RADICALLY OPEN SECURITY BV

Their core work

Radically Open Security is an Amsterdam-based cybersecurity SME that provides security audits, penetration testing, and code reviews specifically for open-source and internet infrastructure projects. Within the NGI Zero programme, they operated as a security mentor and reviewer — helping small teams and individual developers building privacy-enhancing and open internet technologies meet professional security standards. Their work centers on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) security practices, including responsible disclosure, software quality assurance, and accessibility compliance. They are unusual in the security consulting world for combining technical security work with a strong commitment to openness, diversity, and community mentoring.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both of Radically Open Security's H2020 projects started in 2018 and run through the same NGI Zero funding vehicle, so there is no meaningful temporal shift to identify within this dataset — the early and recent keyword sets are effectively identical. Their profile is consistent throughout: security, FOSS, software quality, and community support for open internet projects. Any evolution in their work since 2022 is not visible in H2020 data and would require looking at NGI Entrust or Horizon Europe records.

Their two projects are effectively parallel engagements within the same NGI Zero framework, suggesting they positioned themselves as a standing security services provider for the open internet ecosystem — a role likely to continue in Horizon Europe's NGI successor programmes.

How they like to work

Radically Open Security has never held a coordinator role across their H2020 participation — they join as a specialist partner, contributing defined security services rather than driving project strategy. Their involvement in two concurrent NGI Zero projects with 13 partners across 6 countries suggests they operate comfortably in multi-partner environments as a trusted service node rather than a project manager. Working with them means engaging a focused technical contributor who delivers security reviews and mentoring on request, not an organisation that will carry administrative or consortium-management responsibility.

Their 13 unique consortium partners span 6 countries, almost certainly dominated by the NLnet-led NGI Zero consortia which aggregate many small European open-source projects. Their network is broad in headcount but narrow in structural variety — largely concentrated within the open-internet and FOSS funding ecosystem.

What sets them apart

Radically Open Security occupies a rare niche: a for-profit SME that operates on not-for-profit principles, reinvesting surplus into open-source security research and community work. This makes them a credible, mission-aligned partner for consortia building privacy, FOSS, or digital rights projects — where a purely commercial security vendor would create reputational friction. For consortium builders in the NGI or Horizon Europe digital sovereignty space, they bring both technical security credentials and a community trust that larger consultancies cannot easily replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• NGI0-PET
  The Privacy Enhancing Technologies fund is one of the most prominent NGI Zero instruments, and Radically Open Security's involvement — alongside keywords spanning security, accessibility, copyright, and FOSS — suggests they served as a multi-dimensional quality assurance partner across many grantee projects simultaneously.
• NGI0-Discovery
  Participation in the Discovery strand alongside PET confirms a sustained, programme-level relationship with the NGI Zero infrastructure rather than a one-off project engagement, indicating recognised expertise within that ecosystem.