As many of you are aware we have undergone a lot of internal organisation changes within the OpenSSL Project in the last couple of years, one of the key changes being the introduction of the OpenSSL Working Group.

In the February 2023 face-to-face meeting we decided to create the OpenSSL Working Group in an effort to be more efficient at addressing and executing on decisions made.

The WG was formed as an initiative to include more people into the OpenSSL decision making process and organize a place where OMC members, engineering, management, paid team members, and invited third parties all meet together and tackle urgent issues together and in a timely manner.

As a result we have been able to for the first time ever in the history of OpenSSL come close to hitting a committed release date, we had initially aimed for an October release and we got it out in early November. Now as we have moved on to a time-based release schedule, the Working Group has been keeping us on track to have our April release date.

Other things the Working Group has guided the project on include:

• Providers Workshop
• Creation of regular webinars and a YouTube channel
• Improved Documentation - OpenSSL Onboarding Documents, OpenSSL Flyers, OpenSSL Banners etc
• Regular updates on the internal workings of the project via project board, blogs, and email
• Hosted a stand at FOSDEM
• Celebrating our 25 year anniversary with our contributors and community members
• And much more!

To get a more in-depth look into what the Working Group is working on every week please take a look at our public project board where we track almost every issue publicly, minus a couple items that require privacy. The working group has proven instrumental in increasing trust and confidence in the project by making sure decisions are made in a timely manner so that the OpenSSL Project can gain a reputation of being a reliable and sustainable open source project.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at feedback@openssl.org