CopperheadOS and the business importance of source availability
Copperhead believes in the spirit of Open-Source and source-available software both as an ideal business relationship and as a way to reach the greater software development community. Source-available software is often defined as sources being provided through arrangements as opposed to proprietary code that is deliberately obfuscated from viewing, editing and distributing. There are benefits to both types of code distribution, however, Copperhead as a company has always stood by it's commitment to source-availability. Copperhead firmly believes that code that can be reproducible without any interaction from the vendor provides an easier access to the product - ideal for beginning a trustworthy business relationship. Organisations can benefit by controlling and building from source, by retaining sole access to their signing keys and managing their own technology in relation to internal company policy. This is a win-win for us and our customers: we are both on the same page when it's time to create a pilot project or proof of concept.
CopperheadOS has been proudly source-available since we announced it's release over 4 years ago (time has really flown by!). With the CopperheadOS source code, and our widely cited documentation for building CopperheadOS, you can build your very own images of CopperheadOS. These step-by-step guides will walk you through the process of compiling the source code for CopperheadOS, building images, and flashing those images onto supported devices. Source-availability and building reproducability is important for us as a vendor - but what about the organisations who want the next step? We've been involved in various commercial CopperheadOS deployment scenarios over the years, such as:
- The non-profit that has donated hardware but requires expert Android support
- The white-label OEM device that needs CopperheadOS exclusive security
- The corporation with extensive security integration requirements
- The activist group that doesn't trust anyone and wants to anonymously maintain a secure mobile platform
- The government agency with stringent compliance requirements..
.. and many more. We can never take for granted just how many different ways our code can be used and distributed. We fully understand the importance of having the right hands-on approach to our product builders: which is why we are proud to introduce our Community Builders Initiative.
How CBI can help you
The Community Builders Initiative is an advanced training channel to be used as a second step to individuals and organisations who want to further explore opportunities presented by their own CopperheadOS deployment. Along our 5 year journey we've gained invaluable experience on where obstacles could arise for organisations looking to self-build and manage their own (secure) Android. CBI aims to bridge the gap between where organisations/individuals end up after building CopperheadOS and Copperhead's extensive field knowledge on the product. By doing so, we believe this will further stabilise the product to the benefit of everyone.
Let's build a great solution together!
CBI Benefits
Joining is easy. Email us - after you've read and met our requirements.
CBI members receive:
- Support channel access
- 3 free commercial licenses for demo/testing purposes
- Policy assistance for internal organisation deployments
- Usage tips and integration guides for the latest security software
- Feature request votes
What if I don't want to join CBI?
No problem 😎
Some people prefer the convenience of buying our official CopperheadOS releases. Some people can't or don't want to communicate with us. Some people just want to be self-grown builders and do things on their own. That's all okay by us. We're happy people worldwide benefit from Copperhead's technology irregardless of their relation to us. That's why we're doing this in the first place - for the safety of our users no matter their background or financial capability, for the distribution of privacy-respecting technology and for those hackers who want to build something on their own without outside help. You do you and We'll keep making a great product as long as the world needs it. 👍