# Open source is a virus — Philippe Ombredanne

**URL:** <https://discourse.ossbase.org/t/open-source-is-a-virus-philippe-ombredanne/669>\
**Category:** 2025 talks / workshops\
**Tags:** 2025, talk, hacklu\
**Created:** [August 26, 2025, 8:55am UTC](https://discourse.ossbase.org/t/open-source-is-a-virus-philippe-ombredanne/669 "2025-08-26T08:55:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![system](https://discourse.ossbase.org/uploads/default/original/1X/4713f3d4fec85f7513775fc2dd36f548a49f8faa.jpeg) [@system](https://discourse.ossbase.org/u/system)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2025, 8:55am UTC](https://discourse.ossbase.org/t/open-source-is-a-virus-philippe-ombredanne/669/1 "2025-08-26T08:55:44Z")

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**Join us at hack.lu 2025 — [Info & Registration](https://2025.hack.lu/info/)**

**Duration:** 30 min  
  
**Type:** Talk  
  
**Speakers:** Philippe Ombredanne

**Abstract**

Discover how we hacked YARA and built rules to effectively detect open source software sources and binaries as if it were malware, using rules that you can generate on demand for fun and profit, and integrate software composition analysis with malware hunting!

**Description**

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer once said that Linux and open source was a cancer. But “developers, developers, developers !!!” know that Linux and open source are not a cancer, but a virus because you can use virus scanning techniques and tools to discover (vulnerable) open source software 🙂

We hacked YARA to build rules and more effectively detect open source software sources and binaries as if it were malware, generating rules on demand for fun and profit, and integrate software composition analysis with malware hunting!

[View on pretalx](https://pretalx.com/hack-lu-2025/talk/PVSLFP/)

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**Author:** ![adulau](https://discourse.ossbase.org/user_avatar/discourse.ossbase.org/adulau/32/6_2.png) [@adulau](https://discourse.ossbase.org/u/adulau)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://discourse.ossbase.org/t/open-source-is-a-virus-philippe-ombredanne/669/2 "2025-10-22T14:35:16Z")

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Video available

[![](https://discourse.ossbase.org/uploads/default/original/1X/ae7325af114012ac49ec23d53ceb1dbb40476bdc.jpeg "Open Source Is A Virus - Philippe Ombredanne & Prabhu Subramanian") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H56WqnRxf-g)