CHRIS STROHM AND JORDAN ROBERTSON
Hackers have shaken the free- software movement that once symbolized the Web's idealism.
Several high-profile attacks in recent months exploited security flaws found in the "open-source" software created by volunteers collaborating online, building off one another's work.
First developed in the 1980s, open-source software has become so pervasive that it now powers global stock exchanges, the International Space Station and, according to researcher International Data, appears on about 95 per cent of computers and servers.
Attacks this year using flaws nicknamed Heartbleed and Shellshock have some programmers suggesting that corporations or even the US government should provide more money or programing help. That idea doesn't go over easily among grass-roots developers who want to remain true to the ideals of a do-it- yourself movement.
"It's going to be a wake-up call for a lot of people to understand why we aren't auditing this software better," said Greg Martin, founder and chief technology officer of Threat Stream, a cybersecurity company based in Redwood City, California. "Everybody's been scratching their heads and saying,'How could we miss this?' "
Open-source advocates say their programming code is more secure than proprietary software because developers are constantly fixing flaws found by users. Critics say the open nature of the software leaves it vulnerable to hackers because the programing flaws are out in the open for all to see.
In either case, some say the fix should come from the companies that build products off the free software.
Technology companies such as Yahoo, Facebook and Google "are saving huge amounts of money using open-source, and they should invest much more money in trying to secure these systems," said Jaime Blasco, director of labs for AlienVault, a San Mateo, California-based security company.
Facebook, based in Menlo Park, California, said in a statement it "is a leading and committed contributor to the open-source community," having started projects to secure Google Android and Apple devices. It pledged US$300,000 over three years to an initiative of the Linux Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that supports open-source use.
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Hackers shake open source idealism