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> Cisco has proven over and over again that they can't be trusted. So has Windows. So has Linux. So has MacOS. Does anyone stop using these just because they'r
by peterwwillis 9y ago
> Cisco has proven over and over again that they can't be trusted.
So has Windows. So has Linux. So has MacOS. Does anyone stop using these just because they're riddled with security flaws?
Cisco is a vendor just like any other. You can not reinvent every single piece of technology in the world just because you think you can do it better - not only because you probably can't, but also because it costs too much, and also because you don't have enough time.
Saying "Cisco can't be trusted" just because they have security flaws is a bit like saying "Debian can't be trusted" just because they've had massive holes that nobody else has had. They fix the holes, they put new practices in place, they move on. You don't have to stop using them, but the alternatives are not definitively more secure.
- petee 9y agoNone of your examples have pretty much had hardcoded-password vulnerabilities once-a-year for the past 20 years. (yes, a slight exaggeration but you get the idea) And only one of these, Cisco is a security/infrastructure company. So to consistently miss low hanging fruit, and violate best-common-practices...yeah, their trust level should be taking a hit.
- peterwwillis 9y agoWhereas Linux probably has had privesc holes once a year for 20 years, Cisco definitely has not. Their core products have been rock solid for decades. Only their newer, non-IOS stuff has had persistent problems lately, with a few of IOS holes.
- petee 9y agoActually they have - IOS has had almost 1 a year the last 20 years...compare Code Execution CVEs to the Linux Kernel, and they are damn close if you exclude the kernel's huge number for 2017 - Kernel only has 20 more than IOS. And the kernel is likely far larger than IOS Edit: apparently this isn't the only 'product' page for IOS, there are multiple, and also different versions which get their own CVEs: https://www.cvedetails.com/product/19/Cisco-IOS.html?vendor_id=16 https://www.cvedetails.com/product/19/Cisco-IOS.html?vendor_... https://www.cvedetails.com/product/47/Linux-Linux-Kernel.html https://www.cvedetails.com/product/47/Linux-Linux-Kernel.htm...