Open Source Software and Security

Many of the issues in cyber security, malware, viruses, etc centers on the vulnerability of proprietary software (e.g. Windows and its family of programs) to code flaws that bad guys can exploit. Proprietary software uses a closed development model where the source code (the inner workings) is guarded by the designer. Open Source (see Linux) on the other hand lets anyone see and add to the code. The theory being that the collective intelligence is greater than any one individual and the potential flaws can be detected and corrected by the forum of users. And the code is made available for free!

What then is the drawback? Mostly it is perception. If it is free it can't be as good or as secure as the one I paid a lot of money to get. A recent memorandum from the US Department of Defense's Chief Information Officer is an effort to debunk that idea. The memo implies that software that has undergone a peer review process is often more secure than proprietary models. It encourages agencies to consider open source in future procurements. It goes on to state that open source software may be modified at will as the need changes in the future.

For more info check out this article at Nextgov.com

Lessons to be learned from the private sector

In an article on Risk Center author Tami Casey reports on a survey of computer professionals for large companies about how difficult it can be to convince executive management of the need to invest in security of web based applications.

The keys to laying out the case have applications in the government world as well. Lets look at the recommendations:

• Effectively communicate the issue and build application security awareness. Executive management might not understand the impact or urgency of fixing security defects. Explain the importance of preventing a data breach, identity theft, unauthorized access and downed websites. Be sure to stay clear of jargon and use real world examples highlighting damages to companies. It's important to provide training on Web security issues to all functions and not just developers. For Governments this translates to teaching your leadership and explaining the political implications of failure.
  
• Align your security strategy with business objectives. Discuss specific management goals and point out how a security breach could stand in the way of meeting these objectives, be they revenue or corporate reputation goals. Government version: focus on political risk and failure to meet citizens' needs
• Calculate the ROI. The cost of a breach can be $500K or more per incident. For example the Heartland Payment Systems breach is estimated to have cost the company $12.6 million along with damage to their reputation and a dramatic drop in the company's stock price. For government it is not ROI but rather cost avoidance and funds that can be used for more productive work/services. When governments fail to protect citizen information direct costs can also be incurred.
• Cite laws and compliance issues. Be sure to point out penalties for non-compliance with regulatory standards, which can pile up quickly. It is bad form for government officials to fail to obey their own regulations!
  
• Emphasize Web app security as part of the software development process. Include stakeholders from the development team through QA and production. This is the key. Government is a very large player in the IT services and procurement industry. It must demand quality products for its investments.