Skip to main content
  1. Blog
  2. Article

Canonical
on 10 January 2014

Ubuntu scores highest in UK Gov security assessment


UK government security arm CESG has published a report of its assessment on the security of all ‘End User Device’ operating systems.

Its assessment compared 11 desktop and mobile operating systems across 12 categories including: VPN, disk encryption, and authentication. These criteria are roughly equivalent to a standard set of enterprise security best practices, and Ubuntu 12.04 LTS came out on top – the only operating system that passed nine requirements without any “Significant Risks”.

This article summarises the report, addressing the specific remarks raised in the assessment, and examines why Ubuntu is such a secure OS for government and enterprise use. UK Gov Report Summary

Related posts


Nina Rojc
16 June 2026

Template: Streamlining open source design contributions

Design Ubuntu tech blog

As designers working at Canonical, we’re always thinking about open source. We believe that encouraging more designers to contribute to open source  benefits everyone, from the project maintainers to the end users themselves.   In the 2025 edition of FOSSBackstage conference, we presented our research findings on  why designers don’t get ...


Lech Sandecki
16 June 2026

Beyond Mythos: responding to a new threat landscape

Ubuntu Ubuntu tech blog

Canonical’s security philosophy has always been built on the premise that vulnerabilities exist and will be discovered. Our response relies on defense-in-depth architecture, rapid patch deployment, and strict adherence to Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure (CVD). AI changes vulnerability discovery volume and speed. We have a robust vuln ...


Gabriel Aguiar Noury
16 June 2026

A look into Ubuntu Core 26: Building a local AI inference appliance in a virtual machine

Internet of Things Ubuntu tech blog

Welcome to this blog series which explores innovative uses of Ubuntu Core. Throughout this series, Canonical’s Engineers will show what you can build with this Core 26 release, highlighting the features and tools available to you.  In this first blog, Farshid Tavakolizadeh, Engineer Manager for Canonical’s Industrial team, will show you h ...