Inter@ctive Week: Linux: Testing, Security Concerns Raised

“A security hole has appeared in a recent version of Red Hat
Linux, and a security expert said it highlights a more general
weakness in open source code products: no quality assurance testing
before hitting the market. Officials at Red Hat disputed the
assertion, but moved quickly to close the hole.”

“The security opening came as a surprise to some Linux users,
who have considered the operating system (OS) either so
well-designed or so obscure that it didn?t have the same security
problems as Windows. Now most parties agree that is not the case.
The appearance of a security issue at a time when users are still
asking for more applications is unlikely to bolster the fortunes of
Linux stocks, which tumbled faster and farther than general
technology issues in April.”

“Quality assurance and security aren?t the only issues: Outside
of a few suites, there is a lack of widely available office
software; consumer versions of the OS are relatively untried; and
open source code’s open-ended nature – with many developers working
on different parts of the system – makes some information
technology (IT) managers nervous about its predictability. Under an
open source code approach, each development group adds changes to
the system on top of a shared, underlying kernel or system
core.”

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