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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.

4 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...

  2. closed source is just one aspect by fred+fleenblat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Businesses that choose to develop closed-source software seem to also choose to ship code prematurely, to over-provision with extra features, to decide on features for marketing rather than security or quality reasons, and generally compromise the product in multiple ways. In that light, closed source isn't itself the security problem, it's just an indicator that there probably are other problems lurking.

  3. 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 ;-)

  4. The Wrong Question by ThosLives · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This debate is all about the incorrect question. The reason is that code can be secure or not secure, regardless of its "open" or "closed" status.

    Until the industry realizes that "secure is secure" and stops worrying about the open or proprietary nature of things, this debate will probably prevent things from being as secure as they could be by diverting resources to an analysis rather than any solutions.

    Put another way: Is a homemade door more or less secure than a professionally installed door? My answer is "it depends on the skills of those involved and the quality of materials".

    The same applies to software.

    --
    "There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)