Fortify says that could be a bad idea because of lack of good security practices among open source developers. Though not specifically condemning open source software in general, Fortify CTO Roger Thornton warns that saving money via unlicensed software could cost more in the long run due to the expense of repair, recoding, and potential litigation.

Security Company Asks Obama To Think Twice About Open Source

This comes from a U.S. company called Fortify, whose business it is to search for code flaws. Citing its own research, Fortify suggests that open source as a whole is inherently less secure and therefore, the U.K. government shouldn’t use open source. However, it fails to note that many open-source projects have commercial companies behind them, which effectively puts the software on equal footing.

Open-source dilemma in the U.K.? | Negative Approach – CNET News

“The Conservatives have accused the government of failing to capitalise
on open source software, despite reports from government agencies that
have recommended its usage,” said Richard Kirk, Fortify’s VP and GM of
Europe.

Tories ‘misguided’ in criticising government’s stance on open source software | Computerworlduk

According to Fortify, comments made by Tory shadow Chancellor George Osborne on the Government’s alleged failure to embrace open source, ignore the hidden problems underlying its model of software creation.

Tories ignoring open-source security risk | Network World

The study, carried out by application security consultant Larry Suto, found that a lack of security processes led to a constant or increasing number of security issues in successive open source releases.

Open source ‘lacks enterprise-grade security’ | ZDNet Asia