WASHINGTON, DC - House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chairman Gregg Harper (R-MS) sent a letter to the Linux Foundation requesting more information about the challenges and opportunities faced by the open-source software (OSS) ecosystem.
“As the last several years have made clear, OSS is such a foundational part of the modern connected world that it has become critical cyber infrastructure. As we continue to examine cybersecurity issues generally, it is therefore imperative that we understand the challenges and opportunities the OSS ecosystem faces, and potential steps that OSS stakeholders may take to further support it," Walden and Harper wrote.
They continued, “The widespread impact of the Heartbleed vulnerability through the deployment of a piece of OSS forced individuals and organizations outside of the information technology community to recognize what members within the community had long-known: software is no longer written, but assembled."
“The OSS ecosystem is more sustainable and more stable due to [recent] efforts, which directly increases the sustainability and stability of the cybersecurity of organizations that rely on OSS, as well. More work remains to be done, however. OSS adoption will continue to grow, making the sustainability and stability of the OSS ecosystem even more vital," the leaders concluded.
