Every year, thousands of developers from around the world gather in Brussels for FOSDEM, one of the biggest events in the open source community. No registration, no barriers—just a shared passion for open source, collaboration, and innovation. It’s the perfect place to connect, discuss the latest trends, and tackle the challenges shaping the future of open source.
This year, we joined the conversation with a talk on SBOMs in Cryptographic Algorithms, presented by our Software Engineer, Matias D’Aloia. Our goal? To engage with the community, share insights on cryptography, and showcase how SCANOSS is helping organisations manage open source risks more effectively. We were also eager to exchange ideas, spot emerging trends, and explore new collaborations.
Kicking off the Sunday sessions at FOSDEM is always a challenge, but Matias delivered an insightful talk on the SBOM traen without a hitch. Despite the early timing, the room was already half full, and by the next session, it was packed.
The audience was engaged, asking insightful questions about practical use cases and how SCANOSS goes beyond basic detection. One attendee even shared a technical suggestion on how we express software strength—exactly the kind of collaborative input that makes open source so powerful.
Wrapping up the talk, Matias highlighted why we do what we do:
"In open source, we are all trying to work together, share what we know, make things better. But to do that effectively, we need to speak the same language. That is what this is about. We have this working solution, we know it helps, and now we want everyone to be able to use it, improve it, make it their own. The repo is open, the tools are there, and we would love to see what you all can do with it."
The response was overwhelmingly positive, sparking great conversations both during and after the session. Several attendees even connected with us on LinkedIn for follow-up discussions—proving that FOSDEM is not just about talks, but about building real connections in the open source community. You can check the whole talk here.
Another session that caught our attention was the one by Jeff Mendoza titled Discover Dependency License Information Using SBOMs and ClearlyDefined. This talk delved into new SBOM tooling that queries licenses, produces NOTICE files, and augments SBOMs using high-fidelity legal information from ClearlyDefined. The discussion underscored the growing need for structured, transparent open source data management, aligning closely with SCANOSS's mission.
This year’s FOSDEM sessions covered a wide range of topics, reflecting the evolving priorities of the open source community. Security and privacy remained a key focus, with discussions on strengthening security measures and navigating compliance challenges. Artificial intelligence and machine learning were also prominent, highlighting both the opportunities and ethical concerns surrounding AI in open source. Licensing and legal issues were also featured, reinforcing the importance of clear governance and risk management. Beyond that, sessions on emerging technologies such as quantum computing, blockchain, and IoT showcased the continuous innovation within open source. These discussions reaffirmed the significance of transparency, collaboration, and strong security practices—values that align closely with our mission.
As we move forward, we’re excited to apply these insights, continue refining our solutions, and strengthen collaborations with the broader community. Open source thrives on shared knowledge and collective effort, and we look forward to further conversations and partnerships that drive the industry forward. If you attended FOSDEM and want to continue the discussion, let’s connect!