Open Source Security : Challenges, Opportunities and Solutions

Most applications work by leveraging open-source components in their code. Based on statistics, approximately 99% of these applications use open-source code components, with 60% to 90% of the code being open-source. This means that most of the code in such applications can be readily found online. The real challenge that SMEs may face when dealing with such vulnerabilities is a lack of the right resources or a lack of a large/sufficient budget dedicated to the cybersecurity segment of the business – this is where collaboration comes into play. Three things that SMEs can consider to solve these challenges are to firstly, use an effective supply chain detection software such as software composition analysis tools . These tools enable enterprises to sift out vulnerabilities and fix them in time. Secondly, SMEs need to adopt the new idea of software build material whereby enterprises need to understand the components and compositions within their software solutions. Lastly, SMEs can adopt or curate their own open-source policies to ensure that they are following cyber safe practices.