Open Source, Closed Threats: The Case for Linux, in the Federal Push for Greater IT Security

Overview

In today's post-9/11 world, the U.S. government is gearing up to fight a new kind of war: against cyber terrorism and a proliferating army of clever, persistent hackers. IT vulnerability is steadily worsening, as managers increasingly combat threats both internal and external, in the form of worms, viruses, Trojan horses, and the like. Many experts say that the tactical - and ultimately strategic - security benefits that can be accrued from effective implementation of open source software stems from control of source code. Linux is "clearly preferable" to closed, proprietary systems when it comes to enhancing security and addressing bugs/flaws or software remediation.