We now live in an era where the security of all layers of the software stack is immensely important, and simply open sourcing a code base is not enough to ensure that security vulnerabilities surface and are addressed. At Gravitational, we see it as a necessity to engage a third party that specializes in acting as an adversary, and provide an independent analysis of our sources.

I am not an engineer. I’m a director of human resources. I don’t work in a technical space, but the concept of open source is fascinating to me as it applies to organizational culture. A company like Gravitational that has intentionally chosen open source as a foundation for our work makes not only a technical decision, but a cultural one. We’re finding that employees and candidates care deeply and appreciate our choice. Open source is a big deal for us.

For the majority of people in the information security world, the act of offensive hacking is something they are tasked with protecting against but have little ability to do themselves. That is like asking a professional boxer to enter the ring without knowing how to throw a punch. Sure, you may be able to get in and last a few rounds, but eventually, a formidable opponent will wear you down and knock you out.