Google Introduces KataOS Operating System, Safest for Smart Devices

JAKARTA - Google introduced a new operating system, KataOS to provide extra security on embedded devices.

According to Google, nowadays many smart devices collect and process user information, therefore these devices are more vulnerable to security issues.

Data such as pictures, sound recordings, videos and more can be stolen by malware. This is the reason why Google had to introduce KataOS.

"If the devices around us cannot be mathematically proven to keep data safe, then the personally identifiable data they collect, such as pictures of people and recordings of their voices, can be accessed by malicious software," Google said.

KataOS has chosen seL4 as the microkernel. It is proven to be safe and private. Through the CAmkES seL4 structure, KataOS is also able to provide system components that are defined and can be analyzed.

In addition, the system module is very secure. KataOS is implemented almost entirely in Rust. It is a language that removes all kinds of bugs like off-by-one bugs and buffer overflows.

"This provides a strong starting point for software security, as it eliminates a whole class of bugs, such as individual errors and buffer overflows," explains Google's open source team.

Cited from ZDNet, Tuesday, October 18, currently, KataOS and its umbrella project name, Sparrow are in the process of being developed, which is a reference implementation of KataOS.

Sparrow is here to demonstrate a secure system environment, using KataOS on a secure hardware platform. Sparrow includes a root of trust that is clearly secure and built with OpenTitan on the RISC-V architecture. It is an addition to the secure operating system kernel.

The goal is to support the RISC-V architecture chip that NASA, Intel and others have glimpsed.

However, for the initial release of KataOS, Google aims to use QEMU emulation to run more standard 64-bit ARM systems.