OWASP Candidate Debate - 2025 Edition

What should OWASP become, and which leaders have a credible plan to get it there? In this special 2025 Board of Directors candidate debate, nine candidates present their qualifications and answer the same questions about OWASP's future. The discussion tests concrete ideas for expanding education, improving global and chapter outreach, strengthening project support, finding sustainable funding, and making the Foundation's impact easier to measure. Candidates identify where OWASP performs well, where it falls short, and how they would balance ambitious programs against limited staff and volunteer capacity. Closing statements give each participant a final opportunity to define their priorities. The result is a direct comparison designed to help OWASP members make an informed choice before voting.

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Connect with OWASP:
→ OWASP Foundation
→ 2025 Global Board Elections

Mentioned in this episode:
→ OWASP 2025 Global Board Elections
→ OWASP Global Board Candidates
→ OWASP Foundation
→ OWASP Dependency-Check
→ OWASP Dependency-Track
→ OWASP CycloneDX
→ OWASP Nettacker
→ OWASP ASVS
→ OWASP Security Champions Guide

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Chapters:
00:00 The 2025 OWASP candidate debate
01:22 Debate format and opening question
02:24 Candidates introduce themselves
13:50 Sam Stepanian's introduction
16:05 Arunesh Salhotra's introduction
18:17 Arvind Janardhanan's introduction
22:02 How should OWASP increase its impact?
28:12 Comparing ideas for greater impact
31:59 What is OWASP doing poorly?
35:27 Project support and Foundation operations
38:57 Using data to increase influence
41:19 Indexing projects and regional review
44:01 Should OWASP grow more chapters?
48:43 A regional ambassador program
51:50 How would candidates fund their plans?
55:03 Corporate support and new funding
58:52 Candidate closing statements
64:37 Education as an OWASP priority
68:05 Debate conclusion