One of the arguments made against open-source encryption software is that it’s less secure than proprietary software because anyone can contribute to it. This, however, isn’t the case.

Besides lowered costs and increased flexibility, open-source projects are more transparent about vulnerabilities as the source code is publicly accessible. Due to its open nature, anyone in the community can detect and resolve security flaws before they pose a serious threat to the wider community.  

You can also review the code yourself, make modifications, and even release a custom version of the software. Open-source projects allow anyone with the technical expertise to fix broken code, whereas with proprietary software, only the vendor or company can examine and update it. As a result, open-source software is often more reliable and secure than proprietary software.

Yes, open-source software is available for modification by anyone, but that doesn’t mean that every modification is accepted. In fact, most open-source projects use a workflow where a lead developer or a group of developers must sign off on all changes made to the code. Many open-source projects experience the same quality assurance checks as proprietary projects do — they undergo code review and testing and adhere to consistent guidelines(新しいウィンドウ). 

オープンソースプロジェクトは、高品質な製品を作ることに関心を持つ開発者やボランティアの活気あるコミュニティに支えられています。 コミュニティが大きければ大きいほど、直面している問題の解決策が見つかる可能性は高くなります。 ほとんどのオープンソースプロジェクトには専用のフォーラムがあり、ユーザーはそこで質問を投稿したり、クラウドソーシングを通じてバグをトラブルシューティングしたりできます。

プロジェクトがオープンソースであれば、バージョン履歴を見て、バグの解決や更新の受け取りにかかる時間を把握することもできます。 さらに、Netflix(新しいウィンドウ)やAdobeのような多くのテクノロジー企業がプロジェクトでオープンソースコードを使用しており、これは大規模なオープンソースベンチャーへの継続的なサポートに対する強い信頼の証となっています。 

By opening up the source code, anyone can directly verify that the encryption features are implemented correctly and no backdoors are built in. You can even hire third-party security firms to conduct independent audits(新しいウィンドウ).  

Open-source encryption enables individuals, experienced developers, and cryptography experts to learn what algorithms are employed, how they work, and point out potential flaws and vulnerabilities. This transparency makes it possible to quickly resolve bugs and independently assess the security of an application, which leads to better privacy. 

Proton has always been a strong advocate for open-source software, and you can find our source code for all our apps on GitHub(新しいウィンドウ). We maintain two popular open-source encryption libraries: OpenPGP.js(新しいウィンドウ) and GopenPGP.

We also hire third-party firms to conduct independent audits of our apps and share the results so that you can read an expert’s assessment of our service’s security. Our products are regularly audited to verify they work as we claim, and you can read all of those security audit reports, too. We also completed a SOC 2 Type II audit, one of the most widely recognized standards for operational security in business.

We’re committed to keeping all of our products open source because we believe our community deserves complete transparency and a voice in how their most sensitive, valuable data is handled. Since the beginning, Proton has been funded by our community, and our goal has always been to make privacy the default on the internet: That means putting our community first and allowing anyone to contribute to our mission.