Editing Open-source software (section)

=== Government uses ===
While many governments are interested in implementing and promoting open-source software due to the many benefits provided, a huge issue to be considered is [[cybersecurity]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Pannier |first=Alice |title=Software Power: The Economic and Geopolitical Implications of Open Source Software |publisher=Études de l'Ifri |year=2022 |isbn=979-10-373-0641-8}}</ref> While accidental vulnerabilities are possible, so are attacks by outside agents.<ref name=":8" /> Because of these fears, governmental interest in contributing to the governance of software has become more prominent.<ref name=":8" /> However, these are the broad strokes of the issue, with each country having their own specific politicized interactions with open-source software and their goals for its implementation.<ref name=":8" /> For example, the United States has focused on [[national security]] in regard to open-source software implementation due to the perceived threat of the increase of open-source software activity in countries like China and Russia, with the Department of Defense considering multiple criteria for using OSS.<ref name=":8" /> These criteria include: if it comes from and is maintained by trusted sources, whether it will continue to be maintained, if there are dependencies on sub-components in the software, component security and integrity, and foreign governmental influence.<ref name=":8" />

Another issue for governments in regard to open source is their investments in technologies such as [[operating system]]s, [[semiconductor]]s, [[Cloud computing|cloud]], and [[artificial intelligence]].<ref name=":8" /> These technologies all have implications for global cooperation, again opening up security issues and political consequences.<ref name=":8" /> Many countries have to balance technological innovation with technological dependence in these partnerships.<ref name=":8" /> For example, after China's open-source dependent company [[Huawei]] was prevented from using [[Android (operating system)|Google's Android system]] in 2019, they began to create their own alternative operating system: [[HarmonyOS|Harmony OS]].<ref name=":8" />

Germany recently established a [[Sovereign Tech Fund]], to help support the governance and maintenance of the software that they use.