15 Feb 2004
Microsoft Windows Source Code Published Illicitly

It was bound to happen eventually: and it's been all over the 'net for the past couple of days, with varying degrees of scaremongering and FUD accompanying.

Most people immediately leap to the conclusion that this is a major leg up for crackers and virus writers. After all, if a programmer has the source, he can see exactly how he can break it, right?

This, of course, misses the point of open source, which is security. This is precisely why the software that runs the Internet backbone is all open source. When the source is open, the good guys as well as the bad guys can see the code and fix it - rather than waiting for a limited number of trusted employees at some big software conglomerate to figure it out. And there are alot more good guys out there than bad guys.

Don't believe it? Count the number of worms and virii effecting Linux, *BSD or any open source operating system. Now count the number for Windows, a closed system if ever there was one.

Curiously enough, one company that is seemingly starting to "get it" regarding open source and security is Micosoft, although you'd never know it from their marketing materials.

Despite concerns that such source sharing could lead to more leaks, the program is vital to grow the business, Wilfried Grommen, general manager for Microsoft's business strategy for Europe, Middle East and Africa, told Reuters on Friday.

"I don't think that this kind of shared source usage can be scaled back," he said. "It's become an essential part of our business practices. Governments want it for trust and transparency. Businesses want it for security."

(link) [CNN]

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