Enterprises and IT teams are not the only beneficiary of the digital revolution. Malicious actors are also using the latest emerging technologies to conceive new Internet attack ideas, and expand the victim’s foundation from large enterprises to your daily WordPress website owner. They only have a few security plug -ins that can destroy themselves.
As the risk of online attacks is getting closer to the family. The demand for the security business environment is unprecedentedly rising, whether small enterprises or large enterprises, as well as software and web developers.
Organization executives are looking for the best way to test the security of their software or website and protect them from hacking attacks. However, although the security options are not scarce, the biggest challenge facing the IT team today is surpassing open source and closed source software security debates. The issue of millions of dollars here is, \”Which of these two methods is safer?\”
In this article, we carefully studied each of these options, and why you should consider among them. one.
Open source and closed source safety test explanation
Open source software safety tools
Open source refers to its code for non -proprietary software that everyone can use. Modify (by adding or deleted) and free distribution.
In other words, the authors of these tools will not keep the source code confidential. Instead, they share open source software in the public repository and can access specific functions for free to create it.
By allowing access to the back -end code, the original author eliminates all obstacles to the application. This allows other developers to study application development. Develop new methods to modify and improve it to adapt to their expected purpose.
As SNYK pointed out, the main purpose of the open source vulnerability scanning method is to encourage programmers and engineers community to collaborate and develop new technologies to solve hand -to -hand problems.
Examples of open source security testing tools include SNYK, Kali Linux, and OSSEC.
Closing source software security tool
Closed source software Also known as proprietary software. It is completely opposite to the OSS method. The author (or organization) is securely locked and encrypted the source code, rejecting other people’s access. In other words, other developers and programmers cannot read, modify, copy and distribute software in their desires.
Unlike open source software, proper software technology is not so much after the community is invested. We will explain how this affects software security in the following part.
Big debate: Open and closed software security
In terms of comparison between these two methods, the security has received the most attention. Supporters of closed source code software believe that hackers cannot manipulate the core as they want, because it is locked in the public.
Secondly, proprietary software was developed by the best developer team, and a startup in the controlled environment that is about to support at top technology giants. Although there is no software that can be 100% flawless, these products are considered to have higher quality, because a centralized team will review the code in large quantities to reduce the risk of vulnerability and errors.
But this is what supporters of open source security test software are most worried. Because users are almost impossible to view and study source code, they cannot measure their safety level. In this case, the closed source code enthusiasts have no choice, and they can only believe that developers are in a leading position when protecting the code. The main attraction of non -proprietary security testing software is the developer community who views and review the source code. In this way, there are many eyes (white hackers, visionary contributors and users) are scanning code to find the back door Trojan horses, errors and security vulnerabilities.
Zero -day vulnerability
In terms of zero vulnerability, the fact that open source leads a few steps is inevitable. Zero -day vulnerability is a available security vulnerability that was known by cyber criminals before developers obtained clues.
This is a high -risk vulnerability because developers do not know its existence. So it’s not ready to repair its patch. It is necessary to point out that some vulnerabilities may take a day to several months. Before developers discovered them. Even after the patch is released for the vulnerability, not all users can implement it quickly.
After the vulnerability was found, the hacker quickly adopted action penetration software and launched a zero -day attack. Zero -day vulnerability uses code (code written for no vulnerabilities). It can also be sold widely on the dark network to further expand the scope of attack. Open source and closed source products are prone to zero vulnerabilities and attacks. However,In the final analysis. The closed source system is more likely to be affected by this risk than open source applications. A zero -day attack on a widely used software, such as Microsoft Windows, iOS, Java, Adobe Flash, and Skype. These are considered higher return on investment. For open source components, the loopholes in zero -day loopholes are not the main threat. Because there are many eyes on the code.
OSS fans appreciate that they do not have to contact the developers on loopholes. They are waiting for the solution. When other developers find errors in OSS. They will submit the repairs to the maintainer of the project and have been judged before the implementation.
In this reason, modern software developers agreed to repair the speed of OSS vulnerabilities. It is unparalleled in the proprietary software world. But please remember that the \”multi -eye\” theory in open source software methods is just a hypothesis. Maintenance software programs not only require resources, but also take time. Even if it is open, it cannot guarantee that a volunteer team has enough financial resources to keep the code update. If so, the defender is just a volunteer and has no obligation to check and deal with the problems in the code. Open source or closed source security test software -which method?
The debate about open source software and closed source software is far from over, because each framework has its advantages and disadvantages list. But whether it is open or closed, there is no natural perfect program, because all code is written by people.
In fact, there is no correct or wrong answer. It involves selection between open source and closed source security testing software. Your choice depends on your specific business security needs and whether you have enough resources.
Therefore, this depends on the various companies and its IT team to identify and use respected software Essence What’s more important is to maintain. Then update the program and ensure regular security testing.
