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Date: September 18, 2025 Organization: OpenSSF (Open Source Security Foundation) Role: Technical Reviewer
Overview
Served as a Technical Reviewer for the OpenSSF whitepaper “Improving Risk Management Decisions with SBOM Data” published by the SBOM Everywhere Special Interest Group.
The whitepaper was drafted by contributors in the SBOM Operations Working Group (community-led, facilitated by CISA), reviewed and refined by the OpenSSF SBOM Everywhere SIG with contributions from the OpenSSF community.
About the Whitepaper
This document demonstrates the benefits of Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs) to software Producers and Consumers. It answers the key questions: “Once I generate or receive an SBOM, what do I do with it?” and “What additional insights or intelligence can I gain from the SBOM that will benefit my organization?”
Key Contributions
The whitepaper provides:
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SBOM Lifecycle Definition - Explains and depicts what happens to an SBOM from the point after its generation by the software Producer to its analysis and consumption by the Consumer
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Thirteen Practical Use Cases - Real-world scenarios including:
- Pre-deployment and post-deployment CVE vulnerability management
- Open source licensing risks
- End of Life (EOL) and non-maintained component alerting
- Pre-purchase risk assessment
- Incident response
- M&A and investment risk assessment
- Field servicing of software-enabled devices
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SBOM Operations Maturity Levels:
- Basic SBOM Operations (generation, verification, publishing, storage, consumption)
- Advanced SBOM Operations (compare, enrich, merge, analyze risks)
- Continuous Vulnerability Management (post-release monitoring)
Key Takeaways from the Whitepaper
- SBOM data, combined with external intelligence, greatly improves security and vulnerability management
- SBOM-driven workflows reduce compliance and licensing risks across disparate software environments
- Operational efficiency gains arise from using SBOMs as a centralized inventory for multiple use cases
- Supply chain transparency and trust increase when SBOMs are enriched with key operational data
- Meeting regulatory and contractual requirements requires more than the minimum NTIA fields
Authors
- Dr. David A. Wheeler (Linux Foundation, OpenSSF)
- Kate Stewart (VP of Dependable Embedded Systems, Linux Foundation)
- Josh Bressers (VP of Security, Anchore)
- Dr. Anita D’Amico (Cotopaxi Consulting)