July 22, 2024 at 02:07AM
The UN Open-Source Program Officers for Good 2024 conference discussed the benefits of open source software (OSS) in delivering affordable technology to underserved nations. Emphasizing the need for security in OSS, speakers highlighted the risk of under-resourced projects and ways to secure the open source ecosystem, including software bills of materials, education, and collaboration with security agencies.
From the meeting notes, we can distill key takeaways regarding the intersection of open source software (OSS) and security as follows:
1. Importance of OSS for Global Access to Technology: The conference discussed the benefits of OSS for delivering affordable technology to underserved nations, particularly in Africa. Philip Thigo emphasized how OSS allows more people to participate in coding activities and application development, promoting inclusion and prosperity.
2. Emphasizing Security in OSS: The need for security to accompany app development using OSS was underscored by Omkhar Arasaratnam. It was highlighted that while OSS can assist in various areas and build community, ensuring security is a precondition to avoid scenarios where security vulnerabilities compromise the global majority.
3. Challenges in OSS Funding and Security: The meeting raised concerns about the lack of funding and resources for security in OSS, especially for maintainers and project contributors, including those in Africa. The dangers of under-resourced projects were highlighted, citing the coordinated attack on the XZ Utils project as an example.
4. Measures to Secure OSS Ecosystem: To address security challenges in OSS, several options were discussed, including the use of software bills of materials (SBOMs) and software composition analysis (SCA) software to enumerate and manage packages. Additionally, education initiatives such as the free course LFD 121 and efforts to work with cybersecurity agencies like CISA were mentioned as critical for improving security in OSS.
5. Collaboration and Tools for OSS Security: The meeting highlighted the importance of collaboration with organizations like the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) to identify critical OSS projects and develop tools like the OpenSSF Scorecard and Sigstore to document and validate the security posture of specific packages. It also emphasized securing repository platforms where OSS packages live, such as PyPI, RubyGems, and npm.
Overall, the meeting emphasized the critical role of OSS in global access to technology while highlighting the need for enhanced security measures and support for under-resourced OSS projects. It underscored the importance of collaboration and education efforts to strengthen the security of the OSS ecosystem.