CSC 379 SUM2008:Week 5, Group 2

Open Non-Proprietary Technology vs. Closed Proprietary Technology

The issues surrounding electronic voting have highlighted the concerns of use of open non-proprietary technology vs. closed proprietary technology. On the one side, closed proprietary technology allegedly safeguards voting security by making it impossible for outsiders to discover vulnerabilities by analyzing the code. On the other side, open technology encourages more eyes to look over the code, and may find vulnerabilities in advance, in time to correct them. What bearing does this discussion have on other types of software systems? Should other systems with high social value also have open non-proprietary licenses to increase accountability, or do the risks of open licensing outweigh the benefits?

Examine how the experience with electronic voting applies to other critical software systems (e.g., software used for port security, handling medical records, or managing a payroll). What are the costs and benefits of open non-proprietary technology vs. closed proprietary technology for such applications? Are there applications where one or the other should clearly be used? Are there applications for which neither is appropriate? Please explain your answers.

• http://courses.ncsu.edu/csc379/lec/001/lectures/wk14/lecture.html

Introduction

1. Thou shalt keep each voter's choices an inviolable secret.
2. Thou shalt allow each eligible voter to vote only once, and only for those offices for which she is authorized to cast a vote.
3. Thou shalt not permit tampering with thy voting system, nor the exchange of gold for votes.
4. Thou shalt report all votes accurately.
5. Thy voting system shall remain operable throughout each election.
6. Thou shalt keep an audit trail to detect sins against Commandments II-IV, but thy audit trail shall not violate Commandment I.

Open Source System

Advantages

An obvious benefit is that open source code, available to all, is usually free.

Another convenience of open source code is that bugs are usually found faster and can be fixed by the user(s) who comes across it. Instead of waiting for a new release of the software with the bug corrected, open source code can also be redistributed to bring a corrected version to everyone immediately.

Support for open source software, just as the software itself, is easily accessible. With so many people able to view the code, theoretically any number of them could offer support.

Possibly the biggest advantage of open source software is the fact that everybody has the right and ability to modify and tweak the source code. This allows for implementation in other software and adaptability to a changing environment.

Resources

• Electronic Voting - Evaluating the Threat Michael Ian Shamos, Ph.D., J.D. March 1993.
• http://courses.ncsu.edu/csc379/lec/001/lectures/wk14/lecture.html
• Open Source, Transparency and Electronic Voting John P. Mello, Jr., LinuxInsider. Apr 18, 2007.
• E-Vote Software Leaked Online Kim Zetter, Wired. Oct 29, 2003.
• Diebold insider alleges company plagued by technical woes, Diebold defends 'sterling' record Miriam Raftery, Raw Story. Dec 6, 2005.
• Analysis of an Electronic Voting System (pdf) Tadayoshi Kohno, et al. Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute. July 23, 2003.