Plug and Play announced on Friday that U.S. Bank (USB) has joined its Cybersecurity Innovation Platform as it prepares to kick off its first cohort. According to the hub, through this expanded partnership, U.S. Bank will engage with leading entrepreneurs in the Cybersecurity and Fintech sectors to further accelerate its innovation efforts. While sharing details about the new collaboration, David Johnson, security innovation lead at U.S. Bank, stated:
“The Security R&D Team at U.S. Bank looks to source security innovation in variety of ways, internally and externally. Our partnership with Plug and Play’s Cybersecurity Program provides us an opportunity to engage with startups and see how their innovations address current or foreseeable needs. Not only are we looking to address potential use cases within U.S. Bank, but this partnership also enables us to help influence innovation in the broader information security sector by encouraging the participating companies.”
U.S. Bank will engage with all 15 startups in the program to evaluate cutting-edge security solutions that it can use both internally and with its partners. Plug and Play also reported that this partnership comes at a time where information security is top of mind for corporations around the world. In 2017, some of the largest and most advanced cyber attacks in history occurred. The WannaCry ransomware attacks and breaches to public organizations such as the NSA and Equifax were especially devastating. Nate Hinman, Plug and Play’s Cybersecurity Lead, added:
“Threats to corporations are constantly evolving. The attacks against your business today are completely different from the attacks that hit your business even a year ago. We’re launching this program to help our corporate partners mitigate their risk and make the world a safer, more accessible place.”