In the past few weeks alone, we’ve seen a surge in supply chain attacks, increasingly sophisticated social engineering, and even nation-state actors targeting maintainers. What used to feel like a niche concern is now a daily reality for teams building with open source.

In this conversation, Socket CEO Feross Aboukhadijeh joins 10 Minutes or Less, a podcast by Ali Rohde, General Partner at Outset Capital, to break down what’s happening right now, from how the Axios backdoor attack unfolded to why traditional security approaches are struggling to keep up.

If you’ve been following these incidents on the Socket blog, this conversation dips into the broader context behind them and where things may be heading next.

Topics they cover:

• How the Axios backdoor unfolded and what it revealed about maintainer vulnerability
• How AI is reshaping both attacks and defenses
• Why modern software depends on code no one has time to review
• The tragedy of the commons problem at the heart of open source sustainability
• What open source might look like in five years as AI agents flood maintainer inboxes

Check out the full episode below: