Open Source Security Assurance: A Guide to Enterprise Adoption and Certification of ISO/IEC 18974

Open Source Security Assurance: A Guide to Enterprise Adoption and Certification of ISO/IEC 18974 provides guidance for the safe use of open source software (OSS), which has become an essential element in modern software development environments. This guide presents effective solutions to the security concerns that have grown more pressing alongside the increasing use of open source software, and details the step-by-step procedures and key strategies for obtaining certification to the international standard ISO/IEC 18974.

The main objectives of this guide are as follows.

1. Understanding the ISO/IEC 18974 standard: Clearly explains the core requirements and implementation methods of ISO/IEC 18974 so that organizations can effectively build an open source security management system.
2. Presenting tailored strategies by organizational characteristics: Provides customized approaches so that organizations of various sizes and characteristics — large enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises, and startups — can successfully implement ISO/IEC 18974.
3. Providing practical guidelines and templates: Offers concrete guidelines and templates needed at each stage — policy development, SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) management, vulnerability response, and more — to support practical application.
4. Sharing success stories and lessons learned: Analyzes the cases of companies that have successfully obtained ISO/IEC 18974 certification and shares the factors behind their successes and failures, helping organizations reduce trial and error and obtain certification efficiently.

The primary intended readers of this guide are as follows.

• Open source software security managers
• Software developers and engineers
• Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and IT managers
• Legal and compliance officers
• Open Source Program Office (OSPO) staff

Through this guide, readers will be able to effectively understand the ISO/IEC 18974 standard, strengthen their organization’s open source security management capabilities, and further contribute to building a safe and trustworthy software development ecosystem.

References

This guide was written with reference to the following materials.

1. ISO/IEC 18974:2023, Information technology - Open source supply chain security assurance
2. ISO/IEC 5230:2020, Information technology - OpenChain Specification
3. The Linux Foundation, OpenChain Project: https://www.openchainproject.org/
4. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Vulnerability Database (NVD): https://nvd.nist.gov/
5. Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE): https://cve.mitre.org/
6. OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project): https://owasp.org/
7. PwC, Understanding the open source security ISO 18974: https://www.pwc.de/en/digitale-transformation/open-source-software-management-and-compliance/understanding-the-open-source-security-iso-18974.html
8. The Momentum, Integrating DevSecOps: A Guide to Development, Security and Operations: https://www.themomentum.ai/blog/integrating-devsecops-a-guide-to-development-security-and-operations
9. Enterprise Networking Planet, Integrating IT Security With DevSecOps Best Practices: https://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/management/integrating-it-security-with-devsecops-best-practices/
10. Synopsys, What is Software Composition Analysis?: https://www.synopsys.com/glossary/what-is-software-composition-analysis.html
11. GuideM, DORA vs. ISO 27001: https://www.guidem.com/en/dora-vs-iso-27001/
12. Overseas Information Security Trends, Policy Trends in Strengthening Cyber Resilience Among Major Countries: https://www.kisa.or.kr/cmm/fms/FileDown.do?atchFileId=FILE_0000000000024149&fileSn=1