The OpenSSF (Open Source Security Foundation) is a cross-industry collaboration hosted by the Linux Foundation that brings together open source security initiatives under one foundation to improve the security of open source software (OSS). It was launched in August 2020 in response to growing concerns about the security of widely used open source components—highlighted by high-profile vulnerabilities like Heartbleed and the SolarWinds supply chain attack.

Key Goals of the OpenSSF:

1. Improve the security of open source software by identifying and fixing vulnerabilities.
2. Educate and enable developers to write more secure code.
3. Strengthen the open source ecosystem against supply chain attacks.
4. Promote best practices for secure development, maintenance, and consumption of open source software.

Major Initiatives and Working Groups:

• Alpha-Omega Project: Focuses on securing critical open source projects by proactively hardening key components (Alpha) and automatically identifying vulnerabilities across a wide range of projects (Omega).
• Securing Critical Projects: Identifies and supports widely used open source projects that are critical to global infrastructure.
• Vulnerability Disclosure: Encourages responsible disclosure and coordinated response to security issues.
• Education & Best Practices: Offers resources like the Secure Software Development Fundamentals courses (free on edX).
• OpenSSF Scorecard: An automated tool that assesses open source projects for security best practices (e.g., use of CI, code review, dependency updates).
• SLSA (Supply-chain Levels for Software Artifacts): A framework for improving software supply chain integrity, co-developed with Google and others.

Members:

The OpenSSF includes major tech companies such as:

• Google
• Microsoft
• Amazon
• GitHub
• IBM
• Intel
• Red Hat
• VMware
• And many others

Resources:

• Website: https://openssf.org
• GitHub: https://github.com/ossf
• OpenSSF Scorecard: https://securityscorecards.dev

The OpenSSF plays a vital role in advancing the security posture of the global open source ecosystem through collaboration, tooling, and advocacy.