Open Source Analysis Checklist
The increased demand for software products in the market is quickly changing the nature of software development. Most teams no longer write all their code from scratch but instead rely on open source components to shorten their development cycles.
However, the use of open source components presents an increased risk of using outdated libraries and introducing security vulnerabilities, both of which can have a devastating effect on organizations and other end users. Additionally, open source users can easily violate license requirements which, in turn, jeopardizes intellectual property. Simply put, there’s a fair share of operational challenges associated with uncontrolled use of open source software.
Development and security teams should, therefore, focus on identifying, prioritizing, and addressing security risks as well as legal implications that come with the use of open source software(OSS). This is where open source analysis comes into play.
Open Source Analysis — A Refresher
Open source analysis (OSA) is a multi-faceted process of automating visibility into your open source components for security purposes, license compliance, and risk management. It allows development teams to take control of their open source software from a security, productivity, and legal point of view.
Through open source analysis, you can track and analyze all open source components introduced into the project codebase or the larger software supply chain.
The Importance of Open Source Analysis
Open source analysis provides deep insight into every open source component, thereby uncovering associated risks. According to the WhiteSource database, the number of open source vulnerabilities is on the rise in recent years. For instance, from 2018 to 2019 the number of open source security vulnerabilities went up by around 50%.
It is therefore important to keep track of these security risks and provide remediation guidance for mitigation purposes. This can be achieved through effective open source analysis.
Some of the most notable benefits of OSA include:
- Understanding all components used in software development
- Enforcing security and compliance policies
- Ensuring compatibility of components or tools used in a project
- Accelerating product development by ensuring quicker and safer time-to-market
- Eliminating unknown business risks
- Lowering costs for risk remediation
How to Perform Open Source Analysis
Here is a 5-point checklist that organizations can use to perform open source analysis. By following the steps below, development teams can enhance the level of security and policy compliance in open source software:
1. Create a Bill of Materials for your applications
A Bill of Materials (BOM) or product structure is a list describing all components included in an application, their versions, and types of licenses. It helps developers and security professionals to understand all components used in the application. A BOM will facilitate easier identification of potential licensing and security issues.
2. List and track all open source components
Use a scanning tool to uncover every open source component used in your project. This includes source code, containers, binaries, build dependencies, OS components, sub-components, and more. The typical software supply chain includes third party suppliers, partners, and open source projects; keep track of these.
3. Set and enforce compliance policies
Open source license compliance is vital at all levels of development as well as organizational management. You should, therefore, set policies and provide training to all stakeholders on all matters related to license compliance and security policies.
4. Enable continuous monitoring
Proactive monitoring of security issues and other vulnerabilities is essential when managing open source projects. Ideally, use a tool that monitors and provides actionable alerts for all vulnerabilities discovered in a product.
5. Run open source code scans in the build environment
It is important to integrate license and security scans into your DevOps pipeline. Scanning your codebase to identify dependencies in a build environment enhances product security.
Selecting the Right Tool for Open Source Analysis
For successful open source analysis, development teams must have a reliable software composition analysis tool. A good analysis tool must, at the very least provide the following:
- Automation of critical processes such as codebase auditing
- Vulnerability alerts
- Detailed information for vulnerability remediation
- Wide language support
- Seamless integration into development workflows
Open source analysis provides immense value during the application development process- cost, quality, flexibility, ease of use, better security, legal compliance, and more. Development teams using open source software should, therefore, take control of their projects by embedding a solid OSA plan into their CI/CD pipeline.
