CES 2018- Security Scorecard: A Network of Trust

Q: Jason, could you present Security Scorecard in a few words?

Our service allows companies to continuously monitor vendors and their business partners in real time, to detect potential security issues – before signing a contract, for example – and while they are engaged with a third party provider. Our main clients are large companies in a wide range of fields: global retail brands such as Pepsi-Cola or McDonald's, but also banks, major hospitals, and many others.

Q: And what is specially innovative about your service?

I think I would highlight three main differentiators. First, the outstanding comprehensibility of the data we collect and surface. Second, the ability to attribute that data to the right company. And third, and perhaps most importantly, the fact that our analyses are highly actionable, meaning security teams can use our data to improve their security posture.

Q: Tell us about your story with ENGIE.

It's really quite simple: AXA Strategic Ventures, the investment arm of the world-renowned AXA insurance company, is highly interested in the detection of security risk, and so became one of our investors... and AXA is of course one of ENGIE's partners, and so invited us to CES.

Q: What will you be showing at CES?

We will be announcing the general availability of our “Monitoring by SecurityScorecard” badge. This let’s consumers know where a consumer website or app displaying this badge scores, with and A or B meaning they are much less likely to be breached and, therefore, less likely to be the source of a data compromise. LifeLock (lifelock.com), a trusted identity theft management company currently utilizes this badge on their website. All of our customers now can display this badge on their website or application, giving consumers greater confidence that their information is secure and protected. 

Q: What are you hoping to gain from your presence at CES with ENGIE?

Two things. Exposure to the market, of course; and especially, the opportunity to educate consumers. Many people don't understand the potential security implications of trusting an organisation, even for example with their credit card details. In fact, one of the major challenges for us at the beginning was convincing the market of the validity of the security ratings space. There was a sort of instinctive resistance to consulting a third party for security information and how it could be done. But the security ratings space is now becoming more mainstream and we are at the forefront of developing that space.

Q: What, for you, is the most significant innovation in history?

Electricity. We take it for granted, but it is still, in the annals of time, a relatively new thing. It really does impact our lives in so many ways and also is the precursor for the information age and many of the technology products we see on the market today. The next big technological step is artificial intelligence. AI will change society in ways we have yet to understand, from how we shop to how we conduct warfare – even cybersecurity.

Q : And a significant innovation for Security Scorecard ?

The cloud, which has made incredible computing power available to organisations of all kinds, in terms of both compute and data storage capacity. It has made it affordable for Big Data companies to do what they do. Without the cloud, we couldn't do what we do.

Q: And finally, is something you would like to add?

Yes. I would like to underline the importance of the network effect when building a more secure ecosystem. If a single company with 500 vendors helps those vendors solve their security issues, this solves the problem for every customer who utilizes those vendors. The whole ecosystem is built on trust: our job is to make that trust tangible... and quantifiable!