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Study: Equal security in all software | |
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| Time: 14:52 EST/19:52 GMT | News Source: News.com | Posted By: Byron Hinson | ||
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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. | ||
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| #1 By 2332 (165.247.2.186) at 6/21/2002 3:00:52 PM |
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Ah... so, if this study is true, why would I ever want my company to use or create open source software?
Seems to me the only benefit of OSS is its supposed security advantages... which appear to be a fallacy, as I suspected. If OSS is no more secure than close source, and it forces me to reveal my intellectual property, it seems stupid to go with it in a business scenario. Now, my gut has always told me that OSS should be less secure than closed source, but I've never had any real evidence to back that idea up. This evidence appears to contradict my gut feeling, so I'll go with this new idea for now. At any rate, this is a HUGE blow to commercial OSS. |
| #2 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at 6/21/2002 3:26:46 PM |
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This sounds like an "in practice" analysis than the "in theory" anecdotes the open source crowd usually uses as proof.
I don't know, I've never seen any fundamental indicators that open source software is of higher quality or higher security than commercial. About the main differences are simply that open source is less polished and less featureful. It does offer more flexibility if you are looking for minimalistic installations, but that's just generally not what I need or want. |
| #3 By 2332 (165.247.2.186) at 6/21/2002 3:53:12 PM |
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#2 - "Advantages - its free!"
Hardly... the VAST majority of the cost associated with software isn't the initial purchase price, it's the total cost of ownership. I've never seen any independant studies that showed that OSS results in a lower TCO than closed source. "Advantages - Full understanding of all APIs" Ok, I'll give you that. One might gather a deeper understanding of the software, that's true. But that's really becoming less of an issue with software platforms like Java, COM, and .NET. These platforms expose their interface information via the use of meta data, and don't need to rely entirely on good documentation. (Although that sure as hell helps.) "As for the revealing of Intellectual Property issue, it depends on the particular open source project." True, but I was talking about my company producing OSS instead of keeping it closed. I would lose all my intellectual property in that scenario, and without the benefits of some kind of sense of security, I see no reason to do so, and many reasons not to. In addition, a huge amount of the OSS out there is licensed under the GPL, which would require that I open up MY projects if I use any the code. Again, IP goes out the window. "At any rate, there are still tremendous advantages to a commercially supported OSs and applications like Windows. Its simply an issue of which advantages you require" Agreed, but I would suggest that OSS has no advantages now that the security myth has (perhaps) been dismissed. |
| #4 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at 6/21/2002 4:17:58 PM |
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Realist - Ok, create your list.
Then we'll see who is making things up as they go along. |
| #5 By 2332 (165.247.2.186) at 6/21/2002 7:27:19 PM |
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#7 - I would appreciate it if you didn't quote from me and somebody else, then make it appear the both came from the same person.
I never said "About the main differences are simply that open source is less polished and less featureful", nor would I ever say that. While there are plenty of crappy open source apps out there, there are also a few good ones. "You really are just making things up as you go and clearly demonstrate you have a fundenmental lack of understanding when it comes to software in general." Please, enlighten me, what am I missing? I've been developing and architecting software for many years, but I guess my "fundenmental lack of understanding when it comes to software in general" just hasn't turned up. |
| #6 By 135 (208.50.201.48) at 6/22/2002 2:01:54 AM |
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RMD - I think that's my quote and he was directing his anger towards me.
There are a handful of really good open source apps out there, but the thing is... those are anomalies. |
| #7 By 135 (209.180.28.6) at 6/22/2002 4:23:42 PM |
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I see no list. :(
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