and processes, including cloud-based CI/CD, rather than the limited talent pools and complex legacy embedded Linux environments. With faster, cheaper and higher quality app development, together with much more cost-effective and reliable over-the-air updates, Ubuntu Core devices gain the ability to improve faster than any other class of embedded Linux appliance,” Canonical wrote in a post.
More information is available here.
