The password also could be used to exploit vulnerabilities in other servers attached to the network, X-Force director Chris Rouland said today. Red Hat executives did not return calls for comment today. Linux's rise in popularity over the past few years has breathed new life into the open-source movement, with Linux enjoying increased acceptance as an alternative to Windows and other proprietary operating systems. Linux offers high performance, is freely distributed and can be quickly and easily improved. However, its free-form development means that its distributions lack standards and support.
Most experts agree that open-source software can be valuable for encryption software.
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.