Radically Open Security’s Post

Drawing attention to an important aspect related to Estonia, which is often cited as an example for Moldova's digital transformation. Since 2021, the Parliament has adopted a law that requires the source code of all software contracted and/or developed in-house by the government to be open, with clear rules for reuse. As an advisor to the Prime Minister, I have been continuously striving to clarify the status of intellectual property regarding publicly funded software. I firmly believe that an organic law, modeled after Estonia's legislation, would bring clarity to the state's investments in Software Applications. Moreover, with each iteration or newly contracted software, development efforts will decrease due to the reuse of common components. This, in turn, will lead to reduced development and maintenance costs. The fact that entire classes of functionalities will be shared, garnering the attention of multiple development teams, will result in fewer software defects, enhancing our resilience in cybersecurity matters. https://lnkd.in/dtNf-3jy CC: Dumitru Alaiba Mihai Lupascu Veronica Sireteanu, Ph.D. Dumitru Ciorbă Dinu Turcanu Corețchi Alexandru #DigitalTransformation #PublicSoftwareInvestments #Cybersecurity #Innovation

Schleswig-Holstein state in Germany is leading the way in prioritising data protection, privacy, and security by transitioning to open source. Starting with LibreOffice and moving towards a top-to-bottom open stack, this move marks a significant step towards greater transparency and accessibility in technology. By embracing open source, the state is complying with German and European Union rulings and paving the way for benefits that will positively impact the people and the community. With success, this transition will inspire others to follow suit and propel open-source technology forward.

TIP plots open source move after Wi-Fi AFC win: Telecom Infra Project (TIP) outlined plans to evolve a Wi-Fi automated frequency coordination (AFC) software group into an open source platform to fuel international development, after the US approved systems developed so-far. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blessed the Open AFC Software Group’s work to develop scalable standard power Wi-Fi in the 6GHz band, a project TIP stated would bolster outdoor connectivity along with extending indoor range. Broadcom, the Wi-Fi Alliance and Wireless Broadband Alliance are now cleared to provide compatible services in the US, leaving TIP focused on international expansion by making the outcomes open source. TIP stated representatives of 91 organisations had joined the group in the two years since it was formed by companies including Cisco and CableLabs to develop a platform enabling swift provisioning of AFC service. It now expects global regulators, governments, universities and industries to get on board. Christopher Szymanski, co-chair of the group and director of product marketing for Broadcom’s Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division, stated the FCC’s approval would jump-start “the standard power 6GHz Wi-Fi ecosystem in the US”, while fellow co-chair and principal wireless architect with Cisco Peiman Amini said the group had established a “foundation for a more interconnected and advanced world”. The post TIP plots open source move after Wi-Fi AFC win appeared first on Mobile World Live. http://dlvr.it/T4fJBR

https://lnkd.in/dTF_REs2 On September 15, 2022, the European Commission published a draft law called the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which aims to improve the security of hardware and software products. The proposal defines “standard metrics” for evaluating the safety of projects. It communicates the security status of each project to users in a simple way. A CRA “approval” would be the equivalent of a “CE” mark on software products. However, if applied as written, the bill could make authors of free and open source (FOSS) projects legally and financially responsible for how their projects are used within others’ commercial projects. This is a problem since Open Source software is, by definition, distributed “as is,” with no guarantees, thus relieving authors of any liability. We suggest that the bill needs to distinguish between independent authors in a voluntary capacity and technology giants selling products or services. Under the currently proposed bill, if I develop a logging library and make it Open Source, Company X could use it within its product without giving me anything in return. If a vulnerability is discovered in my library, I would be legally and economically liable for the damages suffered by that company.

💡 Debunking Myths and Highlighting Facts about Open Source Software 💡 🔍 Myth: Open Source is less secure. 👉 Fact: Open Source facilitates early detection of vulnerabilities, leading to a more secure product. 💰 Myth: Open Source is free. 👉 Fact: While initial costs may be low, ongoing support and development can incur expenses. 📜 Myth: Open Source isn’t licensed. 👉 Fact: Open Source licenses outline terms of use, crucial for understanding usage and modification rights. 🌟 Myth: Open Source is a fad. 👉 Fact: Open Source has been utilized since the mid-1990s and is embraced by governments and organizations globally. 💡 Remember: Hidden costs and further development may be needed. Assess the full cost of ownership and integration needs before adopting Open Source. Let's embrace the power of Open Source for innovation and collaboration! #OpenSource #Tech #Innovation #LinkedInLearning

Worldcoin Opens Orb Software, Adopts Personal Custody Worldcoin announced the open-sourcing of software components for its iris-scanning Orbs, enhancing transparency and privacy features. In a blog post, the Worldcoin Foundation announced that it had implemented open-source software components to power its iris-scanning Orbs, making them accessible to the general public. As stated in the announcement, the fundamental components of the Orb program can be accessed on GitHub under a dual license that combines MIT and Apache 2.0 versions. It has previously provided hardware, and the new open-source […] Worldcoin Opens Orb Software, Adopts Personal Custody #Data #Opensource #OrbProgram

Open Source Infrastructure must be a publicly funded service by Matthew Hodgson 💯 "Free and open source software has literally become shared digital public infrastructure. And much like shared physical public infrastructure - bridges, roads, sea defences, etc - FOSS maintenance should be funded by governments on behalf of the taxpayer. This funding should NOT be tied to specific feature development, but simply funding the core maintenance of the infrastructure - paying for the maintainers (and/or letting them or their umbrella org hire trusted ones!) to ensure the core project remains healthy and secure." "... a tax should be instantiated to force large scale open source projects users to route recurring funding to the project maintainers." #OpenSourceTax

Companies are about to confront a big open-source problem: LLMs Open-source software has been critical to software engineering for a long time, but not everyone has treated it equally. Some organisations permit free usage, others permit specific licences and the most restrictive ban it altogether. With the speed at which LLMs are evolving and the way AI contributes to the core competitiveness of a company, however, I wonder how long that can last. And if privacy becomes a bigger factor (which currently seems to be the trend), open source models are the only credible way forward. Soon, we might be looking at a world where your in-house open-source adoption framework stands in the way of critical business progress. What do you think? Are businesses ready for the implications of running fully open source software at the core of their software stacks? Have licenses been tested enough for this? Or is it just a continuation of the status-quo, as Linux has been the default infrastructure for years after all?

💡 Public policy is an underestimated tool to reach goals within for example data protection, privacy or safe deployment of AI. We discuss rules and enforcement a lot, which of course is key. But we could move faster to the world we want if public policy also pushed in the same direction. Too often this is neglected, and we continue as before, or change happen very slowly. Also, we meet resistance when proposing new things, for example that we should reduce our dependency of big tech in schools and public sector. Here is a good example that it IS possible to think and act outside the box and make changes. I don’t claim that it easy or problem free, but neither is the status quo with the dependencies, massive increase in costs etc that it entails. "Following a successful pilot project, the northern German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein has decided to move from Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office to Linux and LibreOffice (and other free and open source software) on the 30,000 PCs used in the local government." Have a look here: https://lnkd.in/dzSwc_SN

The recent discovery of a backdoor in XZ Utils has emphasized the vital importance of #OpenSource software (OSS) security. This recent Sysdig blog explores how OSS has driven innovation and shaped the tech landscape. The article also delves into the results of a new study by Harvard Business School, revealing the astonishing trillion-dollar impact of OSS on the global economy. Check it out! ⤵️