Open Source Software Is More Secure Than You Think

According to a recent survey by Black Duck Software, there are more than one million unique open source projects today, with a projected growth of around two million by 2014. Open source is growing in the enterprise, but oftentimes when people think of open source, they are concerned about the potential security issues. But, those security concerns are merely myths. So, what is the reality when it comes to open source software security? 

The first myth is that open source software is vulnerable to security threats due to access to code, which is not evaluated thoroughly. The truth is that with open source code, a diverse developer community works together to forge the initial solution, but they also work together to solve problems and produce new releases. The result? Fewer bugs and quicker fixes. Further, users have the opportunity to evaluate and critique the actual code – not just how it works, but how it was written to work. Because of the nature of the open source community and the fear of losing credibility, developers take great caution in releasing code with their name on it. Since their work is open to a public audience for critique and evaluation, open source developers are constantly striving to develop a product that will earn them respect and credibility from their fellow open source peers.