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xCareful analysis leads to the
conclusion that security is unrelated to whether the software is
proprietary or open source.
xThe open-source movement is largely
devoid of systematic efforts to guarantee security. The fact that code
can
be examined for flaws does not mean it will
be examined by anyone competent.
xThe literature contains reports of
serious security flaws in open-source products, often after
years of use. Several
occurred in the parts of the software intended to
make it secure, which presumably underwent more careful
coding and examination. That strongly
suggests that either the many people who supposedly look at the code
are not able to recognize the problems, or they aren't
really looking. Experience indicates
that both are true.