Building Trust In Technology - Part I

For my first few blog postings on Security and Privacy policy, I would like to publish a speech I gave at a US Federal Trade Commission event on privacy and security. I am interested to hear feedback on the proposals in the speech.

Text of speech at FTC March 16, 2009 – Part I

(Don Whiteside and Scott Uthe contributed substantially to these remarks)

Introduction

Hello. My name is David Hoffman, and I am Intel’s Director of Security Policy and Global Privacy Officer. My team is engaged with policymakers around the world to promote legislation, regulation and international standards to develop trust in the use of technology, as we are committed to the fundamental human right of privacy and providing robust security.

I want to thank the FTC for hosting this event, and for allowing me to share the stage with such an impressive group of speakers.

Build User Trust in the Use of their Technology

Most innovations are incremental enhancements to existing solutions, but roughly every half century there’s a new “technology system” that changes everything. This was the case with the introduction of Steam Power, the Railroad, Electricity, and Steel. Information technology is today’s system that is changing everything. The two major effects of today’s technology system are;

- Everything goes Digital – all information is available in digital form

- Everything goes Internet Protocol – all information is easily accessible from anywhere, anytime, on any device

Information technologies affect virtually every aspect of our lives; how we work, play, socialize, and educate. However, the emergence of the digital life has also seen a rise in ever more sophisticated computer related crimes, many of which directly affect user privacy. Accelerating the growth of the Information Technology market is fundamental to Intel’s business success, and therefore we are challenged to ensure that our investments in innovation aren’t just focused on the traditional vectors of higher performance at lower cost, but increasingly focused on building trust in use of information technology.

Privacy is an integral part of building user Trust in Technology

Building TRUST in technology is a complex challenge. We have to look at the various elements associated with Trust and ensure that we are making advances on each of these. While Intel views each of these areas as critical to building trust, Privacy is one area where breaches can have catastrophic long-term effects on the user.