Omkhar Arasaratnam on open source security; AI dogfighting

Safe Mode Podcast

In recent weeks, a series of troubling operations targeting open source software libraries have been uncovered in which bad actors — likely tied to nation states — have attempted to use social engineering to be designated as maintainers of security critical libraries. Operations such as these have the potential to insert backdoors in widely used software libraries that provide the building blocks of modern computing. As the general manager of the Open Source Software Security Foundation, Omkhar Arasaratnam is on the frontlines of protecting the open source software ecosystem, and on this episode of Safe Mode, he sits down with host Elias Groll to discuss what’s needed to improve the security of some of the world’s most widely used software. DefenseScoop reporter Mikayla Easley also joins the show to discuss her reporting about how the Air Force is experimenting with putting AI behind the controls of American fighter jets.