Open Source licenses require management and not just tracking.
xGPL license is the 3rd most popular license in use. Alerting or blocking all xGPL licenses will be hard to manage and very costly to avoid/replace.
The best way is to implement an Open Source management program based on 4 main pillars: Written open source policy, open source use process, SCA tool (not necessarily a commercial one), and Training.
The policy should define the licenses approved for use based on the actual use case (internal/saas/distribute)
The process should clear the actions for open source selection, use, modification, update, etc
The tool should allow visibility of all open source components in all stages (plan, dev, production, etc) with alerts on policy violations.
The training should cover policy, process, and tool usability - it is mainly for the developers.
The management program needs to be operated by an open source program officer which will be supported by legal, information security & software architects.
When a company doesn’t have the relevant competencies to manage open source internally they need to have on their side a trusted experienced advisor who knows how to do it effectively.
There are best practice standards for open source management like ISO5230 and its security assurance extension.
Search for a product comparison in Software Composition Analysis (SCA)
We have used the following tools and they work well in giving a detailed licensing posture for open-source libraries - WhiteSource/Mend and CAST HL. Both of them give what licenses are in use and whether they are risky or ok to use.
For example, GPU license is always risky and it flags its usage in RED.
Recent example around this:
"Vocal deepfake generator Voice AI Inc is accused of stealing GPL and LGPL code—by using it in violation of the licenses. Notably, the company doesn’t make available the source code of its product, as required by the GPL.
Voice.ai has been found to have violated the terms of the GPLv3 and LGPLv2.1 licenses in its software. In short, they’ve been packaging the open-source libraries that enable the software without adhering to their [license] terms.
The company had integrated code from Praat, a widely-used open-source speech analysis software, and libgcrypt, a cryptographic library, in its proprietary software without releasing the source code of its software or providing proper attribution."
The best way to track free and open source software (FOSS) license compatibility is with a software license compatibility tool or a software composition analysis tool. It may depend on your budget and the size of your dev environment.
Another option is a license compatibility matrix. These solutions give you a view of FOSS compatibility with each other and help you figure out the various software components, that are under different licenses, that you can use together in a project. Possibilities include SPDX license list, Tidelift license finder, and FOSSology.
Software Composition Analysis (SCA) solutions enable organizations to identify, analyze, and manage open-source components within their software projects, ensuring compliance and reducing security risks. SCA tools are designed to detect vulnerable dependencies and licensing issues in open-source libraries. By providing detailed reports on the state of components within a software project, these tools help organizations improve their security posture and ensure license compliance. SCA...
Open Source licenses require management and not just tracking.
xGPL license is the 3rd most popular license in use. Alerting or blocking all xGPL licenses will be hard to manage and very costly to avoid/replace.
The best way is to implement an Open Source management program based on 4 main pillars: Written open source policy, open source use process, SCA tool (not necessarily a commercial one), and Training.
The policy should define the licenses approved for use based on the actual use case (internal/saas/distribute)
The process should clear the actions for open source selection, use, modification, update, etc
The tool should allow visibility of all open source components in all stages (plan, dev, production, etc) with alerts on policy violations.
The training should cover policy, process, and tool usability - it is mainly for the developers.
The management program needs to be operated by an open source program officer which will be supported by legal, information security & software architects.
When a company doesn’t have the relevant competencies to manage open source internally they need to have on their side a trusted experienced advisor who knows how to do it effectively.
There are best practice standards for open source management like ISO5230 and its security assurance extension.
We have used the following tools and they work well in giving a detailed licensing posture for open-source libraries - WhiteSource/Mend and CAST HL. Both of them give what licenses are in use and whether they are risky or ok to use.
For example, GPU license is always risky and it flags its usage in RED.
Recent example around this:
"Vocal deepfake generator Voice AI Inc is accused of stealing GPL and LGPL code—by using it in violation of the licenses. Notably, the company doesn’t make available the source code of its product, as required by the GPL.
Voice.ai has been found to have violated the terms of the GPLv3 and LGPLv2.1 licenses in its software. In short, they’ve been packaging the open-source libraries that enable the software without adhering to their [license] terms.
The company had integrated code from Praat, a widely-used open-source speech analysis software, and libgcrypt, a cryptographic library, in its proprietary software without releasing the source code of its software or providing proper attribution."
The best way to track free and open source software (FOSS) license compatibility is with a software license compatibility tool or a software composition analysis tool. It may depend on your budget and the size of your dev environment.
Another option is a license compatibility matrix. These solutions give you a view of FOSS compatibility with each other and help you figure out the various software components, that are under different licenses, that you can use together in a project. Possibilities include SPDX license list, Tidelift license finder, and FOSSology.