It is wrong to believe that open source software is implicitly insecure, according to the government's main official on the subject.
Qamar Yunus, assistant director in the Cabinet Office ICT policy team, made the assertion in outlining the guidance the organisation has produced on the subject at the EHI Live event in Birmingham.
"There was a myth being circulated around the SIs, saying you can't use open source software in government as it's not secure," Yunus told the conference, referring to the systems integrators that account for large amounts of government ICT spending.
To counter this, the Cabinet Office asked CESG, the National Technical Authority for Information Assurance, to produce guidance on the subject. The result is already available to users of the Government Secure intranet, and will be published on the Cabinet Office website in the next couple of weeks.
"That document clearly states there is no difference between open source and proprietary software. That's one myth busted," Yunus said.
He told the audience that the government is not in favour of open source in all cases, but wants to see a "level playing field" with proprietary software based on total cost of ownership over its lifetime. "I do not believe it is always the best value for money," he said, but added that he wants government ICT buyers – including systems integrators planning technology refreshes – always to consider open source as an option. This should involve software procurements stating an outcome rather than a brand.
Yunus said that he has carried out extensive research with both departments and integrators. "There was a realisation that neither really understood open source," he said. As a result, the Cabinet Office has established a Government Open Solutions online forum, a model to assess the total cost of ownership of the two types of software, a catalogue of case studies and an asset register of government ICT that will indicate whether a project uses open source.
He said that simply considering open source alternatives helps improve competition, and mentioned that he encouraged a department to pilot open source LibreOffice as an alternative to upgrading its Microsoft software. This led to Microsoft providing the new software for free. However, he added that open source should be considered properly, rather than simply as a negotiating tool.
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