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The Linux Foundation and Open Source Software Security Foundation (OpenSSF) Gather Industry

The Linux Foundation and Open Source Software Security Foundation (OpenSSF) Gather Industry and Government Leaders for Open Source Software Security Summit II logo/IT digest

The Linux Foundation and the Open Source Software Security Foundation (OpenSSF) brought together over 90 executives from 37 companies and government leaders from the NSC, ONCD, CISA, NIST, DOE, and OMB to to reach a consensus on key actions to take to improve the resiliency and security of open source software.

Open Source Software Security Summit II, is a follow-up to the first Summit held January 13, 2022 that was led by the White House’s National Security Council. Today’s meeting was convened by the Linux Foundation and OpenSSF on the one year after the anniversary of President Biden’s Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity.

The Linux Foundation and OpenSSF, with input provided from all sectors, delivered a first-of-its-kind plan to broadly address open source and software supply chain security. The Summit II plan outlines approximately $150M of funding over two years to rapidly advance well-vetted solutions to the ten major problems the plan identifies. The 10 streams of investment include concrete action steps for both more immediate improvements and building strong foundations for a more secure future.

A subset of participating organizations have come together to collectively pledge an initial tranche of funding towards implementation of the plan. Those companies are Amazon, Ericsson, Google, Intel;, Microsoft, and VMWare, pledging over $30M. As the plan evolves further more funding will be identified, and work will begin as individual streams are agreed upon.

This builds on the existing investments that the OpenSSF community members make into open source software. An informal poll of our stakeholders indicates they spend over $110M and employ nearly a hundred full-time equivalent employees focused on nothing but securing the open source software landscape. This plan adds to those investments.

KEY QUOTES

Jim Zemlin – Executive Director, Linux Foundation: “On the one year anniversary of President Biden’s executive order, today we are here to respond with a plan that is actionable, because open source is a critical component of our national security and it is fundamental to billions of dollars being invested in software innovation today. We have a shared obligation to upgrade our collective cybersecurity resilience and improve trust in software itself. This plan represents our unified voice and our common call to action. The most important task ahead of us is leadership.”

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Brian Behlendorf – Executive Director, Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF): “What we are doing here together is converging a set of ideas and principles of what is broken out there and what we can do to fix it. The plan we have put together represents the 10 flags in the ground as the base for getting started. We are eager to get further input and commitments that move us from plan to action.”

Atlassian
Adrian Ludwig, Chief Trust Officer
“Open source software is critical to so many of the tools and applications that are used by thousands of development teams worldwide. Consequently, the security of software supply chains has been elevated to the top of most organizations’ priorities in the wake of recent high-profile vulnerabilities in open source software. Only through concerted efforts by industry, government and other stakeholders can we ensure that open source innovation continues to flourish in a secure environment. This is why we are happy to be participating in OpenSSF, where we can collaborate on key initiatives that raise awareness and drive action around the crucial issues facing software supply chain security today. We’re excited to be a key contributor to driving meaningful change and we are optimistic about what we can achieve through our partnership with OpenSSF and like-minded organizations within its membership.”