The UK government recently published groundbreaking research addressing the growing challenges of managing open-source software (OSS) security and supply chain risks. This comprehensive analysis, released on March 3, 2025, provides critical insights for organizations looking to strengthen their digital security posture while leveraging the benefits of open-source solutions. As businesses increasingly depend on complex software supply chains, understanding and implementing these recommendations has become essential for maintaining security, compliance, and operational resilience.

Open-source software remains a fundamental building block of modern technology infrastructure, with estimates suggesting that over 90% of all applications contain OSS components. This ubiquity brings tremendous benefits in innovation, cost-efficiency, and collaborative development but also introduces significant risks that many organizations struggle to manage effectively.

The UK government's research, prepared by Forward Digital for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), represents one of the most comprehensive analyses of best practices for OSS risk management. The report examines guidance from international governments, industry standards bodies, and practical implementations across various sectors.

The timing of this research is particularly significant. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in supply chain attacks targeting open-source dependencies, with threat actors recognizing that compromising a single widely used component can provide access to thousands of downstream organizations. The SolarWinds incident in 2020 demonstrated the catastrophic potential of such attacks, and similar vulnerabilities continue to emerge with alarming frequency.

"This research is part of the government's wider work to improve the UK's cyber defences and protect and grow the economy," notes the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in its evaluation of the findings. The comprehensive nature of the analysis reflects the growing recognition that software supply chain security is a matter of national economic security.

The research identified several critical gaps in current open-source security practices that leave organizations vulnerable. Understanding these weaknesses is the first step toward implementing more effective risk management strategies.

One of the most significant findings is the absence of tailored guidance for specific industries outside highly regulated sectors. "Outside highly regulated industries, there is a lack of guidance on how to manage OSS components in specific industries, such as education," the report states. This one-size-fits-all approach to OSS management fails to account for different sectors' unique requirements and constraints.

The research highlights how current best practices often fail to consider organizational scale. Smaller companies with limited resources struggle to implement the same comprehensive security measures as their larger counterparts. According to the report, "Current best practices do not adequately reflect the limited resources of smaller companies," creating a significant security gap in the broader ecosystem.

Perhaps most concerning is the finding that "each developer uses their trust model, and there is no documented process for evaluating the trustworthiness of OSS components within an organization". This ad hoc approach to component selection introduces inconsistencies and potential security blindspots across development teams.

The research also identified concerns about the growing influence of large technology companies on open-source development. "Due to these companies' financial backing and resources, they have been able to exert a significant influence on the open-source community," the report notes. This influence can sometimes result in OSS solutions that don't reflect the real-world needs of smaller organizations.

Based on an extensive analysis of existing approaches, the DSIT report outlines several key recommendations that constitute "a proportionate and reasonable approach to OSS risk management". These practices are designed to be applicable across organizations of varying sizes and sectors.

The first recommendation is to develop a formal internal policy governing how open-source components are adopted, used, and maintained within an organization. This policy should provide clear guidelines for developers on acceptable licenses, required security properties, and approval processes for introducing new components.

An effective OSS policy addresses questions such as:

• Which licenses are acceptable for your organization's use case?

• What security criteria must components meet before adoption?

• Who has the authority to approve new OSS dependencies?

• How are components monitored and updated over time?

By formalizing these decisions, organizations create consistency across development teams and reduce the likelihood of introducing risky components into their supply chain.

The report strongly emphasizes the importance of maintaining a detailed inventory of all OSS components used across an organization's applications and systems. This Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) is a comprehensive map of dependencies and their relationships.

"Creating a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) is essential for tracking OSS components and their dependencies," the report states. An effective SBOM includes:

• Component names and versions

• License information

• Known vulnerabilities

• Dependency relationships

• Maintenance status

• Component origin

This level of visibility enables organizations to quickly identify affected systems when new vulnerabilities are discovered, significantly reducing response time and limiting potential damage.

Static security assessments provide only a momentary snapshot of security status. The DSIT report recommends "continuously monitoring the software supply chain using software composition analysis (SCA) tools to identify vulnerabilities in their codebase or any potential licensing issues".

This ongoing vigilance allows organizations to:

• Detect newly discovered vulnerabilities in existing components

• Identify components that have become unmaintained

• Monitor for suspicious changes to dependency sources

• Ensure license compliance across the software portfolio

• Track the availability of security updates

Many organizations are adopting automated tools to manage this process as manual monitoring becomes increasingly impractical, given the scale and complexity of modern software dependencies.

The research highlights community engagement as a critical yet often overlooked aspect of OSS risk management. According to the report, active participation "will attract new talent, level the competitive playing field, foster innovation, improve reputation, and ensure high-quality OSS components and a sustainable OSS ecosystem".

Organizations can engage with the OSS community through:

• Contributing code improvements and security fixes

• Participating in governance discussions

• Providing financial support to critical projects

• Reporting bugs and vulnerabilities responsibly

• Helping maintain documentation

This engagement improves the security of components you rely on and provides deeper insight into their development direction and potential risks.

The final key recommendation addresses resource constraints, particularly for smaller organizations. The report "strongly recommends adopting tools to automate OSS management to alleviate time and resource constraints that may fall on smaller organizations".

Automation can dramatically improve efficiency in several areas:

• Dependency scanning during development

• License compliance checking

• Vulnerability detection and notification

• SBOM generation and maintenance

• Update management and deployment

By leveraging automation, even resource-constrained organizations can implement robust OSS risk management practices without overburdening their teams.

While the recommendations provide a solid framework, implementing them effectively requires understanding how they translate to specific organizational contexts. Let's explore how different types of organizations might approach these best practices.

Large enterprises typically have more resources but face greater complexity in their software supply chains. For these organizations, an effective implementation might include:

• Establishing a dedicated security team responsible for OSS governance

• Implementing enterprise-grade SCA tools integrated with CI/CD pipelines

• Creating formalized processes for component approval with security review gates

• Maintaining a centralized SBOM repository with automated updates

• Allocating developer time specifically for OSS contribution and community engagement

Many larger UK organizations are already moving in this direction, as evidenced by the growing adoption of supply chain risk management platforms and the increasing prevalence of dedicated open-source program offices (OSPOs).

Smaller organizations face different challenges, primarily related to resource constraints. For SMEs, a practical approach might include:

• Leveraging lightweight, cloud-based SCA tools with affordable pricing models

• Implementing simplified OSS policies focusing on the highest-risk components

• Utilizing community-maintained SBOM formats and tools

• Focusing community engagement on the most critical dependencies

• Pooling resources with similar organizations to share the burden of evaluation

The UK government's emphasis on automation is particularly relevant for this segment, as it enables smaller teams to implement robust security practices without dedicated security specialists.

Government entities and public sector organizations have unique transparency, compliance, and long-term sustainability requirements. For these organizations, implementation priorities often include:

• Ensuring all OSS usage complies with procurement regulations

• Maintaining detailed provenance information for all components

• Prioritizing components with strong governance models and diverse maintainer bases

• Contributing resources to projects deemed critical to public infrastructure

• Sharing evaluation data with other public sector entities to reduce duplication

As the UK government explains in its risk management guidance for the public sector, "Good risk management is essential if the Civil Service wants to improve outcomes. It enables us to use our resources more effectively and enhances strategic and business planning and contingency planning".

The DSIT report also identifies several areas requiring further research and policy development, pointing to emerging trends shaping OSS risk management in the coming years.

One clear trend is the move toward more nuanced, scale-appropriate best practices. More tailored frameworks and implementation approaches14 are likely to address the current gap in guidance for organizations of different sizes.

Similarly, the development of industry-specific OSS management frameworks is gaining momentum. Different sectors face unique challenges and regulatory requirements that generic approaches fail to address adequately.

The lack of consistent methods for evaluating OSS component maturity drives efforts to develop standardized metrics. These would provide organizations with more reliable ways to assess the security and sustainability of potential dependencies.

There's growing interest in quantifying the relationship between community engagement and OSS quality/security. Understanding this connection could help organizations allocate resources more effectively to community participation.

A notable example of the practical application of these principles can be found in Queen's University Belfast's recent project on supply chain resilience. With £6.25m in funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), researchers are working to "model and re-imagine supply chains across the UK in food, critical minerals, and fashion".

While focused on different sectors, this project demonstrates how the same fundamental principles of supply chain visibility, continuous monitoring, and risk assessment apply across domains. The research team is developing approaches that could be adapted to software supply chains, particularly in mapping complex dependency networks and identifying critical points of failure.

As Professor Sir Ian Greer, President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen's, noted, "This award from the UKRI will be transformative in tackling supply chain resilience to ensure we future-proof this critical area". The same urgent need for future-proofing applies equally to software supply chains.

Organizations should integrate OSS security practices with their broader risk management frameworks for maximum effectiveness. The UK government's Institute for Government emphasizes that risk management must be embedded in day-to-day operations rather than treated separately.

This integration might include:

Software acquisition decisions should incorporate OSS risk assessment from the earliest stages. UK government guidance on open-source software best practices aligns with NCSC recommendations on evaluating best practices for OSS and supply chain risk management.

Organizations should consider the impact of OSS component failures in their business continuity and disaster recovery planning. Evaluating their dependency on critical open-source components should also be part of their business risk assessment.

Many organizations rely on vendors who themselves use open-source components. Your third-party risk assessment should include questions about suppliers' management of their OSS dependencies.

As regulatory requirements around software security increase, robust OSS management practices in place allow organizations to adapt more easily to new compliance demands.

Despite the clear benefits, organizations often encounter obstacles when implementing these recommendations. Understanding common challenges and their solutions can help smooth the path to improved OSS risk management.

Many organizations, particularly smaller ones, struggle to allocate sufficient resources to OSS security.

Solution: Start with high-risk, high-impact components and gradually expand coverage. Leverage free and open-source security tools where possible, and consider pooling resources with partner organizations facing similar challenges.

Security measures that significantly slow down development may face resistance from engineering teams.

Solution: Integrate security tools into existing workflows rather than adding separate processes. Focus on automation that provides immediate value to developers, such as tools that suggest secure alternatives to vulnerable components.

Organizations with legacy systems often lack complete visibility into their OSS dependencies.

Solution: Use discovery tools to generate initial SBOMs for legacy applications, then prioritize remediation based on risk. Consider containerization strategies to isolate legacy components that cannot be easily updated.

Software Bill of Materials documents quickly become outdated as dependencies change.

Solution: Implement automated SBOM generation in your build process, ensuring documentation remains synchronized with actual dependencies. Store SBOM data in formats that facilitate automated analysis and comparison.

The DSIT report on open-source software best practices is part of a larger UK government initiative to strengthen cybersecurity across all sectors. This includes the upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which was announced in July 2024 and is expected to be introduced to Parliament in 2025.

The bill aims to "expand the remit of regulation to protect more digital services and supply chains whilst providing resources and powers to regulators to investigate potential vulnerabilities proactively". While compliance with the current OSS guidelines remains voluntary, this legislative direction suggests that certain practices may become mandatory.

Organizations that proactively implement the recommended best practices will be better positioned to comply with potential future regulations while immediately realizing security benefits.

For organizations looking to improve their OSS risk management based on the UK government's research, the following steps provide a practical roadmap:

Begin with an honest assessment of your organization's current OSS management practices. Key questions include:

• Do you have a formal policy governing OSS use?

• Can you produce a complete inventory of OSS components in use?

• What processes exist for evaluating and approving new dependencies?

• How do you monitor for vulnerabilities in existing components?

• To what extent do your teams engage with OSS communities?

This baseline will help identify the most critical gaps to address first.

Based on your assessment, create a phased implementation plan that addresses the highest-risk areas first. Consider:

• Which applications pose the greatest risk to your operations if compromised?

• What types of OSS components are most prevalent in your environment?

• Which recommendations would provide the greatest security improvement with available resources?

A phased approach allows you to demonstrate value quickly while building toward comprehensive coverage.

Review available tools for OSS management, prioritizing those that integrate well with your existing development environment. Options range from open-source solutions like OWASP Dependency-Check to commercial platforms offering more comprehensive features.

Determine who will be responsible for various aspects of OSS risk management, including:

• Policy development and maintenance

• Component evaluation and approval

• Vulnerability monitoring and response

• Community engagement coordination

Clear ownership ensures that responsibilities don't fall through the cracks.

Ensure that all stakeholders understand their roles in maintaining OSS security. Developers need training on secure component selection and usage, while management needs education on the business risks and benefits of open source.

Establish metrics to track the effectiveness of your OSS risk management program, such as:

• Time to address newly discovered vulnerabilities

• Percentage of applications with complete SBOMs

• Number of policy exceptions granted

• Frequency of dependency updates

Use these metrics to drive continuous improvement in your processes.

The UK government's research on open-source software best practices represents a significant step forward in addressing one of the most pressing cybersecurity challenges facing organizations today. By highlighting current weaknesses and providing practical recommendations, the report offers a valuable roadmap for improving software supply chain security.

Chris Hughes, chief security advisor at Endor Labs and cyber innovation fellow at CISA, noted in his review of related UK government guidance that the approach is "broad and comprehensive", addressing the full lifecycle of open-source software use within organizations.

The five key recommendations—establishing OSS policies, creating SBOMs, implementing continuous monitoring, engaging with communities, and adopting automation—provide a structured framework that organizations of any size can adapt to their specific context and needs.

As we continue to build our digital future on open-source foundations, implementing these practices isn't just about risk management—it's about ensuring the sustainability and security of the innovation ecosystem that drives modern technology development. By taking a proactive approach to OSS security, organizations can continue to enjoy the benefits of open source while managing the inherent risks more effectively.

The path forward requires commitment, resources, and expertise, but the alternative—leaving critical software supply chains vulnerable to disruption and attack—carries far greater costs in the long term. The time to act is now, before the next major supply chain attack, demonstrating again the urgent necessity of these measures.

To continue this discussion on implementing the UK government's recommendations for open-source software risk management, share your experiences, challenges, and solutions in the comments or join us on Revolt: https://rvlt.gg/vxTxbvth.

Note: While this article is based on the UK government's published research, organizations should consult security professionals to ensure that implementations are appropriate for their context and risk profile.