[kictanet] U.S.: Stop using Internet Explorer until security holes are fixed

Tue Apr 29 20:09:51 EAT 2014

What stops the NSA from hiring independent devs to contribute to open
source code?

Does open source run in a vacuum? No. We still download closed sourced
Chrome, Flash, Java etc to run on our open source installations. Do these
have backdoors?

How many people actually take the time to go through open source code
looking for bugs and backdoors?

On Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 16:52 PM, Ngigi Waithaka via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

Mark,

What open source gives you is the freedom and choice to check for yourself
whether the code is secure or not. While it is not a guarantee, at least it
puts the onus on you.

If we are to discuss security & NSA there are very many commercial
cryptography applications that have long been suspected of having backdoors
that would be of use to certain governments. Last I chceked NSA pays an
annual retainer running into hundreds of millions to ensure commercial
vendors introduce backdoors they can use. On top of that, remember when US
firms couldn't export cryptography that used more than 1024 bits?

The problem with closed source, you have no liberty to check for yourself.
You just hope!

Back to OpenSSL; yes it had a serious bug for long, and I am sure not the
last one, but if you look at how the HeartBleed bug came to be discovered
and fixed, it was the openness that made this possible.

Coming closer home, and regarding our recently implemented PKI
Infrastructure by Koreans, how many would bet we have similar bugs in that
implementation? How many would bet that no security audit was done based on
the sources and that there is no guarantee of a backdoor in the system?

Again, we can only hope!

Regards

On Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 4:21 PM, Mark Mwangi via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke<javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke');>
> wrote:

Again as Dennis said, there are loopholes even in open source software
> and so that argument is moot. If governments such as the Canadian one
> with practically unlimited resources couldnt find the holes then what
> good is making the code open source?
>
> Open sourcing doesn't make the code more secure by virtue of the action.
>
> On Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 3:49 PM, Evans Ikua via kictanet
> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> > Thats not the issue. There is no software that is absolutely secure,
> open or
> > closed source. The issue is being able to get into the code and find out
> if
> > there are backdoors where someone else is snooping on your systems and
> data,
> > especially if you are a Government.
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 3:20 PM, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> But Mr. Ikua,
> >> The equally open source software known as OpenSSL had a glaring hole for
> >> years, which some suspect the US government might have known about too.
> >>
> >> For as long as we have had software, so have we had software bugs, be it
> >> open, closed or ajar :-)
> >>
> >>
> >> On Tuesday, 29 April 2014, Evans Ikua via kictanet
> >> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Well put Walu. This is the strategic dilemma of using closed source
> >>> proprietary software. I am sure the lessons that Russia learns from
> this
> >>> will inform other governments that you are only as free as the
> technology
> >>> that you use.
> >>>
> >>> Evans
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Mon, Apr 28, 2014 at 7:27 PM, Walubengo J via kictanet
> >>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> ####snip#####
> >>>>
> >>>> The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, a part of
> Homeland
> >>>> Security known as US-CERT, said in an advisory released on Monday
> morning
> >>>> that the vulnerability in versions 6 to 11 of Internet Explorer could
> lead
> >>>> to "the complete compromise" of an affected system.
> >>>>
> >>>> read more
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/technology/chi-microsoft-explorer-security-flaws-20140428,0,4797833.story
>
>
> >>>>
> >>>> ########snip#####
> >>>>
> >>>> Funny - I keep feeling that the US Gov KNEW about this hole for many
> >>>> years :-)
> >>>>
> >>>> Meanwhile, use the Internet Explorer browser only if you think you
> have
> >>>> nothing important to lose. No wonder President Putin has been a
> worried man
> >>>> and wants to move his staff back to typewriters :-)
> >>>>
> >>>> walu.
> >>>>
> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> kictanet mailing list
> >>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
> >>>>
> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> >>>>
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ikua.evans%40gmail.com
> >>>>
> >>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder
> platform
> >>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> >>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the
> ICT
> >>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and
> development.
> >>>>
> >>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> >>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and
> bandwidth,
> >>>> share knowledge, don't flame
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
>
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>
>
>

-- 
*Regards,*

*Wait**haka Ngigi*
Chief Executive Officer | Alliance Technologies | MCK Nairobi Synod Building

T + 254 (0) 20 2333 471 |Office Mobile: +254 786 28 28 28 | M + 254 737 811
000

www.at.co.ke

-- 
Sent from MetroMail
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20140429/1d57242d/attachment.htm>