Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said technology manufacturers should make strong security a standard element of their tech offerings, particularly those that support U.S. critical infrastructure.
Easterly, a 2023 Wash100 awardee, wrote in a blog post published Friday that there are three core principles tech developers should consider to incorporate product safety into their processes. Firstly: take ownership of security outcomes for customers.
The other two principles are embracing “radical transparency” to help better understand the challenges related to consumer safety and developing a roadmap that outlines the company’s plan for how products will be built and upgraded to be secure-by-default and secure-by-design.
The CISA director also highlighted the role of universities and professors in integrating security into computer science coursework.
“Steps taken today at universities around the country can help spur an industry-wide change towards memory safe languages and add more engineering rigor to software development which in turn, will help protect all technology users,” Easterly wrote.