The notoriously secretive National Security Agency has decided to dip a careful toeinto the open source software world by launching an official GitHub page.

The page, which appeared recently, lists 32 NSA-developed technologies that the agency is making available viaOpen Source Software (some are still coming soon). These range from projects like goSecure, a portable Virtual Private Network solution, to Unfetter, a technology that provides a mechanism for network defenders, security professionals, and decision makers to quantitatively measure the effectiveness of their security posture, and beyond.

Much of the technology listed, though, is quite old. For example, one code repository included is forSecurity Enhanced Linux (SELinux), an access control mechanism that has been part of the Linux kernel sinceversion 2.6.0,released in 2003. Another repository containing security enhancements for Android has been a part of Androids operating system since version4.3, which dates back to 2013.

The new GitHub presence is part of the NSAsTechnology Transfer Program, the mechanism by which the military spy agency licenses patented technology for developmentin the private sector space. The NSAspresence on GitHub will allow the developer community to use and contribute to the posted code. Its a win-win, the agency says the public benefits by adopting, enhancing, adapting, or commercializing the software, the site declares. The government benefits from the open source communitys enhancements to the technology.

The NSA has become more amenable to a presence on the social web in recent years. The agency launched a Twitter account in 2013, at a time when it was working to repair its public imagein the wake of the Edward Snowden leaks. Some see the GitHub page as an extension of this attemptto build public goodwill.

The NSA is far from the only federal agency onGitHub the San Francisco-based company lists134 federal government accountsand 11U.S. military and intelligence accounts.

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The NSA is now sharing a bunch of code on GitHub - FedScoop