The OWASP logo is the trademarked identity of the Open Worldwide Application Security Project, a nonprofit that publishes free application-security guidance — and it comes with real usage rules, not an open license to slap it anywhere. People search for the OWASP logo for two reasons: they want to understand what the organization behind the ubiquitous "Top 10" actually is, and they want to know whether they can put the mark on a talk, a vendor page, or a compliance deck. This post answers both.
What OWASP is, and what the "W" now stands for
OWASP is a 501(c)(3) worldwide not-for-profit focused on improving software security. Its outputs — the OWASP Top 10, the Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS), the Cheat Sheet Series, ZAP, Dependency-Check — are free, community-maintained, and vendor-neutral. That neutrality is the whole point of the brand: when a project carries OWASP identity, it signals community stewardship rather than a commercial pitch.
One detail trips people up. In February 2023 the board voted to rename the organization from the Open Web Application Security Project to the Open Worldwide Application Security Project, swapping "Web" for "Worldwide" to reflect that application security now spans APIs, mobile, cloud, and more than just browsers. The acronym stayed OWASP, which is why you will still find both expansions in the wild. If you are writing new material, use "Open Worldwide Application Security Project."
What the wasp mark actually represents
The logo pairs the OWASP wordmark with a stylized wasp inside a circle. The insect is a visual pun on the acronym, and the circular framing is a fixed part of the identity. Per the Foundation's own branding guidelines, the mark is meant to read as a single, recognizable unit — the wordmark and the wasp graphic together — so downstream projects and chapters inherit a consistent look.
The Foundation does allow minimal customization of identity graphics so that chapters, events, and projects can reflect their own character. That flexibility is narrow on purpose. The guidelines explicitly call out "questionable practices" such as changing the circle to a square, altering the angle of the wasp, substituting a non-branded or copyrighted wasp image, or any treatment that alters or obscures the brand. If your redraw makes the wasp unrecognizable or drops the circle, you have left the sandbox.
The trademark rules you actually have to follow
Here is the part that matters for compliance and marketing teams. The OWASP brand is the property of the OWASP Foundation. The right to use the name or logo is granted only if you follow the guidelines, and the Foundation reserves the right to revoke that permission at any time.
Two rules do most of the work in practice:
- No misleading endorsement. The brand must not be used in materials that could mislead readers — for example, implying OWASP endorses a product, or narrowly reinterpreting a broad application-security category to look official. A vendor cannot present "OWASP-certified" or imply the Foundation vouches for its scanner.
- Trademark symbols. When you use the wordmark or logo in a country where the mark is registered, place the registered symbol next to the OWASP wordmark and next to the "OWASP" portion of the logo. Elsewhere, use the trademark symbol. Certain uses require a special arrangement with the Foundation directly.
For most companies the safe pattern is: reference OWASP materials by name (linking to the OWASP Top 10, for instance) without reproducing the logo, and reserve actual logo use for cases where you have confirmed you are inside the guidelines or have arranged permission.
Using OWASP resources honestly in security content
Because the marks are protected, the value you extract from OWASP is almost always the content, not the graphic. Cite the Top 10 categories by their identifiers (A01:2021 Broken Access Control, and so on), map your findings to ASVS levels, and link to the canonical pages on owasp.org. That is both more useful to readers and free of trademark risk.
If you build security tooling, aligning your output to OWASP taxonomies is genuinely helpful — it gives users a shared vocabulary. A scanner that labels an injection finding with the relevant OWASP category is easier to triage than one that invents its own scheme. Just describe the alignment factually ("mapped to OWASP Top 10") rather than dressing it up as an endorsement. If you are new to the categories, our security academy breaks down each Top 10 entry with examples.
Common mistakes to avoid
The recurring errors are predictable. Teams recolor the wasp to match a slide theme and lose the branded look. Marketing pages imply certification that does not exist. Presenters grab a high-resolution logo from an image search — often an outdated version with the old "Web" wordmark — and reproduce it without the trademark symbol. And projects fork the identity graphic so aggressively that the circle-and-wasp is gone entirely.
None of these are catastrophic, but they are avoidable, and the Foundation's guidance is short enough to read in ten minutes. When in doubt, cite the name and link the resource instead of embedding the mark.
FAQ
What does the OWASP logo's wasp symbolize?
It is a visual pun on the acronym OWASP, framed inside a circle that is treated as an integral part of the mark. The Foundation's guidelines discourage altering the wasp's angle, replacing it with a non-branded image, or removing the circular frame.
Can I use the OWASP logo on my company website?
Only within the Foundation's branding guidelines, and never in a way that implies endorsement or certification. Many uses require a special arrangement with the OWASP Foundation. When unsure, reference OWASP by name and link to owasp.org rather than reproducing the logo.
Why is OWASP sometimes "Open Web" and sometimes "Open Worldwide"?
The organization rebranded in February 2023, changing "Web" to "Worldwide" to reflect a scope beyond browser-based applications. The acronym did not change, so older materials still show the "Open Web Application Security Project" expansion.
Is OWASP content free to use even if the logo is restricted?
Yes. OWASP publishes its standards, cheat sheets, and tools freely for the community. The trademark restrictions apply to the name and logo as brand identity, not to referencing or applying the guidance itself.