Posts

Josh and Kurt talk about the new EU eIDAS regulation. This is a bill that will force web browsers to add root certificates based on law instead of technical merits, which is how it’s currently done. This is concerning for a number of reasons that we discuss on the show. This proposal is not a good idea. https://traffic.libsyn.com/opensourcesecuritypodcast/Episode_402_The_EUs_eIDAS_regulation_is_a_terrible_idea.mp3 Show Notes Mozilla site Root CA mailing list UK eIDAS regulation EFF statement on eIDAS Fixed XKCD comic

Josh and Kurt talk about security skills shortage. We start out on the topic of cybersecurity skills and weave our way around a number of human related problems in this space. The world of tech has a lot of weird problems and there’s not a lot of movement to fix many of them. Tech is weird and hard, and with the almost complete lack of regulation creates some of these challenges. In the world of security we need a better talent pipeline, but that takes actual efforts, not just complaining on the internet. ...

Josh and Kurt talk about a proposed Dutch proposal that would allow the intelligence services to hack victims of adversaries they are in the process of infiltrating. The purpose of this discussion isn’t to focus on the Dutch specifically, but rather to discuss the larger topic of government oversight. These are all very new concepts and nobody knows how things should work. https://traffic.libsyn.com/opensourcesecuritypodcast/Episode_400_When_can_the_government_hack_a_victim.mp3 Show Notes Dutch hacking proposal Give Me Toilet Paper! by Asuka424 in 9:54 - Summer Games Done Quick 2023 Flipper Zero Smart Meter Frequency Hopping Teri Kanfield

Josh and Kurt talk to Daniel Stenberg about curl. Daniel is the creator of curl, we chat with him about the security of curl. Daniel tells us how curl is kept secure, we learn about some of the historical reasons curl works the way it does. We hear the story about the curl CVE situation firsthand. We also touch on the importance of curating the community of a popular open source project. ...

Josh and Kurt talk about Sonatype’s 9th Annual State of the Software Supply Chain. There’s a ton of data in the report, but the thing we want to talk about is the statistic that only 11% of open source is actually being maintained. Do we think that’s true? Does it really matter? https://traffic.libsyn.com/opensourcesecuritypodcast/Episode_398_Is_only_11_of_open_source_mainted.mp3 Show Notes Sonatype report ecosyste.ms GNOME libcue flaw Reality 2.0 supply chain episode

Josh and Kurt talk about a curl and glibc bug. The bugs themselves aren’t super interesting, but there are other conversations around the bugs that are interesting. Why don’t we just rewrite everything in Rust? Why can’t we just train developers to stop writing insecure code. How can AI solve this problem? It’s a marvelous conversation that ends on the very basic idea: we already have the security the market demands. Unless we change that demand, security won’t change. ...

Josh and Kurt talk about contributor license agreements (CLAs). CLAs used to be seen as a necessary evil, but they’re almost certainly bad now. We’re seeing CLAs being abused, it’s clear now anything controlled by a CLA won’t be open source forever. https://traffic.libsyn.com/opensourcesecuritypodcast/Episode_396_CLAs_are_bad_Mkay.mp3 Show Notes A Theory of Joint Authorship for Free and Open Source Software Projects Bruce Perens: What Comes After Open Source

Josh and Kurt talk about uncertainty. There are a bunch of stories in the news lately that really just boil down to uncertainty. Uncertainty is incredibly dangerous for everyone. We are afraid of uncertainty, and often don’t really understand why it is. Trust is like a currency and uncertainty erodes trust faster than almost anything else. https://traffic.libsyn.com/opensourcesecuritypodcast/Episode_395_Uncertainty_trust_and_security.mp3 Show Notes Unity’s license mess Godot Meta and Salesforce want to re-hire people they fired earlier this year U.S. Debt Credit Rating Downgraded, Only Second Time In Nation’s History

Josh and Kurt talk about filing bugs for software. There’s the old saying that anyone can file bugs and submit patches for open source, but the reality is most people can’t. Filing bugs for both closed and open source is nearly impossible in many instances. Even if you want to file a bug for an open source project, there are a lot of hoops before it’s something that can be actionable. ...

Josh and Kurt talk about the weird world we live in how where we can’t control a lot of our hardware. We don’t really have control over most devices we interact with on a daily basis. The conversation shifts into a question of how can we decide what to trust and where. It’s a very strange problem we experience now. https://traffic.libsyn.com/opensourcesecuritypodcast/Episode_393_Can_you_secure_something_you_dont_own.mp3 Show Notes Boots theory MGM cybersecurity issue shuts down slot machines and ATMs in Las Vegas casinos New York Fire Department Forcible Entry Reference Guide Request for Information on Open-Source Software Security: Areas of Long-Term Focus and Prioritization