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Alan Facey

The Power of Visibility: Managing Open Source with Complete SBOMs and SCANOSS




As software development continues to rely heavily on open source components, establishing an effective open source management strategy becomes essential for organizations. A crucial part of this strategy involves generating comprehensive Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs). In this article, we will explore the importance of SBOMs, how SCANOSS can help detect both declared and undeclared components, and how the concept of "you cannot manage what you cannot see" illustrates the need for complete visibility in managing open source components.



The Importance of SBOMs in Open Source Management


An SBOM is an inventory of all software components used within a product, including open source libraries and dependencies. It enables organizations to gain visibility into their software composition, identify and manage potential security vulnerabilities, licensing issues, and other risks associated with third-party code. The phrase "you cannot manage what you cannot see" highlights the importance of SBOMs in managing open source components effectively.



Executive Order 14028, signed by President Joe Biden, emphasizes the need for generating SBOMs in the context of strengthening national cybersecurity. Compliance with this order further underlines the necessity for organizations to have a thorough understanding of their software composition.


SCANOSS: Enhancing SBOMs and Open Source



SCANOSS: Enhancing SBOMs and Open Source Management


SCANOSS is a comprehensive OSS Inventory & Intelligence platform designed to help organizations generate complete SBOMs, detecting both declared and undeclared components. This ability to identify undeclared components is vital, as traditional SBOM generating tools only detect declared dependencies, potentially leaving companies exposed to security and compliance risks.



The increasing adoption of Al-assisted coding tools introduces additional compliance risks, as these tools can inadvertently incorporate third-party code fragments without proper attribution. SCANOSS addresses this challenge by comparing code fingerprints against its vast knowledgebase of open source, detecting undeclared components, files, and even snippets.



SCANOSS supports ingestion and generation of both SPDX and CycloneDX specifications, ensuring compatibility with widely accepted SBOM formats. Organizations can use SCANOSS to generate SBOMs through the user interface called The SBOM Workbench or via the command-line interface (CLI) for easy automation from other systems.



Conclusion


In today's software landscape, visibility is crucial for managing open source components effectively. Organizations need comprehensive tools like SCANOSS to generate complete SBOMs and maintain a strong open source management strategy. By embracing the concept of "you cannot manage what you cannot see," organizations can gain full visibility into their software composition, comply with regulations like Executive Order 14028, and mitigate security and compliance risks associated with their software products. To produce your own complete and accurate SBOM and gain 360-degree visibility on your open source, visit SCANOSS.com now.

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