Comcast Innovation Fund supports work on DTLSv1.3

We are pleased to share that the OpenSSL Foundation has received an open-source development grant from the Comcast Innovation Fund to support our work on the DTLSv1.3 feature.

DTLS is a secure transport protocol that is particularly important for live video streaming. The OpenSSL Library currently implements DTLS versions 1.0 and 1.2. The specification for DTLSv1.2 was published in 2012 and is now quite old. In 2022, the Internet Engineering Task Force published the specification for DTLSv1.3, which is a major update that implements numerous improvements. For example, it is only through DTLSv1.3 that live video streaming applications will have access to post-quantum cryptographic security and privacy features.

An external contributor to the OpenSSL project began work on the DTLS1.3 feature in 2023, but progress has been slowed by the lack of available engineering resources to review the submitted contributions. Comcast’s grant provides essential funding for us to dedicate engineering time to this important feature.

Comcast is committed to open source software. In 2013, they established the Comcast Innovation Fund to contribute to the betterment of the internet and the continued evolution of connectivity products and services. By supporting projects like our work on DTLSv1.3, Comcast is playing a vital role in shaping the future of digital communication.

Jason Livingood, Vice President for Technology Policy, Products & Standards at Comcast, stated, “OpenSSL is a critical part of the internet’s infrastructure, and supporting the development of DTLSv1.3 will have significant benefit to the internet and broadband industries. We are pleased to be able to provide financial support for this initiative.”

If you want to join Comcast as part of the OpenSSL Foundation’s growing community of supporters, join our Code Protectors corporate sponsorship program or reach out to us about other ways to give. We welcome contributions from anyone who shares our goal of providing data privacy and security tools to everyone, everywhere.