As someone who covers open source extensively I am constantly (and happily) amazed how widespread open source has become -- from industry to governments of some of the most powerful countries.

Yesterday the Obama administration released for public comment a draft Federal Source Code policy to support improved access to custom software code. The US government is inviting comments on the draft especially around “considerations regarding the release of custom code as OSS.”

This policy requires that, among other things: (1) new custom code whose development is paid for by the Federal Government be made available for reuse across Federal agencies; and (2) a portion of that new custom code be released to the public as Open Source Software (OSS).

“The U.S. Government is confirming a truth that the tech industry has been building upon for two decades: open source software and development result in more innovation more quickly," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of The Linux Foundation, in an email. "This is how today's most most cutting-edge and critical infrastructure is being built. We are happy to see the government take another step towards transparency and efficiency through its use of open source and are looking forward to our next steps on the Cybersecurity National Action Plan, in which the Core Infrastructure Initiative and the White House will be working together to better secure Internet utilities through openness."

http://www.cio.com/article/3043544/open-source-tools/the-white-house-opens-its-doors-to-open-source.html