Open vs. Closed: Which Source is More Secure?

ABSTRACT

There is no better way to start an argument among a group of developers than proclaiming Operating System A to be “more secure” than Operating System B. I know this from first-hand experience, as previous papers I have published on this topic have led to reams of heated e-mails directed at me—including some that were, quite literally, physically threatening. Despite the heat (not light!) generated from attempting to investigate the relative security of different software projects, investigate we must.

REFERENCES

• 1: William A. Arbaugh , William L. Fithen , John McHugh, Windows of Vulnerability: A Case Study Analysis, Computer, v.33 n.12, p.52-59, December 2000 [doi>10.1109/2.889093]
• 2: Anderson, R. J. 2002. Security in open versus closed systems---the Dance of Boltzmann, Coase and Moore. Presented at Open Source Software Economics.
• 3: Eric S. Raymond , Tim O'Reilly, The Cathedral and the Bazaar, O'Reilly & Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, CA, 1999
• 4: Ken Thompson, Reflections on trusting trust, Communications of the ACM, v.27 n.8, p.761-763, Aug 1984 [doi>10.1145/358198.358210]

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  D. Software
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.6 Security and Protection

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.6 MANAGEMENT OF COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS
      K.6.3 Software Management
      K.6.4 System Management

General Terms:
Design, Management