Cloud Computing: Hackers shake confidence in idealism of open-source software
October 18, 2014
Grazed from SFGate. Author: Editorial Staff.
Hackers have shaken the free-software movement that once symbolized the Web’s idealism. Several high-profile attacks in recent months exploited security flaws in the open-source software created by volunteers collaborating online, building off each other’s work.
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 Corp., appears on about 95 percent of computers and servers…
Attacks this year using flaws nicknamed Heartbleed and Shellshock have some programmers suggesting that corporations or even the U.S. 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…
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