[Openvas-discuss] idea: Contest 'Best advances for OpenVAS Network Vulnerability Tests'

[Jan-Oliver Wagner]

Hi,

how about arranging a Contest 'Best advances for OpenVAS Network Vulnerability Tests'
in order to make OpenVAS more known, get people to look on how to implement
further NVTs or in other ways implement ideas to improve OpenVAS?

What I am having in mind is something like this (just quickly drafted and
entirely open for suggestions how to change or extend or entirely
rewrite it):

"""
Contest: Best advances for OpenVAS Network Vulnerability Tests

The OpenVAS Team (Open Vulnerbility Assessment System, [1])
calls for submission of patches, scripts, converters
or anything else that significantly improves the OpenVAS framework
for extendedOpen Source Network Vulnerability Testing.

Basically your are free to choose the actual area of improvements,
examples are:

 * New .nasl scripts for recent security alerts
 * NASL libraries for simplifying development of new test scripts
 * Converter routines that (semi-)automatically create NASL
    scripts from formal security alerts.
 * Performance improvements for the current tests.
 
There are arbitrary other ways to extend/improve the OpenVAS
test routines.
The only hard requirement is that your solution is published
as Free Software under GNU GPLv2+.

Current winner prices are (the amount might increase because
additional sponsors are welcome to add to the price as along as
the contest is open):

 1: 500 Euro
 2: 300 Euro
 3: 100 Euro

The sponsors and OpenVAS steering team will jointly choose the winners
inspired by these criteria:

 * number of CVEs/BIDs covered
 * relevance of the covered alerts
 * sustainable future benefit (e.g. in the case of supporting APIs)
 * how well the development was coordinated via the public OpenVAS
    mailing lists (teams may win as well)
 * code quality (documentation, design, style)

Contest sponsors are (sorted by sponsored amount):

 * Intevation GmbH, www.intevation.net

Time table:

2008-07-01: Contest started
2008-09-30: Contest closes
2007-10-15: Winners nominated

How to participate:

 * express you wish to participate on the OpenVAS mailing list
    and what you plan to work on
 * summarize you contribution before contests closes

[1] www.openvas.org
"""


Maybe we can get some press on board to support such a contest?

What do you think?
Stupid idea?
Unrealisitic to find enough people?

Best

	Jan

-- 
Dr. Jan-Oliver Wagner                        Intevation GmbH, Osnabrück
Amtsgericht Osnabrück, HR B 18998             http://www.intevation.de/
Geschäftsführer: Frank Koormann, Bernhard Reiter, Dr. Jan-Oliver Wagner