Re: [CA cert] Bet

[Greg Black <cacert AT mail.gbch.net>]

On 2004-08-08, Duane wrote:

> I have a bet going with a friend of mine over the rationalisation of 
> open sourcing... Apart from peer review can anyone bleating for code to 
> be open sourced give me a factual benefit in doing so...

I can't believe you're seriously asking this if you are supposed
to know something about security software.  Anyway, for a first
clue, try Bruce Schneier's Crypto_gram article:

    http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0205.html

Look for the item near the top entitled "Secrecy, Security, and
Obscurity" and read it carefully.  The read the rest of the
archives of Crypto-Gram and then read a bit more widely.  There
are a lot of other reasons also for open sourcing this software,
but the stuff that Schneier covers there is critical and
explains why people like me have been saying that we cannot
possibly consider CAcert seriously until there is a commitment
to opening up the software.

Cheers, Greg