Kali Linux sets out its roadmap for 2019/20
Offensive Security, the team behind the security-focused, Debian-based, penetration testing Linux distro Kali Linux. has set out the roadmap for the operating system for the months ahead.
This is the first time such a roadmap has been shared for Kali Linux, and it gives us a good idea of what to expect between now and 2020. The team says: "normally, we only really announce things when they are ready to go public, but a number of these changes are going to impact users pretty extensively so we wanted to share them early".
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The Kali Linux team says that it is trying to "balance [...] efforts between changes that are user facing and those that are applicable to the backend". It adds: "The backend changes don’t seem as exciting at first, but the fact is that the easier it is for us to work on Kali, the easier it is for us to get to user facing features. Plus, some of these changes are focused on tweaking the development process to make it easier for others to get involved in the project".
The team is not committing to a strict schedule of dates, saying "when [these changes] are ready, they will drop".
So what do we have to look forward to in the coming months? Some of the highlights from the roadmap include:
- GitLab -- Kali has moved the official Kali git repository to GitLab, making the creation of Kali packages open to the public rather than requiring users to open bug reports. It also allows Offensive Security to speed up package updates
- Runtime Testing -- Kali has relied on manual testing and user provided bug reports to detect problems with Kali packages. The project recently deployed debci to allow for automated testing on a continuous basis with end goal of implementing runtime tests on all packages so the community can help speed the process.
- Default Metapackages -- To address Kali bloat, the project is refreshing its metapackages, including "kali-linux-full", which controls what packages are installed by default
- Default Shell -- Kali is adding default installation of ZSH and FISH to Kali, installations specifically optimized for pentesters rather than developers
- NetHunter -- updates for NetHunter, the only open source android penetration testing platform for Nexus devices
Check out the full roadmap over on the Kali Linux blog.