Synopsys hires former presidential cyber-security advisor

By Luke Collins |  No Comments  |  Posted: October 29, 2015
Topics/Categories: General  |  Tags: , , , , ,  | Organizations:

Synopsys has hired Howard A Schmidt, former cyber-security advisor to Presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush, to advise Chi-Foon Chan, Synopsys president and co-CEO, and the company’s software integrity group on software security.

In a statement, Chan said: “Howard’s extensive background in cybersecurity will be a tremendous asset as we build out our software integrity platform. The impact of today’s security breaches underscores just how integral security is to overall software quality and integrity.

“Howard’s expertise supports our vision of bringing a rigorous ‘sign-off’ process to the software development life cycle to increase quality and security.”

Schmidt, who will become security advisor to the office of the president at Synopsys, said: “While Synopsys may be a relative newcomer to the commercial software quality and security market, it’s clear they have a deep understanding of the increasing criticality of software quality and security and its potentially devastating impact on a business’ profitability and brand when software integrity is compromised.

“The fact that Synopsys is collaborating with Underwriters Laboratories to create the first ever Cybersecurity Assurance Program confirms their commitment to improving software quality and security.”

Schmidt is currently a partner with Tom Ridge, the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, in Ridge-Schmidt Cyber, which offers cybersecurity advice to business and governments. He is also executive director of The Software Assurance Forum for Excellence in Code (SAFECode).

He has worked as special assistant to the US President, and cyber-security coordinator for the federal government, coordinating inter-agency cybersecurity policy development and implementation, as well as   engagement with federal, state, local, international, and private sector cybersecurity partners.

Schmidt has also been  president and CEO of the Information Security Forum, vice president and chief information security officer and chief security strategist for eBay, and chief security officer for Microsoft. He was also chief security strategist for the US-CERT.

Synopsys started building a presence in the software quality and security market with its acquisition of Coverity, whose tools it uses, in spring 2014. Synopsys now offers products under the Coverity, Codenomicon and Seeker brands that provide early insight into software defects, vulnerabilities and threats that could undermine a program’s cyber-security, as well as guidance on how to address such issues.

 

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