Linux Vulnerability Report Draws Criticism
A U.S. government study that reports there were three times more software vulnerabilities in the Linux/Unix platform than in the Windows platform during 2005 not only is drawing criticism from the open-source community but also has prompted questions from security authorities.
Cyber Security Bulletin 2005, published last week by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), indicates that, out of 5,198 reported flaws, 812 were Windows vulnerabilities, 2,328 were Linux/Unix flaws, and 2,058 were multiple system vulnerabilities. In response to the report, NewsForge.com pointed out that, while many in the trade press have concluded that Windows is three times safer than Linux, the government figures are somewhat misleading.
