Suzy Greenberg Discusses the Importance of Transparency and Security Assurance

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TechSpective Podcast Episode 052

Companies depend on technology. It really doesn’t matter what a company actually does today–even companies that are not “tech” companies rely on technology in some way, shape, or form for day-to-day communications, operations, accounting, and other functions. With so much riding on technology, businesses need access to relevant details and information about the relative security of the devices they buy. Intel provides this sort of visibility for customers with a new report developed in cooperation with the Ponemon Institute: The Role of Transparency and Security Assurance in Driving Technology Decision-Making.

Some of the key findings of the report, shared in the press release announcing the report, include:

• Seventy-three percent of respondents say their organization is more likely to purchase technologies and services from technology providers that proactively find, mitigate and communicate security vulnerabilities. Forty-eight percent say their technology providers don’t offer this capability.
• Seventy-six percent of respondents say it is highly important that their technology provider offer hardware-assisted capabilities to mitigate software exploits.
• Sixty-four percent of respondents say it is highly important for their technology provider to be transparent about available security updates and mitigations. Forty-seven percent say their technology provider doesn’t provide this transparency.
• Seventy-four percent of respondents say it is highly important for their technology provider to apply ethical hacking practices to proactively identify and address vulnerabilities in its own products.
• Seventy-one percent of respondents say it is highly important for technology providers to offer ongoing security assurance and evidence that the components are operating in a known and trusted state.

Suzy Greenberg, Vice President, Intel Product Assurance and Security at Intel Corporation, joined me on the TechSpective podcast to talk about the report and her thoughts on why Intel invests in security assurance, as well as what she believes the audience should get from reading the report. We discuss the motivation behind Intel’s sponsorship of the study, trends she sees across the security industry, and the role of Intel’s bug bounty program in uncovering vulnerabilities. She also shares why she believes transparency is important for customers, and how a focus on transparency and security assurance helps shape hardware innovation at Intel.

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