Feb 11, 2021
Transparent code can still mean secure data
Selling free and open source software to the U.S. government, our bosses, and ourselves
How many times have you heard someone say that “free software” sounds suspicious? Other common misconceptions: it’s insecure, buggy, difficult to install and use, or looks unprofessional. As free and open source software (FOSS) evangelists, we spend a lot of time de-bunking these myths and helping agencies discover the benefits of keeping control of their own code.
As a matter of fact, free software is professional, secure, reliable, and useful — and offers the ethical advantage of saving taxpayer dollars — but its adoption still requires some convincing for folks who are unfamiliar with its benefits. At LibrePlanet 2020, CivicActions’ Chief Information Security Officer Fen Labalme, and DevOps Engineer Karen Johnson shared their experiences and tips for promoting the use of free software in government digital service projects including:
- Stories of ‘wins’ and not-so-successful attempts
- Drawbacks and benefits to using FOSS
- Security best practices
- Clearing misconceptions around FOSS (including what the “free” part actually means)
- Hilarious Star Trek memes
“I’ve found that ‘It’s your taxpayer money, so you should get access to it’ has been a pretty powerful argument for folks who don’t realize that they’re paying for this software…it does seem logical that [government agencies] should have access to that source code.”
— Karen Johnson
Highlights
- 4:26 — What IS free software?
- 5:55 — Why new code written in FOSS should still be able to run on Windows
- 6:14 — Tackling the misconception that free software isn’t secure
- 9:03 — Who has more bugs, FOSS or proprietary software? (The answer may surprise you)
- 10:04 — Why it’s hard for users to make the jump from proprietary software to FOSS
- 10:55 — How CivicActions has committed to using FOSS
- 12:14 — Common drawbacks to using only FOSS and what we’ve learned from them
- 17:28 — Having trouble convincing government to use FOSS? Try changing your language
- 21:20 — Why it’s important to actively counter misinformation about FOSS
- 23: 45 — Help make FOSS more credible by using website badges
- 25:26 — FOSS security tips from our seasoned security / compliance champion
- 30:12 — What the “free” in freeware really means
Resources
Connect with Fen
Connect with Karen
