Security

What critics of open source call a challenge, is actually a benefit. The real challenge lies elsewhere.

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This episode is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Created by: Mathias Bolt Lesniak
Creative advisor: Jeffrey A. “jam” McGuire

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This is episode twelve …… of the Open Source Utopia Podcast. With open source, security is both a benefit and a challenge. But, what opponents of open source …… call a challenge is actually a benefit. The real challenge …… isn't making software open source, it's a problem with you and me. You see, in the physical world, security means locking something away. The critics of open source say …… openness is the main security problem …… with open source software.“If digital criminals can see the code,”“they will ferret out every way to attack its users.” Closed source software has an answer, and that is security by obfuscation. Or, as I call it, hiding the problem. In the digital world, transparency can create more and better security. So open source supporters, like me, and you, I hope by now, see a huge benefit in openness. Everyone can see the code and test the code, so it's hard to hide malicious functionality. Making my code public …… gives me an extra incentive …… to focus on code quality as well. And, if people find security issues …… in open source code, they can tell the thankful developer …… and even contribute a fix. So, the real challenge in open source security …… isn't software security, it's project sustainability. Making sure …… that there are enough people involved …… and supporting the project …… to reap the benefits of the openness. That is a job both for the developer …… and those who are using the software. Let's talk about Community Contribution.