Hudson Thrift, Uber
Companies need better, not more, security products. The usual choices when looking for a new solution are buy, build, or use open source, but what if there are other options? In this spirit, the engineering security team at Uber has been exploring how to engage with early stage startups to bring new product features, and cause slight roadmap pivots, to address Uber’s security needs. The results have been cost effective, time efficient, and have created a better product for everyone.
This talk will discuss how to identify appropriate problems that can be solved with this model, how to find the right kind of startup, and how to work with them under your specific requirements. We’ll explore the concept from an abstract point of view as well as in practice using a case study from the Uber team.
Hudson Thrift leads security operations at Uber, where he is responsible for strategy, efficiency, and execution across the engineering security organization. Hudson is a co-founder and former COO of Kaprica Security, a mobile security company serving large enterprise and government customers, and acquired by Samsung Electronics in 2016. He holds a bachelor of science degree in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of the school’s renowned Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP) hacking team.
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