Many risks when using open source code

Security risks

This is a factor that businesses often prioritize when considering software for digital transformation of their operations. Choosing insecure software can have significant negative consequences for all business activities. Especially with open-source software, which is publicly available online, hackers can easily study and analyze vulnerabilities and quickly distribute it. This poses numerous risks not only to users but also to the business's own systems. Furthermore, if a system-level security incident occurs, it will be very difficult to update and fix the problem.

According to surveys and assessments, a persistent problem with open-source software is the ever-increasing number of security flaws and the many vulnerabilities that remain unpatched due to the lack of competent and responsible entities to implement them. Before patches are available, hackers can already exploit these vulnerabilities.

Another problem with open-source software is the difficulty in controlling and evaluating its security level, as the source code is developed by too many different users, potentially even containing spyware or viruses designed to intentionally collect information for malicious purposes.

Digital transformation for businesses: Many risks when using open source - 1 — Besides its convenience, open-source software also carries many security risks.

Risks in deployment and operation

Not all open-source software has detailed and comprehensive installation and operation documentation like commercial software, which can make deployment and operation difficult. In particular, the lack of descriptions of common errors and how to resolve them can lead to initial problems and operational risks. Furthermore, the infrastructure costs for deployment are not optimized, resulting in increased expenses.

Poor compatibility and potential for problems to occur at any time.

Some open-source software may lack stability and contain bugs, as well as have poor compatibility with other software or platforms. This can lead to difficulties in using the software and may even cause serious problems at any time.

Recall that the US government 's Healthcare.gov system in 2013, which used open-source code, experienced a website outage just two hours after launch, despite nearly fivefold increases in traffic. It was subsequently shut down due to code-related issues and a lack of experience in key technical positions.

The Healthcare.gov incident demonstrates that serious incidents can occur at any time if the unit developing, operating, and managing the system lacks a deep understanding of it. This leads to prolonged incident resolution times, or even inability to resolve the issue, potentially resulting in customer data loss, information leaks, and significant damage to the reputation of the managing entity.

Difficult to upgrade and expand as needed.

Open-source software is readily available online, meaning that personnel adopting it lack in-depth knowledge of the system. Therefore, when customization requests arise from multiple clients, it becomes very difficult to modify and meet their specific requirements.

Slow performance

Many open-source software programs perform significantly slower than closed-source ones. This is because open-source software inevitably contains redundant code and functions, which consume more system resources than usual and slow down the system.

Lack of support and reliance on the user community.

Some open-source software is unsupported or has more limited support than commercial software, and even when supported by the open-source software development community, there is no clear commitment to the quality of support.

On the other hand, some open-source software relies on a user community for maintenance and development. If the community fails to grow or the provider changes its business strategy and terminates the project at any time, users may encounter problems related to functionality, stability, or even be unable to continue using the software and must seek alternative software.

For large systems or core software, replacement can be resource-intensive or impossible, causing significant damage… This is also a costly lesson learned from the risks involved, and it has caused many companies, businesses, and governments considerable trouble, such as when RedHat terminated the open-source Project CentOS after nearly 20 years and stopped providing CentOS Linux 8 in 2021.

Because server operating systems are inherently complex and contain numerous software systems providing long-term services, migration is extremely complicated, and in some cases, even specialized systems cannot be migrated. Even in the healthcare sector, abrupt termination of open-source projects has occurred, such as the VistA project of the US Department of Health and Human Services, which transitioned from open source to a closed-source model in 2015, or the Mirth Connect open-source project, which was sold by Mirth Corporation to a private company and subsequently also became a closed-source project.

Software copyright disputes are likely to occur.

Some open-source software may contain legal elements, including copyright infringement or misuse of licenses. Using such software can cause legal problems for users.

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