Gov't Vulnerability-Disclosure Program Draws Heat

AndreyF writes " Securityfocus.com reports: 'a long-anticipated program meant to encourage companies to provide the federal government with confidential information about vulnerabilities in critical systems took effect Friday, but critics worry that it may do more harm than good.' The article discusses both sides of the PCII question, but leaves me wondering why the pro argument rests on my trusting large corporate CEO's to 'do the right thing.'"

Comments

corrected link

[Open $ource Advocate]

Oops, I linked to the Microsoft letter. Here is the Peru congressman's reply. Specifically, here's a good summary:

"To guarantee the free access of citizens to public information, it is indispensable that the encoding of data is not tied to a single provider. The use of standard and open formats gives a guarantee of this free access, if necessary through the creation of compatible free software.

To guarantee the permanence of public data, it is necessary that the usability and maintenance of the software does not depend on the goodwill of the suppliers, or on the monopoly conditions imposed by them. For this reason the State needs systems the development of which can be guaranteed due to the availability of the source code.

To guarantee national security or the security of the State, it is indispensable to be able to rely on systems without elements which allow control from a distance or the undesired transmission of information to third parties. Systems with source code freely accessible to the public are required to allow their inspection by the State itself, by the citizens, and by a large number of independent experts throughout the world. Our proposal brings further security, since the knowledge of the source code will eliminate the growing number of programs with *spy code*."