When testing encryption for weaknesses, it is assumed that hackers will know the algorithms, and the more people who try to crack it, the better. However, the security community is divided, or undecided, about whether open-source as an operating system offers enough security. I'm a strong advocate of open design because it gives a lot of people a chance to look at software. Linux was designed with more security in mind than Windows, but at the same time, people haven't been banging on it for as long as Windows. No operating system is safe straight out of the box.
Nobody closes the holes.
A free script can be used to fix most of the security holes, he adds. ISS' discovery of the hole in Red Hat's Piranha software could be used to prove either point on the open-source security debate. So it's a double-edged sword.