"Open source software makes up a large number of key internet services," says Von Welch, director of CACR. "These services are key in terms of both the internet’s reliability and our security, but are often maintained by small numbers of volunteers."
ICEI formed to address the reality that too much of the internet's infrastructure is supported by too few people. The organization's mission is to support the development and stewardship of reliable, secure, and open source internet infrastructure software. In particular, ICEI focuses on the software underlying the internet's critical functions, modernizing it and future-proofing it by providing developer resources and expertise.
"The skill and manpower crisis in internet infrastructure software is formidable," said Andrew Kirch, chairman of the ICEI board. "CACR's support is invaluable in overcoming these challenges to preserve a reliable, secure, and open internet for everyone. We're happy to be working with CACR."
ICEI and CACR have a rich history of working together. They previously collaborated on a new version of the Network Time Protocol (NTP). Like too much of the internet's infrastructure, NTP was out-of-date and increasingly vulnerable. One part-time person supported the critical time-keeping
Susan Sons, ICEI president/hacker-in-chief and CACR senior systems analyst, led the NTP rescue. Under Sons' leadership, ICEI and CACR took control of the project, overhauled the code, and created a stable organization for ongoing maintenance. The result is a new – meaning robust, secure, stable, and sustainable – version of NTP. (For more, read Cory Doctorow's coverage on Boing Boing.)
Over the next three years, ICEI and CACR will help provide much-needed stability to internet software projects. CACR will support Susan Sons' time to act as