Identifying challenges for a productive and sustainable Open Source ecosystem

Abstract

Open Source can be seen as an ecosystem in which all participants fulfil a role that keeps the equilibrium. When this equilibrium is altered, the ecosystem faces a challenge that can be overcome through specific countermeasures. We present a way to characterize the specific threats and identify possible countermeasures, as well as its effectiveness, using a risk analysis and handling the threat as an attack. This way, the community can be prepared to identify and face current and future challenges effectively. This document presents the methodology and some basic characterizations of some attacks, as well as the future work necessary to complete the work. The methodology proves to be useful to identify several threats and prepare the community to use its scare resources effectively to overcome current and future challenges.