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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The idea behind open-source software is that there are more “good” people who want the project to succeed because they find it useful than “bad” people who want to use it maliciously.
The more “good” people you have looking at the code and scrutinizing it, the less likely a “bad” person will be able to introduce malicious code to the program.
Also in most open source projects, there’s a system of checks and scans both automated and manual by the maintainers that take place before code is “merged” into the existing program and distributed for other people to use, making it very difficult for someone to just slip in malicious code.
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