With the recent hack on Sony, one major issue on the minds of businesses in the U.S. is cybersecurity. Jim Cramer has had his eye on Red Hat, as it is the largest provider of open sourced software in the world.
Not only is the company is up 28 percent since June, and is right in the epicenter of the cloud software security debacle.
When Red Hat refers to open source, its goal is to create collaboration with technology that allows the users to see the code, learn from it, ask questions and offer improvements. The company offers the software for free and then sets up its customers as subscribers who pay regular fees for maintenance and customer service.
Cramer spoke with Red Hat CEO James Whitehurst to find out his take on the issue of cybersecurity and where the stock could be headed.
"I'm not surprised that it happened, and we are obviously involved with a lot of agencies that look at security, and it's a major, major problem in general," Whitehurst said.
He stated that the root of the problem is not just about the technology. The issue stems from people and access to passwords with every company at risk. He described it as a "multifaceted, layered and complex problem."
So with Red Hat promoting an open software platform, does that make them vulnerable to cybersecurity risks?
"I think open source itself is proving to be very safe. The simple analogy here is; are you safer in a crowded shopping mall or down a dark alley? Having the wisdom of the crowd is actually a powerful thing," the CEO said.
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Whitehurst explained that the cloud based programming guarantees access to the latest patches and fixes in the event of a cyberattack. Thus, customers utilizing software may wait months for a fix that Red Hat customers could receive in an hour.
With a consistent customer growth of 20 percent, Cramer thinks Red Hat could be the next big winner in the software space, and could have much more upside ahead.
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