Meshed-Microserver Solutions
This repository and all applications within it are dual-licensed under the terms of the Qompass Commercial Distribution Agreement (CDA) and GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0) licenses.
The dual licensing aims to address the cybersecurity gap that disproportionately affects underserved populations. As highlighted by recent attacks1, low-income residents, seniors, and foreign language speakers face higher-than-average risks of being victims of cyber attacks. By offering both open-source and commercial licensing options, we encourage the development of cybersecurity solutions that can reach these vulnerable groups while also enabling sustainable development and support.
The AGPL-3.0 license ensures that any modifications to the software remain open source, preventing bad actors from creating closed-source variants that could be used for exploitation. This is especially crucial given the rising threats to vulnerable communities, including children in educational settings. The attack on Minneapolis Public Schools, which resulted in the leak of 300,000 files and a $1 million ransom demand, highlights the importance of transparency and security2).
The commercial license option allows for tailored solutions in critical sectors such as healthcare, which has seen significant impacts from cyberattacks. For example, the recent Change Healthcare attack3 affected millions of Americans and caused widespread disruption for hospitals and other providers.
The dual licensing model supports initiatives like theCybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) efforts to improve cybersecurity awareness4 in "target rich" sectors, including K-12 education. By allowing both open-source and commercial use, we aim to facilitate the development of tools that support these critical awareness and protection efforts.
The unfortunate reality is that a number of individuals and organizations have gone into a frenzy in every facet of our daily lives5. These unfortunate folks identify themselves with their talk of "10X" returns and building towards Artificial General Intelligence aka "AGI" whiel offering GPT wrappers. Our dual licensing approach aims to acknkowledge this deeply concerning predatory paradigm witih clear eyes while still doing operating to bring the best parts of the open-source community with our services and solutions.
Recent attacks underscore the importance of robust cybersecurity measures:
- The Change Healthcare cyberattack in February 20243 affected millions of Americans and caused significant disruption to healthcare providers.
- The White House and Congress jointly designated October as Cybersecurity Awareness Month6. This designation comes with over 100 actions that align the Federal government and public/private sector partners are taking to help every man, woman, and child to safely navigate the age of AI.
By offering both open-source and commercial licensing options, we strive to create a balance that promotes innovation and accessibility while also providing the necessary resources and flexibility to address the complex cybersecurity challenges faced by vulnerable populations and critical infrastructure sectors.
Footnotes
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International Counter Ransomware Initiative 2024 Joint Statement ↩
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Minneapolis school district says data breach affected more than 100,000 people ↩
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The Top 10 Health Data Breaches of the First Half of 2024 ↩ ↩2
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Federal Trade Commission Operation AI Comply: continuing the crackdown on overpromises and AI-related lies ↩