Federal government discloses a $11M initiative aimed at fortifying the security of open-source software
In a significant move towards enhancing national cybersecurity and fostering innovation, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced plans to invest $11 million as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This investment will support the Open Source Software Prevalence Initiative, though specific details about the initiative and the exact allocation of funds are yet to be released.
The Open Source Software Prevalence Initiative is expected to focus on assessing the prevalence of open source software used in operational technology settings by critical infrastructure providers. The initiative is part of a broader policy direction promoting open-source software and AI, as outlined in recent AI and cybersecurity plans.
The Biden administration's approach to AI and cybersecurity emphasizes supporting open-source AI models and tools to foster innovation, especially among smaller businesses, by encouraging broad access and adaptation. Federally directed funds are intended to promote AI adoption and remove regulatory barriers that hinder innovation.
Investments in open-source software within national cybersecurity are likely aimed at enhancing the security and resilience of software supply chains, supporting development, maintenance, and adoption of open-source tools that are foundational to critical infrastructure cybersecurity, and providing resources for collaboration among government, industry, and academia to improve transparency and security in software protocols.
Harry Coker Jr., National Cyber Director, made the announcement at the Def Con conference in Las Vegas. Coker's presentation marked a turning point in the public understanding of open source security, emphasizing the need for the broader community to improve coding practices and address larger security concerns.
Tim Mackey, head of software supply chain risk strategy at Synopsys Software Integrity Group, noted that simply pouring money into select open source projects might not have the desired outcome, as open source thrives due to the diversity of its development teams and their freedoms.
The report also proposes the government should offer new incentives to boost the adoption of memory-safe programming languages, as critical software that underlies society is often written in C, despite the availability of memory-safe programming languages for years.
The announcement comes just one day after a report from the Office of the National Cyber Director, which highlighted vulnerabilities in border gateway protocol that have been known for years, yet much of U.S. internet traffic is still subject to being hijacked.
For authoritative details on this initiative and the exact breakdown of funding usage and program goals, consulting the official White House National Cybersecurity Strategy documents or press releases from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released in mid-2025 might provide the necessary information.
- The Open Source Software Prevalence Initiative, a key part of the national cybersecurity strategy, is focused on evaluating the usage of open source software within operational technology settings by critical infrastructure providers.
- The Biden administration's policy direction for AI and cybersecurity includes encouraging the adoption of open-source AI models and tools to foster innovation, particularly among smaller businesses.
- Investments in open-source software in national cybersecurity are expected to strengthen software supply chains, support open-source tool development, maintenance, and adoption, and provide resources for collaboration between government, industry, and academia.
- In the wake of reported vulnerabilities in border gateway protocol, the Open Source Software Prevalence Initiative is viewed as a significant move towards enhancing the country's cybersecurity and data-and-cloud-computing infrastructure, with potential implications for policy-and-legislation and general-news discussions.
