The Enterprise Security Tech Cyber Influencer Top 10 List recognized Williams for his contributions to the Application Security community that empower security and development teams to get secure code moving
Contrast Security (Contrast), a world leading code security platform company purposely built for developers to get secure code moving swiftly and trusted by security teams to protect business applications, today announced that its Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Jeff Williams has been named to the Enterprise Security Tech Cyber Influencer Top 10 List for his efforts to improve the security of the world’s software for more than 25 years.
“It is an honor to be named a Top 10 Cyber Influencer by Enterprise Security Tech. In 2014, we started Contrast with the vision of a world where we can trust software with the most important activities of humanity, and along the way initiated several leading open-source projects,” Williams said. “Looking back I’m proud of the strides we’ve made, but it is critical to remember that the software market is changing fast. Insecure software needs to be eliminated, and the White House Executive Order is a great step forward in forcing companies and agencies to disclose what organizations have done to secure their code and software supply chain,” said Williams. “I’m looking forward to more collaboration between the private and public sectors and more overall cyber transparency. I truly believe that everyone has the right to know whether the software we trust with our finances, healthcare, government, military and social life is secure.”
Williams has contributed to the application security (AppSec) community by being involved with the following activities:
- Founded Aspect Security in 2002 with the understanding that the AppSec market was so important that a consulting business would flourish. Aspect was acquired by Ernst & Young in 2017.
- Created The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), which is dedicated to securing the world’s software. Helped the foundation establish its board, started chapters and conferences, and volunteered as Global Chair for nine years.
- Created dozens of open source projects, including the OWASP Top Ten, WebGoat, ESAPI, OWASP ASVS, and OWASP Cheat Sheets which have influenced millions.
- Invented the use of instrumentation for security, including interactive application security testing (IAST) and runtime application self protection (RASP) and earned seven patents for the technology with Arshan Dabirsiaghi in 2010. These innovations helped lead to the launch of Contrast in 2014 to help large enterprises solve AppSec problems.
Today, Williams gives back to the security community by championing Contrast’s sponsorship of almost two dozen open source projects, including integrations and free security tools. He helped launch CodeSec, which brings enterprise-level security testing right to developers’ laptops for free. He regularly speaks at large software development and security conferences, including but not limited to API World, DevOps Summit, JAXLondon 2022, NIST, BlackHat, QCon, OWASP, RSA, JavaOne, LASCON and PivotalOne.
“We need leaders in the cybersecurity industry now more than ever,” said Jack Campbell, Managing Editor, Enterprise Security Tech. “The industry is bogged down by the daily cat and mouse game with cyber criminals, so we need industry leaders that are forward-looking and have a vision for how we can move the industry forward and solve macro security problems. We’re honored to be able to recognize these leaders for the value that they are bringing to the market and their dedication to moving the cybersecurity industry forward.”
Williams has been recognized for his contributions to the industry and has had the privilege of being named a Bronze Winner of the 16th Annual Info Security PG’s 2020 Global Excellence Awards for Chief Technology Officer of the Year for the Security Software category, Cybersecurity Excellence’s Bronze Winner for the Cybersecurity Professional of the Year and SC Media’s Reboot Leadership Award in the “Thought Leaders” category in 2019. To learn more about Williams and his leadership with Contrast, please visit the Contrast website or read his latest Forbes Tech Council articles here.
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