Posts

Josh welcomes back Daniel Thompson explore the rather silly question of whether Santa Claus needs to be compliant with the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). This episode was intended to be silly, but it ended up being an incredibly interesting conversation. Daniel explained a great deal about how the CRA works and how it could apply to Santa Claus. The TL;DR is even if he’s giving out free stuff, the CRA almost certainly applies. Daniel also fills us in on his book (you can email Josh to enter into a drawing for a copy), and his work on web browsers for the CRA. It’s an incredibly informative discussion. ...

Josh has a chat with Gabriele Columbro, Executive Director of the Fintech Open Source Foundation and General Manager of Linux Foundation Europe. We of course discuss the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), the evolving landscape of open source regulation, and the collaborative efforts of major foundations. Open source is everywhere, but there’s also a ton of work to do now. Gabriele has really good insight into where things are today and where they are heading in the future for open source and regulation. ...

Josh discusses updating open source dependencies with Jamie Tanna. Jamie works on Renovate which gives them a lot of insight into the challenges of keeping your open source updated. We discuss the challenges of semantic versioning, supply chain security, and AI-generated code. If you’re new or old to the world of open source dependencies, there’s something to learn from this chat. Episode Links Jamie Tanna Versioning: We Did It To Ourselves XKCD Workflow This episode is also available as a podcast, search for “Open Source Security” on your favorite podcast player. ...

Josh discusses the TARmageddon vulnerability with Alex Zenla, CTO of Edera. In this episode, we explore the discovery of the TARmageddon vulnerability. It’s especially interesting because it’s Rust, but also involves multiple end of life crates. Alex shares the story of how Edera managed to figure all this out (it was not simple). Hard problems are still hard, but there’s a lot of lessons in this one. Episode Links Alex Zenla TARmageddon This episode is also available as a podcast, search for “Open Source Security” on your favorite podcast player. ...

I keep seeing commentary about AI making open source dependencies obsolete. The idea is that instead of using an open source dependency, the AI will just write all the code you need. No more need for that random person in Nebraska. They can finally take a well deserved break! Some people think this is inevitable, some think it’s hogwash. I like to take the stance of disliking everything equally. But to better understand all of this, let’s break it up into a few possible outcomes. There are 4 basic things that could happen if we take these arguments to their ridiculous extremes. ...

In this episode Seth Larson gives us a cornucopia of topics relating to Python security. Seth discusses the Python Software Foundation’s decision to reject a significant grant NSF. Diversity is a big deal to python, so this was a no brainier. We discuss the upcoming PyCon US conference, featuring a new security track that fosters collaboration between developers and security experts. Josh is a huge fan of having a security track at developer conferences. And we close on a paper about zip and tar archives Seth wrote. It seems like we should have zip and tar security figured out by now, but we don’t. Thankfully Seth is working on it. ...

Josh talks to Richard Hughes about the world of firmware. We cover how Richard’s journey from developing the ColorHug led to the creation of the Linux Vendor Firmware Service (LVFS), changing how firmware updates are managed for nearly every Linux user. Updating firmware has always been dicey, and on Linux it used to be impossible. Richard helps us understand how this all works and how we can all help out. ...

Josh chats with Charlie Eriksen, a security researcher at Aikido Security. We discuss the recent NPM supply chain attacks that affect hundreds of packages. Charlie shares his experiences dealing with recent security breaches, the challenges of maintaining trust in open source software, and the importance of proactive measures to safeguard open source. The rapid pace of change is impacting our security practices and what steps can be taken to foster resilience in the face of evolving threats. ...

In this episode, Josh and Otto dive into the world of Debian packaging, exploring the challenges of supply chain security and the importance of transparency in open source projects. They discuss Otto’s blog post about the XZ backdoor and how it’s a nearly impossible attack to detect. Otto does a great job breaking down an incredibly complex problem into understandable pieces. Episode Links Otto Could the XZ backdoor have been detected with better Git and Debian packaging practices? This episode is also available as a podcast, search for “Open Source Security” on your favorite podcast player. ...

In this conversation, Josh speaks with Mikael Barbero, head of security at the Eclipse Foundation. They discuss the foundation’s role in enhancing the security posture of open source projects, the importance of Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs), and the various security services provided to projects. Mikael explains the challenges and strategies involved in implementing security best practices across a diverse range of projects, as well as the foundation’s proactive approach to navigating security regulations and compliance. This is some great security work happening for open source projects. ...