Open-source software enables code review and reuse, but known vulnerabilities and unmaintained dependencies can create cybersecurity risks.
Search across headline titles and summaries.
Background for this topic.
Open source is software whose source code is available under a license that permits use, inspection, modification, and redistribution. It may be developed by a community, an organization, or a small group of maintainers; “open” does not guarantee that the code is actively reviewed, supported, or secure.
For security teams, the main concerns are vulnerabilities in dependencies and the software supply chain: a maintainer account, release process, or package can be compromised, while an unmaintained component may retain known flaws. Public code can enable review and faster fixes, but visibility alone is not a control. Maintain an inventory or SBOM of open-source components, pin and verify versions or signatures where possible, monitor vulnerability advisories, and apply updates through a controlled process.
A Russian-speaking threat actor known as "bandcampro" used Google's open-source Gemini CLI AI tool as a hacking agent and to operate a small-scale botnet. [...]
Flaws in iCagenda, Balbooa Forms extensions can impact open source CMS that powers a million sites worldwide
When You Consume AI, You Inherit Every Upstream Risk You Can't SeeMost enterprises don't build AI, they consume it through APIs, open-source models and orchestration frameworks. Each layer inherits upstream risk with little visibility. This piece maps the four-layer AI supply chain and the existing security disciplines that bring it under control.
An open source, AI-driven system adopts victim personas to engage with phishing attackers, allowing organizations and law enforcement to gather relevant data on cybercriminal operations.