Developing secure software is a complex topic but the Linux Foundation is working hard to understand developers’ needs and to provide the necessary best practices, support and training to the community. Hilary Carter, SVP of Research and Communications at Linux Foundation, talks in depth about some of the most recent research reports published by the Linux Foundation and the work they are doing to support the developer community. She says, “I’m excited about research because we’re the mechanism to ask these questions and engage this critical stakeholder community to help us help them.”

Recent research reports from the Linux Foundation

• Carter discusses four recent research reports published by the Linux Foundation, including a generative AI report with insights on openness in the technology domain.
• Linux Foundation also released a report called The State of eBDF, focusing on the history and impact of eBDF on application development and running custom programs inside Linux and Windows and how it made execution faster.
• Carter discusses the third report on open-source license compliance, its author Ibrahim Haddad, and the importance of tooling and automation in managing compliance issues.

Open source software security perspectives from maintainers and contributors

• Maintainer Perspectives on Open Source Software Security makes up the fourth report, which Carter tells us was derived from a 2022 survey in partnership with Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF). She explains the scope of the report and how the insight aligns with the work at the Linux Foundation.
• Gaps in tooling, resourcing, and motivation by developers were key findings from the FOSS contributor study published in 2020. However, the latest report found that there had been an evolution of awareness, efficacy, and motivation to secure software.
• 62% of respondents believed software would be more secure by the end of 2022 and an additional 10% believed by 2023.

Open source software development initiatives and resources

• Carter highlights the Linux Foundation’s initiatives to promote secure open-source software development through best practices collaboration as well as training and certifications programs.
• Linux Foundation plans to launch a survey to better understand open-source developers’ needs and preferences.
• Carter discusses Linux Foundation’s efforts to support maintainer and developer relations through a study about developer relations. She tells us that the survey will be launched in H1 2024 and aims to gain a better understanding of which programs are valuable to developers.

Open source technologies for sustainable development goals

• Carter explains Linux Foundation’s effort on the topic of sustainability, and the event they are supporting to continue the conversation around how open-source technologies will accelerate sustainable development goals.
• Carter discusses a new project which is an anti-fraud collaboration and how it will help accelerate financial inclusion, particularly in developing countries. She talks about other potential future areas for research under the sustainability umbrella.

Guest: Hilary Carter (LinkedIn)
Organization: Linux Foundation (Twitter)

This summary was written by Emily Nicholls.