Skip to content

content(opsec): add Secure Operating Systems guide#381

Open
artemisclaw82 wants to merge 6 commits intosecurity-alliance:developfrom
artemisclaw82:content/secure-operating-systems
Open

content(opsec): add Secure Operating Systems guide#381
artemisclaw82 wants to merge 6 commits intosecurity-alliance:developfrom
artemisclaw82:content/secure-operating-systems

Conversation

@artemisclaw82
Copy link

Summary

New guide on secure operating systems for Web3 teams, closing #210. Motivated by the growing threat of infostealer malware targeting crypto teams (context).

Content

Operating Systems Covered

  • Qubes OS — Desktop compartmentalization via VM-based isolation. Includes a recommended qube layout for Web3 teams (vault, signing, work, dev, untrusted).
  • GrapheneOS — Hardened Android for Google Pixel devices. Per-app sandboxing, verified boot, user profile isolation.
  • Tails — Ephemeral live OS from USB. Tor-routed, no persistent state. For incident response, travel, and emergency access.

Additional Sections

  • When to Use a Secure OS — Role-based recommendations (key holders, mobile users, IR, general team)
  • Decision Matrix — Side-by-side comparison of Qubes, GrapheneOS, and Tails
  • Hardening Standard OSes — Checklists for macOS and Linux when a dedicated secure OS isn't feasible
  • Further Reading — Links to official docs + cross-reference to the DPRK IT Workers framework page

Web3-Specific Angle

The guide frames each OS choice through the Web3 threat model: infostealer containment, DPRK lateral movement prevention, signing key isolation, and hardware wallet compartmentalization.

Verification

  • pnpm run docs:build passes cleanly (119s)
  • All 11 external URLs verified (200 OK)
  • Follows template.mdx structure (frontmatter, Key Takeaway, tags, contributors)
  • Added to opsec sidebar with dev: true

Disclosure

This contribution was authored with AI assistance and is pending human review.

Contributor: dickson

@vercel
Copy link

vercel bot commented Feb 15, 2026

@artemisclaw82 is attempting to deploy a commit to the Security Alliance Team on Vercel.

A member of the Team first needs to authorize it.

@scode2277 scode2277 added the content:add This issue or PR adds content or suggests to label Feb 16, 2026
@scode2277 scode2277 linked an issue Feb 16, 2026 that may be closed by this pull request
New page covering secure OS choices for Web3 teams:
- Qubes OS for desktop compartmentalization (VM-based isolation)
- GrapheneOS for mobile (hardened Android on Pixel)
- Tails for ephemeral sessions (IR, travel, emergency)
- Hardening guides for standard macOS and Linux
- Decision matrix and role-based recommendations
- Web3-specific threat context (infostealers, DPRK, key theft)

Added to opsec sidebar with dev: true.

Closes security-alliance#210
…laim, add cross-reference to existing privacy OS page
@artemisclaw82 artemisclaw82 force-pushed the content/secure-operating-systems branch from 9fb8d71 to 00c8b17 Compare February 24, 2026 05:40
@github-actions
Copy link

Sidebar Configuration Reminder

Documentation files update:

New in this push:

  • docs/pages/opsec/secure-operating-systems.mdx (added) ← NEW

Please ensure that:

  • The sidebar in vocs.config.tsx has been updated to include these files
  • New content has the dev: true parameter so it's marked as under development
  • Sidebar links match the file paths - use the preview deployment to verify

See Contributing Guide – Sidebar & Navigation for more details.


This is an automated reminder. If this PR doesn't need sidebar changes, you can ignore this message.

- Qubes OS minimum is 6GB RAM (not 16GB), 16GB recommended
- GrapheneOS supports Pixel 4a+, not just Pixel 6+; Pixel 6+ recommended for Titan M2
- All other content verified against primary sources
Copy link
Author

@artemisclaw82 artemisclaw82 left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Content verified against primary sources. Two corrections made:

  1. Qubes OS RAM: Fixed from "16GB minimum" to "6GB minimum, 16GB recommended" per official docs
  2. GrapheneOS devices: Fixed from "Pixel 6 and newer" to "Pixel 4a and newer; Pixel 6+ recommended for Titan M2" per GrapheneOS device support

Verified accurate:

  • ✅ Qubes OS: VT-x/VT-d required, VM-based compartmentalization
  • ✅ GrapheneOS: hardened Android, verified boot, per-app network toggles, sandboxed Google Play
  • ✅ Tails: amnesia, Tor-routed, USB boot, no host disk access
  • ✅ NIST SP 800-123: confirmed "Guide to General Server Security" at csrc.nist.gov
  • ✅ Kicksecure: confirmed hardened Debian derivative at kicksecure.com
  • ✅ Firejail: confirmed Linux sandboxing tool
  • ✅ DPRK targeting Web3 developers: well-documented (FBI advisories, CISA alerts)
  • ✅ macOS/Linux hardening steps: standard recommendations (FileVault, LUKS, ufw)

Copy link
Collaborator

@DicksonWu654 DicksonWu654 left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

Awesome! I don't know anything about this topic so I'm not suited to be reviewing it. But please set it to be ready for review and Sara or Matta can find someone suitable to review it

…ntation

Adds organizational device management tiers (Managed, VDI, Enterprise Browser)
with target roles, capabilities, and limitations for each tier.
Source: darkMode presentation by Andrew Chang-Gu (CISSP).
@DicksonWu654
Copy link
Collaborator

Arty we can undraft this now thx

@artemisclaw82 artemisclaw82 marked this pull request as ready for review March 2, 2026 04:04
@github-actions
Copy link

github-actions bot commented Mar 3, 2026

built with Refined Cloudflare Pages Action

⚡ Cloudflare Pages Deployment

Name Status Preview Last Commit
frameworks ✅ Ready (View Log) Visit Preview 984a5b9

@scode2277
Copy link
Collaborator

@mattaereal good to go! Thanks @DicksonWu654 :))

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

content:add This issue or PR adds content or suggests to

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

Content(add): new section on Secure OSes

3 participants