"The UK government has published the first draft of its
proposed policy on the use of open source software and is seeking
comments from the public.
The policy essentially seeks to increase the use of open source
software at all levels of government and public sector IT
provision. Behind this broader acceptance of open source solutions
lies a desire to ensure interoperability and the support of open
standards and specifications.
The government is also concerned by the security problems.
'Security of government systems is vital,' says the draft policy.
'Properly configured open source software can be at least as secure
as proprietary systems, and open source software is currently
subject to fewer Internet attacks.'"