FTC Chairwoman Ramirez Urges Start-Ups to Establish a "Culture of Security"

FTC Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security

On September 9, FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez delivered remarks at the Start For Security workshop, an FTC initiative intended to provide start-ups and developers with the resources and information necessary to integrate effective data security strategies into their products. In her remarks, Ramirez advised companies to establish a “culture of security” by: (i) embedding privacy and security into the development process of apps and other products; (ii) testing the product to ensure that security defaults work properly and controls are secure; and (iii) establishing a “bug bounty” program or a contact point for when flaws, bugs, and vulnerabilities in software are discovered.