The report notes that the word "free" refers to the ability of users to modify and redistribute the source code. "The hypothetical question was posed of what would happen if FOSS [Free and Open Source Software] were banned in the DoD," the report says. "The main conclusion of the analysis was that FOSS software plays a more critical role in the DoD than has generally been recognized." ... Without open source, the report says, the Defense Department would lose access to powerful security analysis and detection applications, which would "have immediate, broad, and strongly negative impacts on the ability of many sensitive and security-focused DoD groups to defend against cyber attacks." ... This story was linked a while back on SlashDot. This article is showing up in Google news now. Interesting analysis from a "not-for-profit" war contractor. From what I can tell, it looks like the Mitre Corp provide highly skilled IT labor for the US War Department (sorry, I'm not going to call it the Dept. of *cough* Defense.) If anyone has clue, it's these guys. As an aside, here's my favorite standout from the Slashdot thread: "Isn't anybody gonna mention that RMS is going to say that FOSS should really be referred to as Dental/FOSS?" We have YANTRAF (Yet Another Acronym To Remember And Forget:) Free and
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Software FOSS FOSS FOSS FOSS Defense Contractor Says Open Source Is Widely Used, Beneficial To DoD | 
