Federal Trade Commission Announces Agenda for Feb. 9 Start With Security Event in Seattle

Experts from across the technology industry will share their tips and insights on how startup technology companies can make security a central part of their work at the Federal Trade Commission’s Start with Security event taking place Feb. 9 in Seattle, Washington.

FTC Commissioner Julie Brill will give opening remarks at the event, which is designed to bring together experts in security in the technology industry to share their insights with local and regional technology professionals.

The day will feature speakers who have helped build and run security programs at large-scale enterprises and rapid-growth startups, including Microsoft, DocuSign, Fizzmint and others.

Panels will address how startups and other resource-constrained technology companies can build a culture of security, including how to effectively model threats and train developers to minimize security risks; how to integrate security into the development pipeline, with a focus on how startups can automate security testing to enhance efficiency; a look at the costs of upfront security in light of the potential impact of poor security, from the venture capital investor, customer, and acquirer perspectives; and how to integrate security in the rapidly growing ecosystem of the internet of things.

In addition to the panel discussions, there will be a lunch presentation by one of the leaders of Seattle’s chapter of the Open Web Application Security Project, or OWASP, on why startups need to take vulnerabilities like the OWASP Top 10 seriously, featuring new materials on key controls to address those vulnerabilities.

The event will take place at the University of Washington School of Law, and will begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue until 4 p.m. A full schedule and panelist biographies, along with details on the event can be found on the event’s webpage. The event is free and open to the public, and attendees are encouraged to pre-register for the event.

The event is co-sponsored by the University of Washington Tech Policy Lab, the University of Washington School of Law Technology Law & Public Policy Clinic, and CoMotion at the University of Washington.

As part of its longstanding efforts to promote good data security practices, the FTC has undertaken extensive efforts to educate businesses and recently, released Start with Security: A Guide for Business, which draws on the lessons learned from the FTC’s data security enforcement actions. 

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