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(새 창). 

오픈 소스 프로젝트는 고품질 제품을 만드는 데 공동의 관심을 가진 개발자와 자원봉사자들의 활기찬 커뮤니티로 둘러싸여 있습니다. 커뮤니티가 클수록 직면한 문제에 대한 해결책을 찾을 가능성이 높아집니다. 대부분의 오픈 소스 프로젝트에는 사용자가 질문을 게시하고 크라우드소싱을 통해 버그를 해결할 수 있는 전용 포럼이 있습니다.

프로젝트가 오픈 소스인 경우 버전 기록을 살펴보고 버그를 해결하고 업데이트를 받는 데 필요한 시간을 파악할 수도 있습니다. 또한 Netflix(새 창) 및 Adobe와 같은 많은 기술 기업이 프로젝트에 오픈 소스 코드를 사용하며, 이는 대규모 오픈 소스 벤처에 대한 지속적인 지원에 대한 강력한 신뢰의 표시입니다. 

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(새 창).  

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(새 창). We maintain two popular open-source encryption libraries: OpenPGP.js(새 창) 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.