Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), an Associated Partner of the Charter of Trust, published a collection of use cases on open source software (OSS) security management that reflects the relevance of Charter of Trust Principles.

Considering its high potential for products and services, open source software (OSS) is nowadays being used on a large scale across various industries. With its source code open to the public, OSS can be used, modified, and redistributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. It is, however, crucial that software security is ensured.

For this purpose, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), an Associated Partner of the Charter of Trust, set up the Task Force Evaluating Software Management Methods, etc. toward Ensuring Cyber/Physical Security in 2019, which found that companies faced various challenges with OSS security management. METI now published a collection of use cases that can help companies get a better understanding of how to maintain high standards of cybersecurity when using OSS. The collection includes use cases from major companies including CoT Partner NTT as well as Fujitsu, Hitachi, NEC, Olympus, Sony, Toshiba, and Toyota.

Various Charter of Trust Principles are reflected in METI’s collection, illustrating their relevance for software security: In line with Principle 2 “Responsibility throughout the digital supply chain”, OSS security management can make supply chains safer. Moreover, use cases play a key role in making cybersecurity concepts more tangible and actionable across industries. This is at the heart of CoT’s Principle 6 “Education”, which aims to lead the transformation of skills essential to the future of cybersecurity. In addition, the Charter’s Principle 7 “Certification for critical infrastructure and solutions” discusses how to address OSS as part of certification schemes.

You can access METI’s use case collection here.

You may also like

Contribution to the EU Commission Public Consultation on the revision of the Cybersecurity Act
icon External Engagement

Contribution to the EU Commission Public Consultation on the revision of the Cybersecurity Act

The Charter of Trust welcomes the opportunity to participate in the European Commission’s public consultation on the revision of the Cybersecurity Act. As a coalition united by the goal of strengthening digital trust, we are pleased to share our consolidated response and recommendations.

We support Policy Option 2, which focuses on targeted regulatory measures that address key challenges without creating unnecessary complexity. In this context, we emphasize the need to enhance the role and resources of ENISA, to ensure effective implementation of both current legislation and the European Cybersecurity Certification Framework (ECCF).

Our recommendations aim to improve transparency, collaboration, and efficiency across the EU’s cybersecurity landscape. These include:

- Introducing clear timelines for the development of certification schemes.

- Enhancing stakeholder engagement throughout the process.

- Establishing more structured communication channels between ENISA, the Stakeholder Cybersecurity Certification Group (SCCG), and sectoral ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centers).

We call for a stronger ECCF, one that is transparent, inclusive, and aligned with international standards to foster global interoperability and ease compliance for organizations across borders. Equally critical is the harmonization of certification practices across EU member states and the mutual recognition of certifications to minimize regulatory fragmentation.

The Charter of Trust advocates for technically robust, standards-based certification schemes, with well-defined roles and responsibilities. We also stress the need for clarity on the interplay between voluntary and mandatory certifications, particularly in relation to the upcoming Cyber Resilience Act (CRA).

To streamline compliance and reduce administrative burden, we propose a unified, risk-based incident reporting regime that consolidates requirements under regulations such as NIS2, CRA, GDPR, and DORA. This would not only simplify reporting for organizations but also enhance the EU’s overall cyber resilience. In addition, we recommend incorporating liability protections and grace periods for incident disclosure.

Finally, we urge the Commission to strengthen supply chain security by adopting a risk-based classification approach and establishing baseline cybersecurity requirements for ICT suppliers.

The Charter of Trust remains fully committed to supporting the European Commission in shaping a secure, resilient, and trusted digital future for Europe. We look forward to continued collaboration in building a cybersecurity framework that meets the needs of all stakeholders, today and in the years to come.
June 19, 2025
Advancing Regulatory Alignment at RSA Conference 2025
icon External Engagement

Advancing Regulatory Alignment at RSA Conference 2025

In the face of rising global cyber threats, over 50 CISOs have called for greater international alignment of cybersecurity regulations to strengthen defenses and reduce fragmentation. This message was echoed at RSAC 2025, where experts from the OECD, European Commission, academia, and industry emphasized the need for principle-based collaboration. The Charter of Trust, a long-time advocate for regulatory harmonization, continues to support coordinated, effective approaches that prioritize clarity over complexity.
May 01, 2025
Richards Skalt takes over the Advocacy Workstream
icon External Engagement

Richards Skalt takes over the Advocacy Workstream

We are delighted to welcome Richard Skalt, Advocacy Manager at TÜV SÜD, as the new Leader of the Advocacy Workstream at the Charter of Trust. Richard steps into the role following María del Pino González-Junco, who recently assumed the position of Chair of the Global External Engagement Working Group.

With a strong background in advocacy and a forward-looking vision, Richard brings renewed energy to our mission of shaping a secure digital future. As he puts it:

“My motivation is to preserve and build upon the strong foundation of advocacy activities we’ve developed over the past years. At the same time, I’m committed to ensuring we’re in a position to shape the policies that will define how our business model and operations evolve in the future – including the cybersecurity of products and systems, the use, deployment, and distribution of robust AI solutions, as well as cloud security and secure datacenters.”

In a world defined by accelerating digital transformation and increasingly complex regulatory challenges, principled leadership and effective collaboration are more vital than ever. Under Richard’s leadership, the Advocacy Workstream will continue to engage policymakers, raise public awareness, and strengthen education around key issues such as cybersecurity, AI governance, and secure digital infrastructures.
April 29, 2025