Open Source Security

Josh discusses updating open source dependencies with Jamie Tanna. Jamie works on Renovate which gives them a lot of insight into the challenges of keeping your open source updated. We discuss the challenges of semantic versioning, supply chain security, and AI-generated code. If you're new or old to the world of open source dependencies, there's something to learn from this chat.

Josh discusses the TARmageddon vulnerability with Alex Zenla, CTO of Edera. In this episode, we explore the discovery of the TARmageddon vulnerability. It's especially interesting because it's Rust, but also involves multiple end of life crates. Alex shares the story of how Edera managed to figure all this out (it was not simple). Hard problems are still hard, but there's a lot of lessons in this one.

In this episode Seth Larson gives us a cornucopia of topics relating to Python security. Seth discusses the Python Software Foundation's decision to reject a significant grant NSF. Diversity is a big deal to python, so this was a no brainier. We discuss the upcoming PyCon US conference, featuring a new security track that fosters collaboration between developers and security experts. Josh is a huge fan of having a security track at developer conferences. And we close on a paper about zip and tar archives Seth wrote. It seems like we should have zip and tar security figured out by now, but we don't. Thankfully Seth is working on it.

Josh talks to Richard Hughes about the world of firmware. We cover how Richard's journey from developing the ColorHug led to the creation of the Linux Vendor Firmware Service (LVFS), changing how firmware updates are managed for nearly every Linux user. Updating firmware has always been dicey, and on Linux it used to be impossible. Richard helps us understand how this all works and how we can all help out.

Josh chats with Charlie Eriksen, a security researcher at Aikido Security. We discuss the recent NPM supply chain attacks that affect hundreds of packages. Charlie shares his experiences dealing with recent security breaches, the challenges of maintaining trust in open source software, and the importance of proactive measures to safeguard open source. The rapid pace of change is impacting our security practices and what steps can be taken to foster resilience in the face of evolving threats.