NSF investing in secure open-source ecosystems

Pathways to Enable Secure Open-Source Ecosystems program supports the growth and resilience of open-source ecosystems for new, impactful technology solutions

The U.S. National Science Foundation announced an investment of up to $40 million through a new Pathways to Enable Secure Open-Source Ecosystems (NSF PESOSE) initiative. The NSF PESOSE initiative creates a pathway to turn early research results into impactful solutions by supporting secure and sustainable open-source ecosystems (OSEs). These ecosystems are built around existing open-source products, tools and artifacts that already show promise. The goal is to transform research results into widely used technologies and services that contribute to economic competitiveness and security.

Open-source software is ubiquitous, supporting artificial intelligence, data science, cloud computing, telecommunications and scientific research tools. Despite these benefits, the number of open-source developers is relatively small, and many projects lack sufficient resources, slowing the pace of innovation and making maintenance difficult. In addition, weaknesses in open-source software, such as security flaws, supply chain risks or insider threats, can spread across many connected systems. In extreme cases, these weaknesses could lead to large-scale failures that affect national or global systems.

"Building on the success of prior NSF programs in this space, the NSF PESOSE initiative will double down on our commitment to accelerate technology to the market," said Erwin Gianchandani, NSF assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP). "By investing in the growth of secure open-source ecosystems that will spark further innovation and impact, we will enable another translational pathway for the outputs of basic science."

The program offers three tracks: Track 1: Scope and plan the establishment of an OSE; Track 2: Establish and expand a sustainable OSE based on a robust, promising open-source product that meets an emergent societal or national need; and Track 3: Improve the security and privacy of an existing OSE, removing potential vulnerabilities.

The NSF PESOSE program aims to invest in managing organizations that will facilitate the creation and growth of secure, sustainable and high-impact OSEs around already-developed open-source products. Additionally, the program invests in enhancements to the security and privacy of OSEs by addressing significant vulnerabilities to improve the resistance of these ecosystems against threats.

For more information, view the NSF PESOSE solicitation and plan to join an introductory webinar. You must register online to join the webinar.