How are open source programs safe? Doesn’t open source make it easy for hackers to find vulnerabilities or contribute malicious code?

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Perhaps I need a better understanding of what open source means, but how can a program that is openly publishing its code not be super vulnerable to cyber security threats. That’s like a bank publishing exactly how all it’s security works right? Obviously I’m missing something here, so ELI5!

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Anonymous 0 Comments

If exposing code makes threats more likely, then the code is flawed to begin with.

For instance knowing how passwords are managed in software isn’t going help you hack it, if that solution is solid. What isn’t great is NOT knowing how passwords are managed, and that’s how closed source software operates. It could be executed poorly, and you wouldn’t know. They have no incentive to fix it since they delude themselves into thinking they can trust their employees and they are safe behind closed software. They can’t, and they aren’t.

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