[Infowarrior] - Google Backs Open-source CERT Group

[Richard Forno]

  Google Backs Open-source CERT Group

Robert McMillan, IDG News Service1 hour, 2 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20080506/tc_pcworld/145508&printer=1;_ylt=AoQ9ZrUeNtSO4_0KHFsk5VoRSLMF

Google has thrown its weight behind a fledgling security reporting  
group for the open-source community.

The search engine giant, long a proponent of open-source software, is  
now one of three sponsors of oCERT, the Open Source Computer Emergency  
Response Team.

Launched in late March, oCERT aims to be a clearinghouse for data on  
security vulnerabilities in open-source products, keeping open-source  
distributors on top of flaws and helping small software projects  
ensure that users of their code are aware of any issues.

OCERT has published four advisories since its inception. In addition  
to Google, it is sponsored by Inverse Path and the Open Source Lab.

There are already many national CERT efforts, which coordinate  
countrywide responses to security threats, but oCERT hopes to meet the  
unique requirements of the open-source community, where software is  
often re-used but patches are not always circulated to everyone who  
needs them.

"It is my hope that this initiative will not only aid in remediating  
security issues in a timely fashion, but also provide a means for  
additional security contributions to the open source community," wrote  
Google's Will Drewry in a Monday post to the company's security blog.