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We believe all our communities are important.
Mission & Values
Mission and Values.
Why the OpenSSL Corporation exists, and the principles that guide everything we do.
— Mission Statement
We believe everyone should have access to security and privacy tools, whoever they are, wherever they are or whatever their personal beliefs are, as a fundamental human right.
— Why the Corporation exists
A mission is a sentence.
What it costs is a paid staff.
The OpenSSL Library is the world’s most widely deployed cryptographic toolkit — running in operating systems, browsers, payment networks, satellites and regulated medical devices. By a fair count it touches well over half a billion users a day. It is stewarded by a team of around twenty. The Corporation employs them.
500M+
users a day rely on the Library
~20
people steward it — the paid team
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Library, securing the open internet
— Our Values
What we stand for.
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We believe in the principles of open source software, not only for its inherent values but also for the transparency and accountability it provides to our security and privacy tools.
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We believe in behaving in a manner that fosters trust and confidence.
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We believe that our governance and output should be transparent and open.
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We believe that no Government, Organisation or Individual should have undue influence over the delivery of our mission.
In practice: the Foundation and the Corporation are co-equal — either body may say yes; neither may say no to the other. The Advisory Committees are elected from the community. No government, organisation or individual holds undue influence over the mission.
— Five surfaces, one mission
One project, five doors.
The mission is shared by every part of OpenSSL. The work shows up in five places — one room behind them.
i.
The Library
The world’s most widely deployed cryptographic toolkit — in operating systems, browsers, payment networks and regulated devices.
openssl.org ↗ii.
The Corporation
Support, FIPS validation, and engineering. The paid staff who deliver the mission every day.
This site →iii.
The Foundation
Safeguards the project’s independence and keeps the public record.
openssl-foundation.org ↗iv.
The Communities
Business and Technical Advisory Committees, elected from the community to keep the room honest.
Advisory committees →v.
The Mission
Security and privacy as a fundamental human right — stated in public, for everyone.
openssl-mission.org ↗