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ADTI Whitepaper Released

Posted by jamie on from the this-story-edited-in-mozilla-on-mac-os-x dept.

Dave Wreski Writes: "This PDF article, written by Kenneth Brown of ADTI, attempts to explain that "Open source GPL use by government agencies could easily become a nation security concern. Government use of software in the public domain is exceptionally risky." The paper has been taken down since this reader submitted the link -- they promise to replace it by the end of the day -- but as of right now, it's still available here. Their accompanying press release is out too. You might remember that we ran a story on this whitepaper earlier. At the time, a CNET story said that it was going to link open-source to terrorism; it does so in a glancing reference on p. 8 to the FAA and "national security." But the thrust of the paper is "GPL bad, open-source good," coincidentally Microsoft's position, as was hinted-at in NewsForge's interview last week. In case they take the second copy of the paper down, we'll include some teaser quotes for you below. Update by HeUnique:The Register got some nice critique about this paper.

"Another security concern is that the primary distribution channel for GPL open source is the Internet. As opposed to proprietary vendors, open source is freely downloaded. However, software in the public domain could contain a critical problem, a backdoor or worse, a dangerous virus."

Reverse engineering "harbors very close to IP infringement because and has staggering economic implications." [sic]

"On a lighter note, while many open source enthusiasts are proponents for copyleft, they insist on trademark protection for their ideas."

"If a software application representing 5000 hours uses GPL code that reflects only 100 hours, is the GPL fair in its argument that the entire product is GPL? This point is of considerable concern to software companies that value their secrets, design and architecture strategies. Proponents of the GPL argue that each party in the exchange is benefiting equally, but without a means to properly make this evaluation, this position at best is over-assuming."

"The federal government's information systems requirements intersect countless sensitive operations. The limitless potential for holes and back doors in an open source product would require unyielding scrutiny by staff that decided to use it. For example, if the Federal Aviation Agency were to develop an application (derived from open source) which controlled 747 flight patterns, a number of issues easily become national security questions such as: Would it be prudent for the FAA to use software that thousands of unknown programmers have intimate knowledge of for something this critical? Could the FAA take the chance that these unknown programmers have not shared the source code accidentally with the wrong parties? Would the FAA's decision to use software in the public domain invite computer 'hackers' more readily than proprietary products?"

10 of 560 comments (clear)

  1. The perfect job! by tempest303 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Wow, these guys have figured out the PERFECT career:

    they get paid to troll!

    Man, I gotta hook myself up with a gig like this...

    --
    The Free desktop that Just Works
    1. Re:The perfect job! by RickHunter · · Score: 5, Funny

      Being paid to troll has been around for decades now.

      Its called "marketing".

  2. Re:Obvious Answer ... by Dark+Paladin · · Score: 5, Funny

    But...But...BSD let us use their code and make money off of it! Why don't you meanie GNU guys let us?

    I mean, it's not like we're stealing Norton Doublespace or anything....

    --
    52 Weeks, 52 Religions with John Hummel
  3. Pinkerton Comments on White Paper by pjgeer · · Score: 2, Funny

    "The federal government's information systems requirements intersect countless sensitive operations."

    If the federal government has done nothing wrong then I'm sure it has nothing to hide.

  4. Binary Isn't Always "Locked" by elfdump · · Score: 3, Funny

    The open source debate is about keeping secrets. Completed (written) software is often locked by its programmer, hiding the underlying code from its user.

    Not so sure about this... I think we've all met programmers whose binaries were more readable than their source.

    ;)

  5. Re:Sounds good to the ignorant by YanceyAI · · Score: 3, Funny
    Where are the "think tanks" that actually have people who can think critically?

    Beware of the words "think tank." The closest you are going to get to unbiased thinking is from academia, not think tanks.

    --
    Can I bum a sig?
  6. can't resist by catfood · · Score: 4, Funny
    Wonder if the CSS camp got it's money's worth?

    Following the old Usenet tradition that every spelling and grammar flame must contain at least one spelling or grammar error, you meant "its." There's no apostrophe. See Bob The Angry Flower for details.

  7. How many people write software? by Internet+Dog · · Score: 4, Funny
    From Page 12:
    When a software product is sold, it represents the efforts of a diverse team of individuals. The revenue from software compensates engineers, graphic artists, database programmers,hardware specialists, debuggers and a multitude of contractors, partners and vendors. In the U.S., the software sector accounted for approximately 319 million jobs in 2001 (see Appendix 8). Software development usually reflects very thin operating budgets and small margins for mistakes. Even after a software application is released, it is often not profitable until its second or third version. The developer must finance both the initial development phase and later modifications. Modifications
    This is interesting, approximately 111% of the U.S. population is employed in the software sector.

    According to the BLS Computer and Mathematical Occupations employ 2,932,810 total employment. Of those 374k are employeed in the development or the customization of applications.

    1. Re:How many people write software? by Eccles · · Score: 3, Funny

      This is interesting, approximately 111% of the U.S. population is employed in the software sector.

      I think they took the number of hours we worked and divided by 40.

      --
      Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
  8. Alright, who's been pissing in the think tank... by ch-chuck · · Score: 2, Funny

    was that you again, Bill? That's disgusting!!

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }