Open Source Security Foundation Launches Email Mailing List for Threat Intelligence Sharing

The Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) has taken a crucial step in enhancing cybersecurity by launching an email mailing list called Siren to share threat intelligence related to vulnerabilities in open source software.

Siren’s primary objective is to aggregate and disseminate threat intelligence in real-time, offering security warning bulletins and a community-driven knowledge base. This initiative comes in response to the recent discovery of a backdoor in the XZ Utils library, which highlighted the lack of a centralized method for open source projects to share and receive threat intelligence effectively.

The mailing list will enable members to exchange information on tactics, techniques, and procedures used in attacks on open source software, as well as indicators of compromise from real incidents. While the existing oss-security mailing list is useful for communicating vulnerabilities within the community, there is a notable gap in sharing information about exploits with a broader audience, including open source projects, distributors, security researchers, and developers.

OpenSSF hopes that Siren will bridge this gap and provide the community with a centralized platform to stay informed about threats as they happen. It is important to note that Siren will not be a place to disclose new flaws but rather a post-disclosure means of sharing information after the initial coordination.

Registration will be required to post on the list, but it will be publicly accessible to anyone interested in cybersecurity within the open source community. OpenSSF encourages developers, maintainers, and security enthusiasts to sign up for Siren and contribute to the collective effort of enhancing cybersecurity in the open source ecosystem.