When the European Union passed the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), it sent a jolt through the open source world. Early headlines warned it could “break open source” or saddle unpaid developers with compliance burdens. But as is often the case, the reality is more nuanced—and potentially constructive.

In a recent interview, Christopher Robinson (aka CRob), Chief Security Architect at the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), laid out exactly what the CRA is, who it affects, and how his team is preparing both open source maintainers and commercial software providers to navigate it.

“The CRA is focused on protecting consumers,” Robinson said. “It emphasizes secure software development, vulnerability disclosure, and risk management.”

Not All Developers Are Liable—But Businesses Are

One of the biggest misconceptions about CRA is that it puts legal pressure directly on open source contributors. Not true—unless you’re profiting. “If you’re a hobbyist, you’re not in scope,” Robinson clarified. “But if you’re making money from your software—if you receive monetary funds—you could fall into the ‘manufacturer’ category.”

That means companies that package or redistribute OSS-based products are on the hook for compliance. They’ll need to show that their software includes secure development practices, defined support policies, vulnerability response workflows, and often a full Software Bill of Materials (SBOM).

That might sound daunting—but Robinson argues it’s a shift the industry has needed for years.

Raising the Bar on Secure Software

CRA is part of a broader trend of governments demanding more secure-by-default software—from the U.S. Executive Order on cybersecurity to India’s CERT-In rules. The days of “good enough” open source hygiene are ending, especially for critical infrastructure and connected devices.

To help meet this rising bar, OpenSSF has released a set of resources tailored to different parts of the ecosystem:

• Security Baseline for OSS Projects – A simple checklist to help maintainers demonstrate they follow security best practices.
• OpenSSF Scorecards & Badges – Machine-readable metadata for downstream users to assess project risk.
• Global Cyber Skills Matrix – A mapping of security capabilities across 14 technical roles, from DevOps to QA.
• LF1001 Course on CRA – A free Linux Foundation course that explains CRA requirements to developers, stewards, and product owners.

“If you’re following NIST guidance or basic AppSec 101, you’re already halfway compliant,” Robinson said. The point, he emphasized, isn’t to force perfect security—but to show that reasonable practices are in place and improving.

What About Small Teams?

A natural concern: what happens to small teams or projects maintained by just a few people? According to Robinson, that’s exactly who the Security Baseline is meant to support. It’s not about gold-plated security audits—it’s about giving projects a language and framework they can use to say, “Yes, we take security seriously.”

He also urged businesses to give back—whether that means funding, documentation, or just testing and bug reports. “You don’t need to be Google to contribute meaningfully,” Robinson said. “Open source gives even small contributors oversized influence.”

Europe Is First—But Not Alone

While CRA is an EU regulation, Robinson expects similar legislation to appear soon in the UK, Australia, India, and elsewhere. That makes this more than a compliance checkbox—it’s a preview of what’s coming globally.

“If you sell in Europe, it applies. But even if you don’t—expect your government to follow soon.”

His advice: don’t panic. Get educated. Audit your dependencies. Support upstream maintainers. And make secure software development part of your culture—not just a legal obligation.

In a world where software is infrastructure, we’re all part of the supply chain now. CRA is a sign that governments have noticed—and that the bar is finally rising for everyone.