[dba-Tech] Open source is safer, and Linux is more secure than any other OS?

Peter Brawley peter.brawley at earthlink.net
Fri Dec 13 22:09:35 CST 2013


On 2013-12-13 7:49 PM, Jim Lawrence wrote:
> Hi All:
>
> According to the Linux Foundation executive director:
>
> http://venturebeat.com/2013/11/26/linux-chief-open-source-is-safer-and-linux-is-more-secure-than-any-other-os-exclusive/
>
> Is this assumption right or wrong?

"The whole world can see every line of code in Linux. This is one of the 
reasons Linux is more secure than other operating systems and why 
open-source software overall is a safer than closed software. The 
transparency of the code ensures it's secure."

"It's very difficult to insert something into the kernel that would 
violate privacy and freedom without thousands of developers noticing. 
The nature of Linux is that it's self-policing."

It's not a deductive truth, but it's a plausible empirical claim that 
fits what we see year after year.

Seems to me with respect to Windows there's a mirror image claim. Not 
only does M$oft have just one building full of debuggers, as opposed to 
OSS software having a worldful; Windows software is designed such that 
everything can connect intimately to everything else---if you can get 
past M$oft eyes, you may be home-free to do widespread mischief.

PB

>
> Jim
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