On Mon September 6 2004 10:24, Roy Souther wrote:
<snip>
> many more steps then I have listed here. I would like to point out that,
> yes PHP-Nuke is near the top of the list of most frequent sites
> compromised but that I believe is more do to the fact that it is the
> number one most popular Open Source CMS.

I'm in no position to compare (I don't even know what the other offerings are, 
let alone have data to back any conclusions) but I would like to point out, 
as food for thought, two fundamental issues central to security in general:

1)  Design with security in mind.  I can't analyze PHP-Nuke because I'm not 
familiar with it's code or development process, but the feeling I've gotten 
from others over the years is that its poor security history stems at least 
partly from poor design.  Feel free to refute.

2)  Monoculture.  Yes, ubiquity makes for more prominent targets and increased 
activity.  But it is only part of any explanation behind rampant security 
breaches.  That being said, if one's site experiences multiple breaches in 
only a few months time, moving away from that monoculture is a wisely added 
layer of security.  No breach is ever acceptable, no matter what product is 
being used.

<snip>

> running PHP-Nuke. Does that make them anymore secure? The fact that the
> PHP-Nuke security holes are exposed faster then other CMS's is not a
> comfort but a benefit.

Not if you're being hacked in the wild.  :-P

> I have stopped upgrading PHP-Nuke in favor of adding my own security
> changes and watching what new changes become available. The author of
> PHP-Nuke tends to be less interested in security with his changes and
> more reliant on others to fix his mistakes. Only human.

On the other hand, if security is important to you and not the vendor, why use 
their product?

> Just my $0.02. I am no expert in security. I am learning as I go.

I'll second that for myself.  :-)

I will take this opportunity to voice my appreciation for the Executive's 
continued dedication to protecting current investments in CLUG and improving 
beyond what we have.  I am also sympathetic to the additional effort it takes 
to act on that as opposed to maintaining status quo, and the work required to 
rectify this particular situation.  Thank you very much for working on our 
behalf!

Sincerely,
Curtis

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