Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Security — Open Vs. Closed

Posted by kdawson on from the depends-what-the-meaning-of-is-is dept.

AlexGr points out an article in ACM Queue, "Open vs. Closed," in which Richard Ford prods at all the unknowns and grey areas in the question: is the open source or the closed source model more secure? While Ford notes that "there is no better way to start an argument among a group of developers than proclaiming Operating System A to be 'more secure' than Operating System B," he goes on to provide a nuanced and intelligent discussion on the subject, which includes guidelines as to where the use of "security through obscurity" may be appropriate.

7 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. What does slashdot think? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder which side slashdot will take in this argument...

    1. Re:What does slashdot think? by mopower70 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Operating System B! We are definitely, firmly on the side of Operating System B!

  2. Well... by Zebra_X · · Score: 5, Funny

    While Ford notes that "there is no better way to start an argument among a group of developers than proclaiming Operating System A to be 'more secure' than Operating System B,"

    Unless of course Operating System A is Open BSD ;-)

    1. Re:Well... by mangaskahn · · Score: 1, Funny

      I'd say an operating system is very secure when it's dead!

      --
      Really, I'm not out to destroy Microsoft. That will just be a completely unintentional side effect.--Linus Torvalds
  3. Re:Simple by bssteph · · Score: 2, Funny

    The Operating System most secure is the Operating System less used.

    I've written the most secure operating system in the world. No, you can't have it. I forgot where I put it.

  4. Re:Simple (O/T) by Tony+Hoyle · · Score: 1, Funny

    Your sig can be simplified to:
    ruby -e "[1383424633,543781664,1718971914].each{|x| print([x].pack('N'))}"

    You must be using some definition of 'simplified' I wasn't previously aware of.

  5. Re:Security = obscurity by TheMeuge · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think you've introduced a new concept here - security through incomprehensibility.