Projects | Hillenius Industrious

EU-FOSSA 2

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The EU-FOSSA projects (1 and 2) team at the European Commission is testing instruments commonly used in software development - code security audits, bug bounties and hackathons - to see if (and how) these can be included permanently in the EC’s tool box.

EU-FOSSA 2 in 2018 and 2019 is testing bug bounties and hackathons, rather unusual instruments in the EC environment - with its tightly managed annual budget plans.

EU-FOSSA 2 has organised 15 bug bounties. It’s proving to be a cost-effective way to identify security vulnerabilities (with extras for fixes). Likewise, the hackathons bring together open source developers from across the world, interacting with peers working for the European institutions in Brussels.

The team is also studying the best practices of open source in public administrations worldwide; and making an inventory of roadblocks to increase use, related to licensing and IT support.

A permanent item

It’s predecessor, EU-FOSSA 1, ran in 2015 and 2016. The EUR 1 million budget was earmarked by the European Parliament on the request of MEPs Julia Reda and Max Andersson (both Greens/EFA) in 2015. The goal, as explained by MEP Reda, is to “establish Free Software Security as a permanent item in the EU budget.”

The Commission-led team has listed all open source solutions in use at the Commission (servers and workstations). The team determined how to sort these solutions in terms of software security issues and risks for the public services that rely on them. The team then requested external experts to do code security audits on Apache Server and Keepass solutions. The latter was selected by interested citizens, following presentations, surveys and polls. The code audits found no major issues, and minor security issues were quickly fixed.

The project’s success motivated MEPS Reda, Andersson and Marietje Schaake (ALDE) to increase funding to EUR 2.6 million for a follow-up project.

Open source software strategy

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Project manager at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Informatics (DIGIT) for the renewal of the European Commission’s internal open source software strategy.

Share and Reuse Framework

Wed, 01 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In early 2017 and again in 2019 I assisted the Europen Commission with its Sharing and Reuse Framework which aims to support and enable public services to share and reuse the IT solutions that help them to provide eGovernment services. In 2017, my activities included a series of articles.

In 2019 I helped the Commission with network contacts to help organise the Sharing and Reuse Conference. I also was one of the conference moderators.

OpenGovernment portal

Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

A team of technology transfer experts aggregated European examples of open government and public sector modernisation, in 2015 and 2016.

The OpenGov observatory was a project by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (CNECT). The observatory ran on the Joinup eGovernment portal.

ePractice

Mon, 01 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The Europen Commission’s ePractice was a knowlegde sharing portal for eGovernment professionals,

Between September 2014 and February 2018, I headed a small team of technology transfer specialists, delivering new examples, best practices and case studies.

Open Source Observatory

Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 +0000

The Open Source Observatory OSOR is a community for exchanging expertise, know-how and best practices around free and open source software solutions in Europe’s public services.

A team of legal experts, experienced open source contributors, and technology knowledge transfer specialists has made the portal the focal point for all European stakeholders. In addition, OSOR keeps stakeholders informed on policies, implementations, and best practices.

Responsible for most of the articles the portal since its inception in 2007, my presentations on the results of OSOR are based on the growing collection of examples. The actionable overview of success factors was created with the help and feedback of many specialists in European government and other experts.

The portal is funded by the European Commission, through its IDABC, ISA and ISA² programmes respectively.