Digital Sovereignty

Portugal’s (Open Source) Advantage: Software Paradox

December 5, 2025

The reduction of reliance on foreign entities is crucial for ensuring Portugal’s digital autonomy and security, particularly within strategic technological sectors. Excessive external dependency heightens geopolitical, economic, and security risk, affecting the protection of data, continued access to technologies, and the capacity for autonomous innovation.

While Portugal faces significant challenges in achieving technological independence, one attribute stands out as highly positive: the adoption of open source software.

The Power of Open Source

An analysis of the technology stack exposed to the internet within the national cyberspace sample revealed a significant predominance of free software. The data shows that 72.5% of the identified technologies are open source software. This scenario offers substantial benefits for national technological sovereignty:

Total Control in Extremis: The open nature of the code guarantees the possibility of achieving total control over the technology in an extreme scenario, regardless of the contractual or operational context.
Reduced Costs: Open source software typically does not require licensing, resulting in potential savings for the State, companies, and citizens, allowing resources to be reallocated toward development and innovation.
Greater Autonomy: Widespread use of open source reduces vulnerability to changes in licensing policies, costs, or support from proprietary companies, granting greater control over technological infrastructures.
Increased Security and Transparency: Access to the source code enables deeper and continuous auditing, which helps identify and correct security vulnerabilities more efficiently.
Stimulus to Innovation: The ability to inspect, modify, and distribute the source code encourages the development of internal technological competencies and the creation of solutions adapted to national needs.

open source

The Critical Geopolitical Problem of Proprietary Software

Despite the strong position in open source adoption, the remaining 27.5% of proprietary software demands attention.

An analysis of the geographical location of the headquarters and suppliers of this proprietary software reveals an alarming dependency, reinforcing the reality that it carries disproportionate strategic weight. This can be an indicator of technological vulnerability:

0.1% of proprietary software originates from companies headquartered in Portugal.
17.5% originate from Europe.
82.4% originates from the Rest of the World (RoW).

This overwhelming dependency on foreign proprietary solutions carries implications such as:

Geopolitical and Security Risk: The reliance on non-European providers exposes the nation to risks related to export policies, economic sanctions, or even potential security vulnerabilities implemented for espionage or sabotage.
Limited Control: When software companies are based outside the country, control over development, maintenance, and licensing is reduced, hindering adaptation to specific national regulatory requirements.
Economic Drain: Investment in foreign proprietary software represents a capital outflow with minimal return to the local economy in terms of job creation or intellectual property development.

Conclusion

While robust open source usage is a promising path toward technological autonomy, the high dependence on foreign proprietary solutions for critical systems must be strategically addressed to mitigate residual risks.

Join the conversation: How should Portuguese CISOs balance operational efficiency with digital sovereignty?