Open source is to blame for unsecure Google Android apps

Forum: LinuxTotal Replies: 1
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jimbauwens

Mar 29, 2011
11:20 AM EDT 		This is already a month old, but it's still worth to read:
Quoting:According to newswire reports, Dan Wallach’s research has revealed that several Android apps – including an approved Facebook application – are sending all data but the password ‘in the clear.’ This is absolutely typical of open source software, since there is little incentive for the software developer to use secure protocols unless the destination system requires this.

And this is the biggest issue with open source software. Whilst the economic imperative to go open source is clearly very strong, companies that use open source, such as Android, which is based on Linux code, also need to ensure their software is robust on the security front, and this process costs money.


from http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/open-source-is-to-bl...

Just to note, the author of this is Philip Lieberman, whose company Lieberman Software has good connections with Microsoft.
gus3

Mar 29, 2011
11:55 AM EDT 		The response I posed, in case it doesn't make it past moderation:
Quoting:Wow, could there be a more ignorant, biased article on this site? Blaming “Open Source” in the title for security problems that, by the author’s admission, exist on both open- and closed-source platforms, fairly screams “follow the money!”. Lieberman Software, the author’s company, is partnered with several closed-source companies, including Microsoft, Oracle, and Cisco, and it is not a stretch to see that the author is trying to scare people into staying with “the devil they know,” rather than consider the alternatives.

When Microsoft can perform a top-to-bottom security audit of their Windows software (currently impossible with its bloated code base), and demonstrate consistently rapid response to security issues that arise, only then will the security-minded consider Windows a feasible candidate for critical tasks.

Until then, other systems hold more appeal, including those dreaded “Open Source” options. Yes, there will be security issues, but Open Source makes things more fixable, more quickly, by more people, than relying on some corporate behemoth like Microsoft.

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