Security Bites 109: Open-source security
For years, one of the arguments for using open-source software instead of proprietary software held that open source was more secure. After all, having thousands of eyes looking at the code can't but help find and mitigate potentially dangerous bugs. A new report from Fortify challenges that assertion.
Open-source software can be found in over half of the enterprises today. And open source code can be found within the Mac OS 10 operating system. But how are open source vulnerabilities and, more importantly, their patches handled?
This week a report from Fortify found that, while vulnerabilities exist and are reported within the open-source community, not every open-source project had a clearly defined contact or security alias. Nor was it clear what the process would be for issuing a patch, or how the projects conduct their own vulnerability assessments. The report looked at several known open-source projects such as JBoss and Tomcat.
CNET's Robert Vamosi spoke by phone with Roger Thornton, CTO at Fortify about the report and its findings.
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As CNET's resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security. Listen to his podcast at securitybites.cnet.com or e-mail Robert with your questions and comments.
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Robert Vamosi has appeared on CNN, NBC, ABC, MSNBC, and various other media outlets as an expert on computer viruses, spyware, identity theft, phishing, and other criminal activities on the Internet.
http://osourcemobile.com/2008/07/open-source-security-study-fortify-got-it-wrong/