The OWASP Foundation Celebrates 20th Anniversary
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Colorado Springs, April 21, 2024 – Although the OWASP community is 23 years old, today the OWASP Foundation proudly commemorates its 20th year in operation, marking two decades of unwavering commitment to securing the digital landscape. As a global leader in open-source information, industry-leading projects, and a thriving community of peers, OWASP has left an indelible mark on application security and DevSecOps.
OWASP operated solely as an informal open community of like-minded individuals from September 2001 until April 21, 2004, when Jeff Williams and Dave Wichers formed the OWASP Foundation, Inc. in Delaware. Non-profit status by the IRS followed shortly after.
The OWASP Foundation is the literal foundation for all that has come since – being the home of the most impactful application security projects, such as the OWASP Top 10, Cheat Sheets, Application Security Verification Standard, and more, hosting massive events and training on multiple continents every year, established hundreds of chapters globally, having nearly eight thousand members worldwide, more than a hundred thousand regular participants, thousands of local and regional events, as well as hosting one of the largest Slack communities on the planet.
“We all blindly trust software with the most important things in our lives – our finances, healthcare, government, elections, utilities, and even our social life,” said Jeff Williams, creator of the OWASP Top Ten and first global chair of OWASP. “For 20 years, the diverse and talented OWASP community has worked to ensure that this software is secure. However, despite 20 years of amazing people, projects, meetings, and conferences, we are still in the stone age. The software world has rocketed ahead with new languages, architectures, processes, tools, and technologies. The challenge of securing software increases exponentially with software criticality, connectivity, and complexity – and OWASP stands as a beacon of hope in an unrelenting storm of vulnerabilities and attacks. (Jeff Williams)
“Working with and helping grow OWASP has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve done during my professional career, and I continue to support it to this day. I’m amazed to see what was ‘a few people on a mailing list’ in 2002 has evolved into, and I’m honored to have helped it grow into what it is today. Jeff and I created all three of the OWASP Flagship projects mentioned above, and I’m amazed at how other OWASP members have taken up all three of those projects, and continue to evolve and maintain them as some of the most visible and popular OWASP projects to this day.” (Dave Wichers)
“When I joined the OWASP community in late 2001. I had no idea back then that my involvement with OWASP would continue for most of my adult working life nor that I would get the opportunity to lead the Foundation,” says Andrew van der Stock, Executive Director of the OWASP Foundation. “I remember the early OWASP hotbed with big, hairy, audacious goals and amazing ideas. Forming the Foundation in 2004 allowed OWASP to grow tremendously over the last 20 years and advance our mission in ways our founders could only imagine. It’s been a wild ride. I hope OWASP will continue to grow, challenge outdated security practices, and lead the world into a more secure and private future.”
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About the OWASP Foundation
Our vision - “No more insecure software.”
The Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) is a nonprofit foundation that works to improve software security. Our programming includes:
- Community-led open-source projects, including code, documentation, and standards
- Over 250+ local chapters worldwide
- Tens of thousands of members and participants
- Industry-leading educational and training conferences
We are an open community dedicated to enabling organizations to conceive, develop, acquire, operate, and maintain applications that can be trusted. Our projects, tools, documents, forums, and chapters are free and open to anyone interested in improving application security. The OWASP Foundation launched on December 1st, 2001, becoming incorporated as a United States non-profit charity on April 21, 2004.
Corporations, foundations, developers, and volunteers have supported the OWASP Foundation and its work for two decades. Donate, become a Member, or a Corporate Supporter today.
Media Contact
For further inquiries or to schedule an interview with Andrew van der Stock, please contact:
Andrew van der Stock
Executive Director, [email protected], +1 510 697 9315
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