Open security

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Open security is the use of open source philosophies and methodologies to approach computer security and other information security challenges. [1] Traditional application security is based on the premise that any application or service (whether it is malware or desirable) relies on security through obscurity. [2]

Open source approaches have created technology such as Linux (and to some extent, the Android operating system). Additionally, open source approaches applied to documents have inspired wikis and their largest example, Wikipedia. [1] Open security suggests that security breaches and vulnerabilities can be better prevented or ameliorated when users facing these problems collaborate using open source philosophies. [1]

This approach requires that users be legally allowed to collaborate, so relevant software would need to be released under a license that is widely accepted to be open source; examples include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) license, the Apache 2.0 license, the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), and the GNU General Public License (GPL). [1] Relevant documents would need to be under a generally accepted "open content" license; these include Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) and Attribution Share Alike (CC-BY-SA) licenses, but not Creative Commons "non-commercial" licenses or "no-derivative" licenses. [1]

On the developer side, legitimate software and service providers can have independent verification and testing of their source code. [3] On the information technology side, companies can aggregate common threats, patterns, and security solutions to a variety of security issues. [4] [5]

See also

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Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines freeware unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the freeware it offers. For instance, modification, redistribution by third parties, and reverse engineering are permitted by some publishers but prohibited by others. Unlike with free and open-source software, which are also often distributed free of charge, the source code for freeware is typically not made available. Freeware may be intended to benefit its producer by, for example, encouraging sales of a more capable version, as in the freemium and shareware business models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Creative Commons license</span> Copyright license for free use of a work

A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright licenses that enable the free distribution of an otherwise copyrighted "work". A CC license is used when an author wants to give other people the right to share, use, and build upon a work that the author has created. CC provides an author flexibility and protects the people who use or redistribute an author's work from concerns of copyright infringement as long as they abide by the conditions that are specified in the license by which the author distributes the work.

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An application program is a computer program designed to carry out a specific task other than one relating to the operation of the computer itself, typically to be used by end-users. Word processors, media players, and accounting software are examples. The collective noun "application software" refers to all applications collectively. The other principal classifications of software are system software, relating to the operation of the computer, and utility software ("utilities").

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Wheeler, David A (2013-08-21). "What is open security?" (PDF). Institute for Defense Analyses . Defence Technical Information Center. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
  2. Raymond, Eric S (2004-05-17). "If Cisco ignored Kerckhoffs's Law, users will pay the price". LWN.net. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  3. "Open Security Foundation". Open Security Foundation. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-06-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. "Open Web Application Security Project". Archived from the original on 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2011-06-21.
  5. "Why have OSA?". OSA. Retrieved 2011-06-21.