There are handbags at dawn in the safety-critical RTOS market. Last week QNX put out a press release with the title, “QNX Announces Availability of First RTOS to Achieve Both Safety and Security Certification.” Today, Green Hills Software hit out with a letter to all the press. Green Hills has never been a company to mince its words, and in this letter it continues that approach, declaring that “This statement is false.” It goes on to say that “While practically any vendor could be accused, at one time or another, of making embellished, distorted, or even misleading claims, the QNX primary statement and purpose of press release is clearly a lie. The fact that QNX knows the embedded industry and Green Hills Software so well makes the lie even more offensive; QNX can hardly claim ignorance.”

“Green Hills’ INTEGRITY-178B RTOS is well known in the industry to have achieved both safety and security certification. In 2002, INTEGRITY-178B achieved its first RTCA/DO-178B Level A safety certification. In 2008, INTEGRITY-178B achieved its first Common Criteria EAL 6+ security certification.”  But there is more. Green Hills claims that QNX has been certified only to  “EC 61508 SIL 3 and Common Criteria EAL 4+,” which have been achieved by other RTOSs.

Not content with bashing QNX, Green Hills goes on to say that other companies who have achieved EAL4+ have made misleading claims, picking out VMWare and Wind River.

This may be only the first round. Ah –the season of good will is upon us.