ACM Technews snippet [1]

[Steve Jenkin]

Link:      http://www.acm.org/technews/current/homepage.html#item4
Reference: http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/19996.html 

FUD - Fear Uncertainity & Doubt.
Is this misinformation or 'for real'???
Haven't heard of Gartner withdrawing its Sep 2001 warning to abandon MS-IIS.

"Study: Linux's Security Problems Outstrip Microsoft's"
       NewsFactor Network (11/15/02); Maguire, James 

       Open source software has more security holes than Microsoft software,
       according to an Aberdeen Group report. The report backs up its
       conclusions with findings from the Computer Emergency Response Team
       (CERT), in which 16 out of 29 advisories issued in the first 10 months of
       2002 were related to open source and Linux software; in contrast,
       Microsoft software accounted for only seven reported problems. CERT
       also reports that the number of Trojan horse and virus advisories
       revolving around Microsoft applications fell from six in 2001 to zero in
       the first 10 months of 2002. Aberdeen Group research director Eric
       Hemmendinger, who co-authored the report, notes that the greater
       number of open source vulnerabilities runs counter to the assumption
       that Microsoft software has the weakest security. He attributes the rise
       in open source security flaws to a lack of a quality assurance testing
       entity. Meanwhile, Hemmendinger believes that the shrinkage of
       Microsoft security problems could demonstrate that the company's
       increased emphasis on security is having a noticeable effect. "[T]here
       have been a number of things that have gone on [in Microsoft] over the
       last couple years reflecting that they know security matters, and that
       they had to pay attention to it," he declares. Hemmendinger anticipates
       that Microsoft security problems will either continue to fall or plateau,
       while open source security advisories will continue to rise.
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Steve Jenkin, Unix Sys Admin
PO Box 48, Kippax, ACT 2615
0412 786 915