The largest technology companies have joined forces, creating an initiative that will attempt to prevent the emergence of a new security flaw, such as the recent Heartbleed.
More specifically, Amazon, Cisco, Dell, Facebook, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NetApp, Qualcomm, Rockspace and VMware created the "Core Infrastructure Initiative", an initiative that will undertake the funding and support of open source software creators.
The initiative was announced by the non-profit Linux Foundation, which also organized it. The amount each participant will contribute was not announced, but Reuters reported that each company will contribute $300,000.
The money raised will support the development of secure open source software, which is a key component of the Internet and technological advancement.
As Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, notes, many of the creators of such applications do not have the necessary funding to support their work.
It is worth noting that Heartbleed was one of the largest security flaws in the history of the Internet. The problem was caused by a line of code in the open-source OpenSSL software, which 66% of web servers rely on to encrypt data.
The vulnerability in OpenSSL essentially meant that cryptographic keys, which ensure that all users' "secret" passwords and credentials are transmitted securely, could be intercepted by a web server without being noticed. The Heartbleed bug existed in OpenSSL for more than two years before it was discovered and publicly announced.
