Raw Body: What Is OpenSSF?

## Introduction

Most software relies on open source components, with your app potentially using hundreds of libraries, frameworks, and tools maintained by different teams with varying security practices. A vulnerability in one can impact thousands of applications.

The Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), hosted by the Linux Foundation, aims to improve open source security with tools, standards, and collaboration. It unites organizations, developers, and security experts without replacing project efforts.

This article explains what OpenSSF is, why it exists, and how it helps secure the open source ecosystem that modern software depends on.

## What Is OpenSSF?

The Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), a Linux Foundation project established in August 2020, unites industry efforts to improve open source security by consolidating existing initiatives under one umbrella.

Think of OpenSSF as a less heavy-handed neighborhood association for open source security. Projects maintain their own properties, while the association manages shared concerns such as lighting, common areas, and coordinated responses. It develops security assessment tools, establishes transparency standards, and provides forums for security collaboration.

OpenSSF runs working groups on security areas, developing tools and standards, and engaging a diverse community. It involves major tech firms, government, academia, and contributors, highlighting open source security challenges.

The foundation isn&#39;t a regulatory or enforcement body. It offers voluntary tools, standards, and best practices for projects and organizations to enhance security.

## Why OpenSSF Exists

Open source software is foundational to modern computing, with applications and critical infrastructure relying heavily on open source components. This widespread use poses a security risk: vulnerabilities in popular open source projects can impact many downstream applications.

The problem became clear after incidents like the Heartbleed bug in 2014, which impacted the OpenSSL library used by millions of websites. These events showed open source security involves the whole ecosystem and supply chain.

Before OpenSSF, organizations and projects worked independently on open source security. Companies created internal tools, projects had their own security processes, and industry groups focused on specific areas. This fragmentation prevented good security practices from spreading and caused redundant solutions to common problems.

OpenSSF offers a central hub for security efforts, consolidating initiatives, developing shared tools and standards, and fostering cross-industry collaboration. It provides a forum for organizations to share solutions to common security challenges rather than reinventing the wheel.

The foundation tackles the resource gap in open source security by supporting small teams and volunteers who maintain critical projects. Initiatives like Alpha-Omega offer funding and support to ensure vital software gets the necessary security attention.

## How OpenSSF Works

OpenSSF uses working groups, projects, and community initiatives to cover various open source security aspects, from tools and standards to policy and education.

The mechanism is large-scale coordination. Instead of individual organizations solving security problems independently, OpenSSF identifies common challenges and develops shared solutions. Working groups bring experts together to develop best practices and standards. Technical projects create accessible tools and frameworks. Community initiatives foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. This model ensures improvements benefit the whole ecosystem, not just individual organizations.

### Working Groups

Working groups are collaborative spaces where experts focus on specific security domains, developing best practices, creating resources, and coordinating efforts.

The **Best Practices Working Group** develops security best practices for open source projects, creating guides, checklists, and recommendations to improve security, from secure coding to vulnerability disclosure.

The **Supply Chain Integrity Working Group** secures the software supply chain by developing standards and tools to track components, verify their origin, and ensure integrity from development to deployment.

The **Vulnerability Disclosures Working Group** enhances vulnerability reporting, tracking, and communication in the open source ecosystem by developing effective, less disruptive processes and tools.

The **Security Tooling Working Group** identifies security tool gaps and coordinates new tool development for the open source community.

The **End Users Working Group** represents organizations that consume open source software, helping ensure that OpenSSF initiatives address real-world security needs.

### Technical Projects

OpenSSF supports technical projects offering tools and standards for open source security, covering assessment, verification, signing, resource allocation, and vulnerability info.

**OpenSSF Scorecard** is an automated tool that assesses open source projects for security risks. It checks projects against security best practices, such as dependency update tools, security policies, and branch protection. Scorecard helps developers make informed dependency decisions and provides maintainers with security visibility.

**SLSA (Supply-chain Levels for Software Artifacts)** is a security framework for describing and verifying the integrity of software artifacts. It defines levels of security assurance, from basic provenance to full build and deployment security. SLSA helps organizations improve their software supply chain security.

**Sigstore** offers tools for signing, verifying, and protecting software, providing an infrastructure for code signing that simplifies signing releases and verifying signatures. It tackles practical challenges hindering widespread adoption.

**Alpha-Omega** supports critical open source projects by providing funding, security expertise, and tools to help improve their security, focusing on widely used projects that lack resources. This addresses open source security gaps where it matters most.

**OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)** is a distributed database and API that aggregates vulnerability data from multiple sources, providing a standardized format to simplify access and use by tools and developers.

### Community and Policy

OpenSSF engages with policymakers, standards bodies, and the security community. It hosts policy summits for expert discussions, collaborates on cybersecurity with government agencies, and works with standards organizations to align security practices.

The foundation collaborates with Linux Foundation projects and industry groups to coordinate open source security efforts.

## Key Relationships

OpenSSF connects with various open-source and security initiatives.

### Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)

OpenSSF initiatives like SLSA and Scorecard support SBOMs, which list all components in software. SBOMs help understand software content, track vulnerabilities, and manage supply chain risks. OpenSSF&#39;s work improves their usefulness and trustworthiness.

### Other Security Standards

OpenSSF collaborates with and complements other security standards and initiatives, working with organizations developing SBOM standards, coordinating vulnerability disclosure programs, and aligning with security frameworks across industries.

### Open Source Program Offices (OSPOs)

Many organizations have Open Source Program Offices managing strategy and compliance. OpenSSF offers tools and resources to help OSPOs assess and enhance the security of their open source components.

### License Compliance

While OpenSSF emphasizes security over license compliance, there&#39;s overlap in tools and processes. Both involve identifying open source components, tracking provenance, and managing upstream relationships. Compliance-focused organizations often utilize OpenSSF tools within their broader open source programs.

### Industry-Specific Initiatives

OpenSSF collaborates with industry-specific security initiatives in automotive, healthcare, and critical infrastructure sectors. It ensures open source security practices meet their unique requirements and regulations.

## Trade-offs and Limitations

OpenSSF offers coordination and tools, but has limitations organizations should know.

### Benefits

* **Coordination**: OpenSSF unites stakeholders to tackle shared security issues, cutting duplication and boosting impact.

* **Tooling**: Projects like Scorecard and Sigstore offer practical tools for developers and organizations to instantly enhance security.

* **Standards**: Initiatives like SLSA establish frameworks for describing and verifying security, aiding organizations in communicating and collaborating.

* **Resource allocation**: Programs like Alpha-Omega allocate security resources to critical projects that might lack support.

* **Community**: OpenSSF offers forums for security experts to share knowledge and coordinate efforts.

### Costs and Limitations

* **Voluntary adoption**: OpenSSF tools and standards are voluntary, so projects and organizations choose whether to adopt them, leading to uneven adoption.

* **Coordination complexity**: Bringing diverse stakeholders together can be slow and complex. Building consensus takes time.

* **Resource constraints**: While OpenSSF coordinates efforts, it can&#39;t support every project or issue due to limited resources.

* **Tool maintenance**: OpenSSF projects need ongoing maintenance and updates as security challenges evolve, requiring sustained effort.

* **Scope boundaries**: OpenSSF focuses on open source security, but many security challenges span open source and proprietary software. The foundation&#39;s scope is intentionally limited.

* **No enforcement**: OpenSSF offers tools and guidance but doesn&#39;t enforce security practices or audit projects; success depends on voluntary participation.

### When OpenSSF Isn&#39;t the Right Focus

OpenSSF benefits organizations seeking open source security but may not meet all security needs.

* **Proprietary software security**: OpenSSF centers on open source; organizations with mainly proprietary code may find limited value.

* **Immediate incident response**: OpenSSF offers tools to improve security but isn&#39;t an incident response organization.

* **Regulatory compliance**: OpenSSF tools support compliance but don&#39;t offer certifications or guarantee regulatory alignment.

* **Project-specific security**: Individual projects need their own security practices. OpenSSF offers tools and guidance, but each project must implement security suited to its context.

## Common Misconceptions

Several misconceptions about OpenSSF cause confusion.

### OpenSSF is only for large organizations

OpenSSF involves organizations of all sizes, from individuals to large enterprises. Its tools, like Scorecard, are meant for any project or developer, reflecting a community-driven approach that isn&#39;t limited by organization size.

### OpenSSF guarantees security

OpenSSF offers tools, standards, and best practices, but it doesn&#39;t guarantee project or organizational security. Security requires continuous effort, and OpenSSF&#39;s resources are part of a larger security program. Using OpenSSF tools doesn&#39;t eliminate the need for other security measures.

### OpenSSF enforces security standards

OpenSSF develops standards and best practices but doesn&#39;t enforce them. Projects voluntarily adopt recommendations. Its role is to guide and provide tools, not audit or mandate practices.

### OpenSSF replaces project security efforts

OpenSSF enhances, not replaces, project security efforts. Projects still need their own security practices, response processes, and expertise. OpenSSF offers tools and coordination to improve these efforts but doesn&#39;t remove the need for project-level security work.

### OpenSSF is only about vulnerabilities

OpenSSF handles broader security issues beyond vulnerability management, including supply chain integrity, secure development, code signing, and security tools, adopting a comprehensive open source security approach.

### OpenSSF tools require significant resources

Many OpenSSF tools are easy to adopt. Scorecard needs minimal setup, and Sigstore offers free public infrastructure. Although some initiatives need more resources, OpenSSF strives to make security improvements accessible for projects with limited resources.


## Conclusion

OpenSSF is a coordination layer for open source security, providing tools, standards, and collaborative spaces for the community to address security challenges, complementing individual project efforts.

The mental model is coordination at scale: OpenSSF finds security issues affecting many projects and develops shared solutions via working groups, projects, and initiatives. Projects like Scorecard assess security, SLSA offers supply chain frameworks, and Alpha-Omega allocates resources to key projects. This model ensures ecosystem-wide benefits, not just for individual organizations.

Understanding OpenSSF shows open source security is a shared responsibility, not just an individual project concern. It offers practical tools, frameworks for supply chain security, and communities for coordination.

OpenSSF focuses on incremental improvements via coordination, tooling, and community effort, making its work achievable and valuable, not perfect security.

## Next Steps

To deepen your understanding of OpenSSF, consider these resources:

* **Understanding Scorecard**: The [OpenSSF Scorecard][OpenSSF Scorecard] documentation explains how automated security assessment works and what it measures, helping you understand OpenSSF&#39;s security evaluation approach.

* **Learning about SLSA**: The [SLSA framework][SLSA] documentation explains how to measure and verify supply chain security. Understanding SLSA shows how OpenSSF views supply chain integrity.

* **Understanding Sigstore**: The [Sigstore][Sigstore] project explains code signing infrastructure and its importance for supply chain security, showing how OpenSSF tackles security challenges.

* **Working group resources**: The [OpenSSF working groups][OpenSSF Working Groups] pages illustrate how various security areas are tackled via community efforts.

* **Best practices guidance**: The [OpenSSF best practices][OpenSSF Best Practices] resources outline security practices for open source projects and how OpenSSF turns coordination into guidance.

For deeper understanding:

* **Alpha-Omega initiative**: The [Alpha-Omega initiative][Alpha-Omega] documentation explains how OpenSSF identifies and supports critical projects, illustrating the resource allocation aspect of the foundation&#39;s work.

* **OSV database**: The [OSV database][OSV] shows how vulnerability info is standardized and aggregated, demonstrating how OpenSSF addresses info sharing challenges.

* **Community events**: OpenSSF hosts events and summits gathering security experts, offering insights into coordination and stakeholder contributions to open source security.

## References

* [OpenSSF][OpenSSF], for the official website, projects, and community information.
* [OpenSSF About][OpenSSF About], for information about the foundation&#39;s mission and structure.
* [OpenSSF Scorecard][OpenSSF Scorecard], for the automated security assessment tool.
* [SLSA][SLSA], for the Supply-chain Levels for Software Artifacts framework.
* [Sigstore][Sigstore], for code signing and verification infrastructure.
* [Alpha-Omega][Alpha-Omega], for the initiative supporting critical open source projects.
* [OSV][OSV], for the Open Source Vulnerabilities database.

[OpenSSF]: https://openssf.org/
[OpenSSF About]: https://openssf.org/about/
[OpenSSF Scorecard]: https://openssf.org/projects/scorecard/
[OpenSSF Working Groups]: https://openssf.org/community/openssf-working-groups/
[OpenSSF Best Practices]: https://openssf.org/technical-initiatives/developer-best-practices/
[SLSA]: https://slsa.dev/
[Sigstore]: https://www.sigstore.dev/
[Alpha-Omega]: https://openssf.org/community/alpha-omega/
[OSV]: https://osv.dev/