Friday, June 21, 2002
Open source, closed source - equally secure
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 12:14 PM
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-938124.html
I know many of our readers are Linux fans and may even have a Linux based PDA, so I thought this would be somewhat interesting. One of the comments I've heard about Linux and other open source software is it is inherently more secure than closed source software simply because you have a bazillion eyeballs looking at the code and trying to make it more secure and stable. That may just be rhetoric though.
"Proprietary programs should mathematically be as secure as those developed under the open-source model, a Cambridge University researcher argued in a paper presented Thursday at a technical conference in Toulouse, France. In his paper, computer scientist Ross Anderson used an analysis that equates finding software bugs to testing programs for the mean time before failure, a measure of quality frequently used by manufacturers. Under the analysis, Anderson found that his ideal open-source programs were as secure as the closed-source programs. 'Other things being equal, we expect that open and closed systems will exhibit similar growth in reliability and in security assurance,' Anderson wrote in his paper."
Of course, this swings both ways. MS has long held that opening up Windows would compromise security and stability. Your thoughts?
I know many of our readers are Linux fans and may even have a Linux based PDA, so I thought this would be somewhat interesting. One of the comments I've heard about Linux and other open source software is it is inherently more secure than closed source software simply because you have a bazillion eyeballs looking at the code and trying to make it more secure and stable. That may just be rhetoric though.
"Proprietary programs should mathematically be as secure as those developed under the open-source model, a Cambridge University researcher argued in a paper presented Thursday at a technical conference in Toulouse, France. In his paper, computer scientist Ross Anderson used an analysis that equates finding software bugs to testing programs for the mean time before failure, a measure of quality frequently used by manufacturers. Under the analysis, Anderson found that his ideal open-source programs were as secure as the closed-source programs. 'Other things being equal, we expect that open and closed systems will exhibit similar growth in reliability and in security assurance,' Anderson wrote in his paper."
Of course, this swings both ways. MS has long held that opening up Windows would compromise security and stability. Your thoughts?
