Dive into the latest CHAOSScast episode where Alice Sowerby hosts Miguel Ángel Fernández, Ed Maste, and Moin Rahman to discuss FreeBSD’s adoption of GrimoireLab for enhanced project metrics and bug management. This episode explores how GrimoireLab is helping FreeBSD tackle its extensive bug backlog, the creation of custom dashboards, practical applications during bug-busting sessions, the challenges of deploying GrimoireLab on FreeBSD, and metric enhancements inspired by their collaboration. If you’re passionate about open-source project management and data-driven development, this episode is a must-listen, showcasing the power of community-driven improvements within FreeBSD. Listen to the Episode

The post New CHAOSScast Episode: GrimoireLab at FreeBSD first appeared on FreeBSD Foundation.

The CTO of E-Card discusses his open-source operating strategy, including the approach to large-scale workloads, ZFS storage, and security architecture.

At E-Card, an online gaming company, we’ve been using the open-source FreeBSD operating system all the way back to our company’s inception in 2000. As the CTO, I’ve witnessed the evolution of both FreeBSD and the broader technology landscape. Much has changed, but FreeBSD remains our open-source operating system of choice, despite the widespread use of Linux throughout the tech community.

Read the full article here.

The post Why We Use FreeBSD Over Linux: A CTO’s Perspective first appeared on FreeBSD Foundation.

November 18, 2024 – Boulder, CO – The FreeBSD Foundation, in collaboration with the Alpha-Omega Project, has released the findings of a comprehensive security audit report conducted by offensive security firm Synacktiv. This audit, covering two critical FreeBSD components – the bhyve hypervisor and the Capsicum sandboxing framework – reflects the Foundation’s leadership and culture in proactively addressing software security risks and reinforces the critical need for open source software supply chain security.

As open source software is widely deployed across commercial, noncommercial, and academic settings—whether used directly or integrated into other systems—any vulnerability can pose risks. The Alpha-Omega Project, an associated project of the  Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) and the Linux Foundation, is dedicated to improving the resilience of the open source software supply chain. By funding security audits and encouraging the adoption of best practices, the Alpha-Omega Project ensures that essential open source projects like FreeBSD are secure and trustworthy.

“The FreeBSD Foundation’s sponsorship of a security audit of bhyve and capsicum is an important step for the FreeBSD Project,” said Gordon Tetlow, Security Officer of The FreeBSD Project. “Through publicly disclosing its findings, we are taking proactive measures to secure FreeBSD and the broader software ecosystem. With open source software underpinning much of today’s critical digital infrastructure, The FreeBSD Foundation, in collaboration with the Alpha-Omega Project, is ensuring the security of the software supply chain.”

The FreeBSD Foundation has a long-standing commitment to security, transparency, and accountability, which is why the Foundation felt it was important to release the full Synacktiv audit report. By openly communicating potential risks and the measures taken to address them, the Foundation aims to empower its users. This proactive approach helps minimize the likelihood of supply chain compromises, ensuring that FreeBSD remains a secure platform for users worldwide.

The Need for Open Source Software Supply Chain Security

The FreeBSD Foundation’s participation in this audit reinforces its commitment to enhancing software supply chain security within the open source community. By identifying and addressing vulnerabilities, the Foundation enables developers, companies, and users to trust FreeBSD without worrying about compromised software components. This effort aligns with the goals of the Alpha-Omega Project, which seeks to strengthen the security of high-impact open source projects.

In 2023, Alpha-Omega issued over $2.8 million in grants to support open source supply chain security. These grants had a notable impact on enhancing open source security initiatives. The funding helped to staff security teams, run audits, and improve infrastructure among widely used open source ecosystems like the Python Software Foundation, the Eclipse Foundation, the Rust Foundation, the FreeBSD Project, and many more.

Download the Full Security Audit Report

The FreeBSD Foundation invites all users, developers, and security researchers to access and review the full audit report. The community can contribute to an even stronger, more resilient FreeBSD by engaging with these findings.

Download the full report here.

The Future of Open Source Security

The FreeBSD Foundation and the Alpha-Omega Project are committed to continuing their work on strengthening the open source software supply chain. This audit is just one step in a broader mission to secure open source software at every layer, from development practices to end-user implementations. As part of this commitment, future updates will address ongoing vulnerabilities, and the Foundation will remain transparent in its efforts to improve security.

About the FreeBSD Foundation

The FreeBSD Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the FreeBSD Project and community. Accepting donations from individuals and businesses, the Foundation uses funds to develop features, employ software engineers, improve build and test infrastructure, advocate for FreeBSD through in-person and online events, and provide training and educational material. Representing the FreeBSD Project in legal affairs, the Foundation stands as the recognized entity for contracts, licenses, and other legal arrangements and is entirely donation supported. Learn more at freebsdfoundation.org.

About the Alpha-Omega Project

Alpha-Omega is an associated project of the OpenSSF, funded by Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, and with a mission to protect society by catalyzing sustainable security improvements to the most critical open source software projects and ecosystems. The project aims to build a world where critical open source projects are secure and where security vulnerabilities are found and fixed quickly. For more information, please visit https://alpha-omega.dev.

For more information, visit the FreeBSD Foundation’s website or contact:

Media Contact:

Bret Clement

bret@clementpeterson.com

The post FreeBSD Foundation Releases Bhyve and Capsicum Security Audit Funded by Alpha-Omega Project first appeared on FreeBSD Foundation.

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(BOULDER, Colo., Sept. 20, 2024) The FreeBSD Foundation, dedicated to advancing the open source FreeBSD operating system and supporting the community, announced a strategic partnership with Quantum Leap Research to invest a total of $750,000 in broadening laptop and general platform support for FreeBSD. Quantum Leap, a firm focused on providing solutions to national security challenges, has committed to donate $250,000, and the Foundation has committed to investing $500,000.

The overall target program of work has been costed at $1M, and the Foundation welcomes financial support from other organizations to make up for the $250,000 shortfall.

This program will focus on key usability features for laptops and general computing, including contemporary WiFi, full audio, modern suspend and resume, improved graphics, Bluetooth, and other identified features.

“FreeBSD serves as a performant and secure OS on laptops like Dell ThinOS and a variety of popular desktops. Our most recent FreeBSD Community Survey found that 43% of respondents use FreeBSD as their daily driver. These investments from Quantum Leap Research and the FreeBSD Foundation will substantially broaden FreeBSD platform support, making it a fantastic option for everyone who values stability, security, simplicity, and performance,” said Ed Maste, Senior Director of Technology at the FreeBSD Foundation.

Deb Goodkin, Executive Director of the FreeBSD Foundation, added, “This initiative marks a major step forward for FreeBSD, especially for users who rely on laptops for their daily computing needs. By expanding hardware support and enhancing usability features, we are making FreeBSD more accessible to a broader audience. This investment strengthens the FreeBSD ecosystem and aligns with our mission to promote the growth and adoption of FreeBSD as a robust, secure, and versatile operating system.”

Broadening FreeBSD laptop support and accessibility will advance the Foundation’s strategic objective to accelerate developer and corporate adoption. Ensuring that FreeBSD runs well out of the box on a broad range of personal computing devices encourages developers to use, test, and contribute to the FreeBSD project and will also expand corporate use.

“Quantum Leap Research believes FreeBSD is an excellent choice to serve as the foundation for a new secure computing initiative given its long history of security and stability,” said Jim Miller, President of Quantum Leap Research. Quantum Leap plans to run FreeBSD on contemporary laptops as a hypervisor-like solution using Bhyve to virtualize other operating systems, including Linux and Windows.

The post Quantum Leap Research and FreeBSD Foundation to Invest $750,000 to Improve Laptop Support and Usability first appeared on FreeBSD Foundation.

In the ever-evolving world of Open Source software, stability and predictability are often rare commodities. Recent changes in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) ecosystem, including restricted access to source code, have stirred the community and led to the formation of the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA). 

Amidst this turbulence, FreeBSD has continued to stand out as a model of consistency and reliability since its inception in 1993. This article explores how FreeBSD’s stable development model and upcoming release schedule changes starkly contrast the challenges faced by the Linux community.

Read the full article

The post Steady in a shifting Open Source world: FreeBSD’s enduring stability first appeared on FreeBSD Foundation.

In this episode of the Scrimba podcast, you’ll learn about how a complex project like FreeBSD works from an organizational standpoint. You’ll also find out why open-source is a great place for newer developers, the key differences between community-driven projects and working for a corporation, and where to start if you’re looking to get into open-source.

Read the full interview

The post Why Open Source Can Be the Perfect Place for New Developers – and How to Get Started, with Deb Goodkin from the FreeBSD Foundation first appeared on FreeBSD Foundation.