Reference no: EM132153836
Question - Reply to this article with 2 APA references. This week's topic of open source vs closed source vulnerability scanners is in interesting topic. Lean more on the side of open source software, because it allows more people to examine how it functions and how it does it. This allows for more bugs in the code to be discovered. This also allows people to adapt the code to a specific use they may need, repost it and get additional eyes on for bugs that may have been introduced while changing the source code. It has been agreed upon by several that "open source basically makes it easy to find vulnerabilities; they only differ in their conclusions with regard to the resulting impact on security" (Schryen & Kadura, 2009). It has been argued also that "security flaws in open source software can be fixed more quickly than those of closed source software, because the user community is not dependent on a company's schedule to release a patch" (Schryen & Kadura, 2009).
When handling security software, having less vulnerabilities, and more options to adapt can be very beneficial. Since technology is always changing, including the software that is running on it catching new bugs and vulnerabilities before zero-day exploits are found is rather important. Galatians 6:2 (ESV) states "bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Community in the context about open source and dealing with what Galatians 6:2 then the burdens would be the bugs and vulnerabilities that the community would be looking for. And as listed above, having a community that can handle quick bug catching and vulnerability patching is better suited for quick updates, and support. This also adds to the fact that open source is free, so the community support is free, but a company usually charges to support a product after so long, or re-release's a product under a different name to make even more money.
References Schryen, G., & Kadura, R. (2009). Open Source vs. Closed Source Software: Towards Measuring Security.