In the vast digital sphere, governance plays an indispensable role in Open Source Software security. Organizations using Open Source software must adhere to its governance strategies to mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure ethical practices. This article explores key principles, use cases, and best practices for implementing Open Source governance for software security. We will structure this content into four main chapters featuring an in-depth elaboration of each.
Open Source governance pertains to how organizations utilize, control, and contribute to open source software. It is a strategy to manage risks associated with the use of Open Source—a practice that involves adopting open-source software and integrating it into development processes.
The primary objectives of Open Source governance include:
License compliance: Ensuring that usage of open-source components and libraries complies with the respective license terms.
Security policy compliance: Mitigating software vulnerabilities by adhering to software development best practices throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC).
Code quality assurance: Preventing integration of low-quality or deprecated open-source libraries that may introduce bugs or security vulnerabilities.
The democratization of coding with Open Source has indeed brought megatons of benefits to software developers. However, understanding the importance of Open Source governance in security is crucial.
Open Source applications are generally regarded as more secure than their proprietary counterparts due to two reasons:
Inherent Transparency: As Open Source code is accessible, it is subjected to peer reviews. This constant scrutiny ensures quick detection and elimination of potential vulnerabilities—an advantage that proprietary software may lack.
Resource Allocation: Rather than concentrating the enormous responsibility of security in a few hands—as done in the case of proprietary software—Open Source decentralizes this task amid all the contributors engaged. This vast allocation of resources enhances the speed of detecting and addressing threats.
However, without proper governance, Open Source software can introduce significant security vulnerabilities. Ensuring the proper use of Open Source packages and libraries, updating packages to mitigate known vulnerabilities, and maintaining copyright compliance must be a priority.
Here are a few best practices organizations can consider implementing for better Open Source governance:
An Open Source Review Board (OSRB) is a cross-functional team, which includes experts from legal, engineering, and security domains. OSRB should decide what Open Source software is allowed to enter your system based on legal, operational, and security considerations.
Usage of automation tools can significantly enhance the process of tracking used Open Source materials, ensuring compliance, and managing vulnerabilities. Tools like Snyk or Sandworm are specifically designed to assist with Open Source governance, making sure the used packages don't have known vulnerabilities and are used within the licensed terms.
Organizations must establish a comprehensive policy that details the proper use of Open Source software. This policy should include factors such as an approved list of licenses, an inventory of Open Source components & libraries, and the process for approving new Open Source software.
Active monitoring is critical to Open Source governance. Regularly reviewing the use of Open Source software helps identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities. Automated tools can assist with this, performing regular scans and flagging out-of-date packages or those with known security issues.
Periodic audits are also necessary to ensure compliance with license terms. This includes revisiting the licensing terms while updating or adding new dependencies.
Maintenance goes hand-in-hand with monitoring, making sure all detected vulnerabilities get patched and the system remains updated. For JavaScript, an approach like using Sandworm's security & license audit CLI can help:
$ npx @sandworm/audit@latest
This command will go through the installed dependencies, detect known vulnerabilities, scan for license issues, and output a full audit report.
Compliance with licenses and open source policy is crucial in Open Source governance. All the Open Source licenses demand users adhere to specific conditions in return for legal usage of the object code or software. For instance, some demand "copyleft" or reciprocal sharing of any alterations made to the source code.
Here are some best practices for maintaining legal compliance:
Ensure there's always transparency about open source code usage. Declare and document the use of Open Source, the libraries, and packages within the projects.
Before integrating new Third-party libraries, it's crucial to ensure the licenses don't impose unwanted obligations onto the product (like becoming Open Source itself due to a license's "copyleft" clause). The legal team must review such obligations and agreements.
If an Open Source is used and modified, some licenses impose an obligation to distribute these modifications—in many cases when distributing the software—but this can depend on the license type. Here, a policy must be in place to properly manage such distribution. In code, especially when managing JavaScript dependencies, always check the license type before adding a new library.
In conclusion, Open Source governance is essential in maintaining security and legal compliance when leveraging open source software. Following these best practices can enable organizations to harness the power of open source effectively and, most importantly, securely.
