Only a few open-source vendors have borne the time and expense of having their software EAL-certified. Red Hat and Novell's SuSE Linux attained EAL3+ ratings in the last year, but many other vendors have yet to do the same. This raises a fundamental question: Does open-source software need security certifications to win global acceptance?

Open source is undeniably on the march. Linux continues to grow at a torrid pace -- now forecast by IDC to represent a US$35 billion market by 2008 -- though it has yet to significantly breach the desktop market. Mozilla's Firefox browser debuted with much fanfare recently, with over ten million downloads recorded in a single month. So far, open source has captured plenty of converts and customers, not to mention media attention and the ire of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) . Is there nothing to slow its mighty advance?

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