Like a privacy based fully open source browser. Wouldnt it be more hackable because every one know the script and is a glopal privacy based gpay alternative possible ? What about targeted hacking is someone using closed source application more better off than someone with ooen source ?

  • BananaTrifleViolin@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Not really. That windows is targeted more is not to do with it being closed source or necessarily less secure; it is ubiquitous and so from a hacker/malware point of view it’s the best chance of getting a financial reward from their efforts.

    However it being closed source makes it harder to identify and patch the holes. We only come across those holes either because a good actor has taken the time to find them (which is hard work) or a bad actor has started exploiting the flaws and been caught - which is terrible as the horse has already bolted, and often stumbled across after damage has been done

    Open source does not magically fix that problem, it just puts the good and bad actors on a more level open playing field. Software can be secure with open code as security is about good design rather than obscuration. But open source code can also be very insecure due to bad design, and those flaws are open to anyone to see and exploit. And it requires people taking the time and effort to actually review and fix the code. There is less incentive to do that in some ways as it is currently less targeted.

    However there are a lot more benefits to open source beyond that, including transparency, audit, and collaboration. It’s those benefits together that make open source compelling.

    Security is also more than being hacked. There are lots of examples of closed source software doing things to benefit it’s makers rather than its users - scraping user data for example and sending it home to be exploited. It’s harder to hide in open source software, but someone also has to take the time to look.