DoD Leads In Federal Open Source Usage

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DoD Leads In Federal Open Source Usage

Posted by Soulskill on Friday February 4, 2011 @08:18AM from the what-do-you-pick-when-it's-important dept.

GMGruman writes "A new open technology report card shows that only a third of federal agencies get a passing grade on open source usage and contribution, with the Defense Department leading the way. Savio Rodrigues explains what both government and business can learn from the DoD's open source prowess."

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Umm ... by cgoodric · 2011-02-04 08:27 · Score: 2

So if the DoD is the leading user of open source software by the feds, how come, as a supplier of software to the DoD none of my company's development can be done overseas?
1. Re:Umm ... by Nadaka · 2011-02-04 08:37 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Because foreign nationals are not permitted to view sensitive information.
  And your company can do development overseas, just not for the DoD.
  The DoD makes extensive use of open source software and has policies in place governing (but not forbidding) employees contributions to OS projects.
2. Re:Umm ... by cgoodric · 2011-02-04 08:59 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Our software does data integration. While the software itself manages sensitive information, there's no sensitive information in the source code. I fail to see how letting foreign nationals develop open source software is somehow more secure than letting them develop ours. I don't believe the concern is letting DoD employees contribute to open source. I believe the concern is allowing foreign nationals to insert malicious code into software that is used at the DoD.
3. Re:Umm ... by Nadaka · 2011-02-04 09:24 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Every permitted open source project is thoroughly inspected and vetted before it is cleared for use.
  Inserting malicious code is a concern, but it does not answer the question why you can not farm out DoD work to foreign shops.
  The requirements and design of most DoD projects are classified as sensitive. The rules for sensitive material state that it may not be distributed to any foreign national.
  Beyond that, there is a legal requirement for federal projects (and most state projects) that work be performed domestically. This is mostly for economic reasons.
  As a contractor you REALLY aught to know this already.
4. Re:Umm ... by DrgnDancer · 2011-02-04 09:37 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  It's like this. I can go online (as a contractor or a DoD employee, I've been both) and purchase or download COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) software that was created anywhere. It's COTS and it's considered market vetted. If we can examine the source code (OSS) even better. Linux is fine and was fine even before Linus became a US citizen. It's considered COTS, the Linux Red Hat sells to the DoD is the same Linux they sell to Google or Ford or Bolivia. Same with say, SAMBA, even though Jeremy Allison is Australian.
  On the other hand if I hire you to write custom code for the DoD then the requirements, documents, etc are all considered sensitive and you have to hire US citizens. If the government wanted a piece of software that was able to interface with Windows AD, for instance, (and they couldn't just use Samba for some reason) they couldn't hire Jeremy Allison to head up the effort even though he has a lot of experience from his work with Samba.
  
  --
  I don't need a million points of light, just two points of multi-mode fiber and a 10 Gig-E router.
Bogus summary by Anonymous Coward · 2011-02-04 08:34 · Score: 5, Informative

Most of the questions had to do not with using open source software but centered on transparent data access by the public, FOIA attitude, etc.
Read the linked executive summary and then go to the criteria page.
NewsForge Did an interview some time back ... by Sam+Nitzberg · 2011-02-04 08:35 · Score: 4, Informative

NewsForge did an interview some time back about Open Source and Defense...
http://samnitzberg.com/Papers/Why_open_source_works_for_weapons_and_defense__interview__JAN_2006.pdf
-- Sam
Obligatory Skynet reference by zill · 2011-02-04 08:41 · Score: 4, Funny

I knew it! No proprietary software sweatshop could have churned out Skynet. Only the FOSS movement can produce something sublime enough to eradicate humanity.
1. Re:Obligatory Skynet reference by Duradin · 2011-02-04 09:52 · Score: 2
  
  The terminators would have been busy too debating GPL v2 vs. GPL v3 (when they all weren't yelling at the one BSD proponent to shut up) to get around to wiping out humanity, although I suppose you could count humanity's mass suicide to escape the inanity of it all as the machines' doing.
2. Re:Obligatory Skynet reference by tqk · 2011-02-04 10:11 · Score: 2
  
  Only the FOSS movement can produce something sublime enough to eradicate humanity.
  Terminator running Win* vs. Terminator running FLOSS? So, what actually happens when a Windows Terminator gets infected with malware? It starts saving the planet?
  If you're Skynet, why take the chance?
  
  --
  "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
DoD endorsed FS on fsf.org by ciaran_o_riordan · 2011-02-04 08:45 · Score: 4, Informative

The US DoD even gave FSF an endorsement of free software for fsf.org:
http://www.fsf.org/working-together/profiles/department-of-defense
Others:
http://www.fsf.org/working-together/whos-using-free-software

--
Expert in software patents or patent law? Contribute to the ESP wiki!
I for one am shocked! by bsDaemon · 2011-02-04 08:46 · Score: 3

I for one an shocked that the department which started ARPA then built the Internet around open standards and Berkeley Unix would be friendly to open source software. This is big news! Seriously though, I am slightly surprised that DOE didn't take the top slot.
1. Re:I for one am shocked! by cayenne8 · 2011-02-04 09:46 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  Well, it is a relatively NEW thing for the DoD to allow any open source software to be used on their networks. Just a few short years ago (5 or so), it was almost impossible to get them to use anything on any of the systems I was associated with. Solaris used to be the OS of choice for server rooms, and Oracle the database.
  I've seen a LOT of Linux these days replacing Solaris...Oracle still rules the database as from my experience. I've wanted to try to get some dev to test out using postgres, which would be a natural open source alternative as that it mimics Oracle a great deal, not extremely hard to convert to from Oracle....and it does have scalability that I still believe elludes MySQL....
  Whatever we have done...we always try to discourage windows and MSSQL from the server rooms. So far so good on most projects I've worked on.
  But it took a LOT of effort to get the DoD and related branches of govt to start even to consider open source.
  
  --
  Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
2. Re:I for one am shocked! by nschubach · 2011-02-04 09:50 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  The Department of E involves everything that begins with the letter E.
  It's the new naming scheme meant to simplify government. Codename: Sesame Street.
  
  --
  Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
3. Re:I for one am shocked! by jlechem · 2011-02-04 11:47 · Score: 2
  
  I agree, I worked as a USAF, DOD, and FEMA contractor. Open source was strictly VERBOTTEN. They didn't like the unknown linking clause (that has been resolved?, I don't follow open source that much) and they really didn't like anyone being able to see the code that was being used on their secure networks. I can see unclassified systems being able to use open source but nothing above classified.
  
  --
  Hold up, wait a minute, let me put some pimpin in it
Misleading Quote by m_chan · 2011-02-04 08:47 · Score: 2

No where does the source article correlate the statistics to "passing" or not. The editorial article does.

Said differently, only one-third of agencies and departments evaluated received a passing grade"
"Said differently" being the key phrase.
Sea change by wiredlogic · 2011-02-04 09:09 · Score: 4, Informative

This is a dramatic change from the state of affairs ten years ago when the idea of running Linux and using open source in a secure environment would get you laughed out of the room. MITRE produced a white paper back then that has slowly helped to put the gears of change in motion.

--
I am becoming gerund, destroyer of verbs.
Re:Good... by DrgnDancer · 2011-02-04 09:51 · Score: 3, Informative

Sounds like a G-6 (or whatever the communications office at your approval authority level is called) issue. DoD is rife with OSS. I'm a senior systems person at a DoD lab that is almost entirely Linux. Most of the Army's new tactical computer (brigade and below) war-fighting systems are Solaris. The version they use may not be entirely open source (though it might be, I don't know), but it's full of OSS components. Firefox has been allowed everywhere I've worked (as a contractor) or served (as a soldier). DoD as a whole is very OSS friendly and has been for ~the last eight to ten years or so.

--
I don't need a million points of light, just two points of multi-mode fiber and a 10 Gig-E router.
Re:Passing grade? by tqk · 2011-02-04 10:05 · Score: 2

Why harbor such animosity against freetards?
He's afraid his boss is going to see the logic of our arguments, and then he won't be able to explain everything away just by waving his hands around about viruses, malware, and crackers. Oh, and he'd need to learn to actually think about what he's doing, instead of wasting all his boss' time in MS-Project, Photoshop, Facebook, ...

--
"Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
Re:Good... by Nadaka · 2011-02-04 10:11 · Score: 2

The approval process for open source projects takes time. Months, often years. If a open source product is asked for enough, it will be inspected and approved eventually if no major concerns are found.