Latest news with #LinuxFoundation
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
WordPress veterans launch FAIR project to tackle security and control concerns
The recent travails of WordPress have caused consternation among the web community that relies on the platform, which powers more than four in ten websites online today. Now, a coalition of prominent WordPress contributors and the Linux Foundation is unveiling a federated update and plugin-distribution network aimed at eliminating what they describe as a critical 'supply chain security' vulnerability at the core of the world's most widely used website system. Supersonic air travel gets green light in U.S. after 50-year ban lifted Why you're catching the 'ick' so easily, according to science How to Watch George Clooney's Broadway play 'Good Night, and Good Luck' live for free The FAIR Package Manager project, to be announced at a conference in Switzerland later today, enables web-hosting companies and large organizations to run their own mirrors of WordPress's core update, plugin, theme, and translation servers. This setup would replace reliance on domain controlled by Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg. Supporters say the new system will strengthen security, reduce costs, and open new commercial opportunities for software that millions depend on for web hosting. The project emerged earlier this year in response to controversial moves by Mullenweg. In September, he cut off access to WP Engine—a popular WordPress hosting provider—accusing it of extracting hundreds of millions of dollars in value from the open-source platform without adequate contributions in return. He also alleged that the company breached WordPress trademarks, creating confusion. Amid the fallout, around 150 employees exited Automattic after Mullenweg offered buyouts to those who disagreed with his handling of the situation. 'In October, when Automattic took over the slug of WP Engine's product within the ecosystem, we received phone calls from the chief legal counsels of some of our clients—these are large corporations—saying, 'this is a supply chain security issue,'' says Karim Marucchi, CEO of enterprise agency Crowd Favorite and one of the project's initiators. Around the same time, Joost de Valk, founder of Yoast SEO, was attempting to communicate with Mullenweg. While de Valk shared the view that more equitable contributions to WordPress were needed, he disagreed with Mullenweg's methods. 'We stopped talking pretty much after that, because I didn't agree with him,' de Valk says. One central concern is that every WordPress site depends on for updates and extensions. 'When we started looking at this, we realized there's a lot of things in this whole ecosystem that we don't control,' de Valk says. 'One of the things that everybody's eyes were opened on was that was, in fact, not part of the WordPress Foundation, but owned by Matt privately, and that he used it as his private website in many ways.' WordPress executive director Mary Hubbard notes that users have always had control over how their sites are updated and where updates originate—flexibility that has existed since WordPress's early days. 'The beauty of WordPress and open source is that people have complete control to run it how they please and modify how it works,' she tells Fast Company. The FAIR system offers an alternative that remains fully compatible with WordPress but operates independently from 'It's still all WordPress,' says de Valk. 'It's just a different distribution.' Rather than forking WordPress, FAIR provides server components that anyone can run. Over 100 contributors from more than 10 organizations have been involved in building it over the past six months, according to Marucchi. The group has asked the Linux Foundation to provide neutral oversight. Hubbard pointed out that some large hosts like Newfold/Bluehost have implemented custom mirrors in the past, and emphasized that WordPress's update system has always allowed users to modify where their updates come from. 'The important thing is that users know where their updates are coming from and have a choice to change it, regardless of their host,' she says. 'WordPress is a critical piece of infrastructure for communication and for organizations that rely on it for their website, for content management, for blogs and media,' says Mike Dolan, SVP of legal and strategic programs at the Linux Foundation. 'And in order to sustain something like that, you need to have a reliable backend behind it.' To avoid centralization, the Linux Foundation has created a technical steering committee cochaired by long-time WordPress leaders Carrie Dils, Mika Epstein, and Ryan McCue. McCue, the architect of the WordPress REST API, called FAIR 'a platform to power the next decades of WordPress,' and noted that the community had 'fractured' and needed to be brought back together. Dolan echoed the sentiment. 'I think the interesting part about this is the organic nature of this,' he says. 'This is something that is coming out of the community. It's people who have lifelong and career-long engagement in the WordPress community who are saying we need to go and build this, and they want to work on it together.' Jory Burson, VP of standards at the Linux Foundation and a participant in the project, hopes it will lead to a 'reintroduction and reenergization of the community.' She adds that morale is currently low. 'I think this is going to be very exciting for people, and hopefully move some folks past this negativity and drama. We want to get people focused on the very positive future that we think WordPress still has.' Although FAIR was created out of frustration with Automattic's control over its backers insist it's not a competing fork. 'When we get up on stage on Friday, literally the words that are going to come out of our mouth are: 'We're offering this code to Automattic, WP Engine, GoDaddy, Newfold—everyone,'' says Marucchi. If widely adopted, the network could allow developers to ship both free and premium versions of plugins in a single signed package—something currently prohibited by the official WordPress repository. 'That opens up innovation,' de Valk says, 'making it easier to build businesses around plugins and to provide good user experiences.' Still, Hubbard emphasizes that fragmentation of WordPress's core infrastructure could create more problems than it solves—disrupting update processes, inflating server loads, and breaking plugin telemetry used for ensuring compatibility. 'If this work leads to improvements like signed updates or better fallback systems, we're open to that,' she says. 'But it has to be done with the same long-term care that got us here.' The FAIR repository is already live on GitHub and accepting contributions. Whether Automattic will participate remains uncertain; regardless, the project team plans to move forward. 'You're dealing with a community that has had some trust challenges in the past, and they're looking for stability,' says Dolan. 'They're looking for neutrality. They have business that they want to get done.' This post originally appeared at to get the Fast Company newsletter: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Arabian Post
a day ago
- Business
- Arabian Post
OpenInfra and Linux Foundation Forge Unified Front in Open Source Infrastructure
The Open Infrastructure Foundation has officially integrated into the Linux Foundation, marking a significant consolidation in the open source infrastructure domain. This strategic move aims to enhance collaboration, streamline resources, and address the evolving demands of modern data centers and cloud-native technologies. The merger, unanimously approved by both organizations' boards, positions OpenInfra as a directed fund within the Linux Foundation, akin to the operational models of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation and the PyTorch Foundation. This structure allows OpenInfra to maintain its governance, board positions, and community-centric approach, while benefiting from the Linux Foundation's extensive resources and global reach. Jonathan Bryce, Executive Director of OpenInfra, emphasized the synergy between the two organizations, stating that the integration will enable more effective collaboration on projects like OpenStack, Kubernetes, and PyTorch. He highlighted the increasing complexity of open source development, noting that the Linux Foundation's mature frameworks for legal support, security expertise, and global advocacy are essential for navigating regulatory, security, and geopolitical challenges. ADVERTISEMENT The consolidation is timely, as the open source landscape faces heightened regulatory scrutiny and security concerns. The Linux Foundation's investment in legal and regulatory capabilities is expected to provide OpenInfra projects with the necessary support to address these complexities effectively. Julia Kreger, Chair of the OpenInfra Board of Directors, noted that OpenInfra enters this new chapter with strong momentum, citing a 15% increase in member organizations and surging adoption of projects like OpenStack, Kata Containers, StarlingX, and Zuul. The integration with the Linux Foundation is anticipated to further accelerate the development and adoption of open source infrastructure technologies. Mark Collier, COO of OpenInfra, underscored the importance of open ecosystems in driving AI innovation. He asserted that the greatest advancements in AI will thrive within open, community-governed environments, rather than proprietary silos. The merger is seen as a step towards ensuring that AI infrastructure is developed openly, empowering innovators worldwide.
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
WordPress veterans launch FAIR project to tackle security and control concerns
The recent travails of WordPress have caused consternation among the web community that relies on the platform, which powers more than four in ten websites online today. Now, a coalition of prominent WordPress contributors and the Linux Foundation is unveiling a federated update and plugin-distribution network aimed at eliminating what they describe as a critical 'supply chain security' vulnerability at the core of the world's most widely used website system. The FAIR Package Manager project, to be announced at a conference in Switzerland later today, enables web-hosting companies and large organizations to run their own mirrors of WordPress's core update, plugin, theme, and translation servers. This setup would replace reliance on domain controlled by Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg. Supporters say the new system will strengthen security, reduce costs, and open new commercial opportunities for software that millions depend on for web hosting. The project emerged earlier this year in response to controversial moves by Mullenweg. In September, he cut off access to WP Engine—a popular WordPress hosting provider—accusing it of extracting hundreds of millions of dollars in value from the open-source platform without adequate contributions in return. He also alleged that the company breached WordPress trademarks, creating confusion. Amid the fallout, around 150 employees exited Automattic after Mullenweg offered buyouts to those who disagreed with his handling of the situation. 'In October, when Automattic took over the slug of WP Engine's product within the ecosystem, we received phone calls from the chief legal counsels of some of our clients—these are large corporations—saying, 'this is a supply chain security issue,'' says Karim Marucchi, CEO of enterprise agency Crowd Favorite and one of the project's initiators. Around the same time, Joost de Valk, founder of Yoast SEO, was attempting to communicate with Mullenweg. While de Valk shared the view that more equitable contributions to WordPress were needed, he disagreed with Mullenweg's methods. 'We stopped talking pretty much after that, because I didn't agree with him,' de Valk says. One central concern is that every WordPress site depends on for updates and extensions. 'When we started looking at this, we realized there's a lot of things in this whole ecosystem that we don't control,' de Valk says. 'One of the things that everybody's eyes were opened on was that was, in fact, not part of the WordPress Foundation, but owned by Matt privately, and that he used it as his private website in many ways.' WordPress executive director Mary Hubbard notes that users have always had control over how their sites are updated and where updates originate—flexibility that has existed since WordPress's early days. 'The beauty of WordPress and open source is that people have complete control to run it how they please and modify how it works,' she tells Fast Company. The FAIR system offers an alternative that remains fully compatible with WordPress but operates independently from 'It's still all WordPress,' says de Valk. 'It's just a different distribution.' Rather than forking WordPress, FAIR provides server components that anyone can run. Over 100 contributors from more than 10 organizations have been involved in building it over the past six months, according to Marucchi. The group has asked the Linux Foundation to provide neutral oversight. Hubbard pointed out that some large hosts like Newfold/Bluehost have implemented custom mirrors in the past, and emphasized that WordPress's update system has always allowed users to modify where their updates come from. 'The important thing is that users know where their updates are coming from and have a choice to change it, regardless of their host,' she says. 'WordPress is a critical piece of infrastructure for communication and for organizations that rely on it for their website, for content management, for blogs and media,' says Mike Dolan, SVP of legal and strategic programs at the Linux Foundation. 'And in order to sustain something like that, you need to have a reliable backend behind it.' To avoid centralization, the Linux Foundation has created a technical steering committee cochaired by long-time WordPress leaders Carrie Dils, Mika Epstein, and Ryan McCue. McCue, the architect of the WordPress REST API, called FAIR 'a platform to power the next decades of WordPress,' and noted that the community had 'fractured' and needed to be brought back together. Dolan echoed the sentiment. 'I think the interesting part about this is the organic nature of this,' he says. 'This is something that is coming out of the community. It's people who have lifelong and career-long engagement in the WordPress community who are saying we need to go and build this, and they want to work on it together.' Jory Burson, VP of standards at the Linux Foundation and a participant in the project, hopes it will lead to a 'reintroduction and reenergization of the community.' She adds that morale is currently low. 'I think this is going to be very exciting for people, and hopefully move some folks past this negativity and drama. We want to get people focused on the very positive future that we think WordPress still has.' Although FAIR was created out of frustration with Automattic's control over its backers insist it's not a competing fork. 'When we get up on stage on Friday, literally the words that are going to come out of our mouth are: 'We're offering this code to Automattic, WP Engine, GoDaddy, Newfold—everyone,'' says Marucchi. If widely adopted, the network could allow developers to ship both free and premium versions of plugins in a single signed package—something currently prohibited by the official WordPress repository. 'That opens up innovation,' de Valk says, 'making it easier to build businesses around plugins and to provide good user experiences.' Still, Hubbard emphasizes that fragmentation of WordPress's core infrastructure could create more problems than it solves—disrupting update processes, inflating server loads, and breaking plugin telemetry used for ensuring compatibility. 'If this work leads to improvements like signed updates or better fallback systems, we're open to that,' she says. 'But it has to be done with the same long-term care that got us here.' The FAIR repository is already live on GitHub and accepting contributions. Whether Automattic will participate remains uncertain; regardless, the project team plans to move forward. 'You're dealing with a community that has had some trust challenges in the past, and they're looking for stability,' says Dolan. 'They're looking for neutrality. They have business that they want to get done.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
FinOps Foundation Launches "FinOps for AI" Training Series and Certification
FinOps for AI helps practitioners manage their accelerating AI spend SAN DIEGO, June 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The FinOps Foundation, a project of the Linux Foundation dedicated to advancing FinOps practitioners, today announced at the annual FinOps X conference the launch of "FinOps Certified: FinOps for AI," the formal training and certification series designed to help FinOps practitioners understand, manage, and optimize AI-related cloud spend. The new training and certification joins the FinOps Foundation's growing portfolio of globally recognized credentials, including FinOps Certified Practitioner and FinOps Certified Professional, which have collectively trained thousands of FinOps practitioners across more than 100 countries. "FinOps teams are being asked to manage accelerating AI spend to allocate its cost, forecast its growth and ultimately show its value back to the business. But the speed and complexity of the data makes this a moving target, and cost overruns in AI can slow innovation when not well managed," said J.R. Storment, Executive Director of the FinOps Foundation. "This new certification provides a structured path to help cloud and FinOps teams gain confidence managing the unique cost dynamics of AI services." FinOps for the Age of AI FinOps Certified: FinOps for AI Certification is a four-part education series for forward-looking FinOps practitioners who want to stay ahead of the curve and lead their organizations through the wave of AI growth with cost management and business value in mind. Content will be released in phases to enable immediate learning and keep pace with an industry that's constantly evolving: Introduction to FinOps for AI - Available immediately FinOps for AI Trained: Level 1 - Available in September 2025 FinOps for AI Trained: Level 2 - Available in November 2025 FinOps for AI Trained: Level 3 - Available in January 2026 The curriculum addresses both foundational and advanced topics, including AI-specific cost allocation, chargeback models, workload optimization, unit economics and sustainability. Practitioners will also learn how to govern AI investments, forecast usage, and align financial strategies with fast-moving AI innovation. After completing the foundation of all three levels, learners will be eligible to take the FinOps Certified: FinOps for AI certification exam starting in March 2026. Certification holders will be able to demonstrate a full understanding of FinOps for AI in time for FinOps X 2026. FinOps Foundation certifications have been adopted by enterprises, consultancies and platform vendors around the world. The addition of FinOps for AI reflects the Foundation's continued mission to advance practitioners as new technologies and new cost challenges emerge. To learn more, please visit About The FinOps FoundationThe FinOps Foundation is a non-profit trade association focused on advancing the people who manage the value of cloud. It is made up of tens of thousands of FinOps practitioners, service providers and cloud technology providers including those in 93 of the Fortune 100. Grounded in real-world stories, the FinOps Foundation delivers connections to peers, certification, and open source best practices through programs like FinOps Certified Practitioner, the annual FinOps X conference, a FinOps Certified Enterprise program, and FOCUS (FinOps Open Cost & Usage Specification). Media Contactpr@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE FinOps Foundation Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Linux Foundation Wins Not-For-Profit and Education Team of the Year at 2025 World Trademark Review Industry Awards
Legal team earns accolade for community-first trademark governance in open source SAN FRANCISCO, June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced it has been named Not-For-Profit and Education Team of the Year at the 2025 World Trademark Review (WTR) Industry Awards. This recognition highlights the Linux Foundation's essential role in protecting the trust, security, and long-term viability of open source software used around the world. Open source software has become the foundation of global digital infrastructure. From operating systems to AI applications, the world runs on open source. As such, the threat of trademark misuse poses a growing risk to the security and sustainability of these critical technologies. The Linux Foundation plays a critical role in protecting more than 1,000 open source projects and communities worldwide. The Foundation's legal team works with projects to identify and mitigate risk, providing brand governance strategies that ensure the credibility and resilience of the open source ecosystem. These actions are essential to the widespread adoption and security of the software supply chain. "We're honored to be recognized by WTR for our ongoing commitment to responsible legal stewardship in open source," said Daniel Scales, Chief Brand Counsel at the Linux Foundation. "Open source adoption is growing, and global organizations are seeing higher business value from open source year after year, making our legal team's role in safeguarding the identity and integrity of open source projects more important than ever." The WTR Industry Awards spotlight the world's leading in-house trademark teams and individuals. The Linux Foundation was nominated alongside top nonprofits, including American Red Cross, American Retirement Association, Rotary International and International Association of Better Business Bureaus. For more on the Linux Foundation's effort to defend open source, check out our blog. To learn more about the Linux Foundation, please visit: About the Linux FoundationThe Linux Foundation is the world's leading home for collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards, and data. Linux Foundation projects are critical to the world's infrastructure, including Linux, Kubernetes, LF Decentralized Trust, ONAP, OpenChain, OpenSSF, PyTorch, RISC-V, SPDX, Zephyr, and more. The Linux Foundation focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at For a list of trademarks of the Linux Foundation, please see its trademark usage page: Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Media ContactAllison StokesThe Linux Foundationpr@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE The Linux Foundation
