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Cybersecurity Insights with Contrast CISO David Lindner | 05/09/25

By David Lindner, Chief Information Security Officer

May 9, 2025

Insight No. 1 — Echoes of aspiration, shadows of history for SWFT

The Software Fast Track (SWFT) proposal for DoD echoes the aspirations of Memorandum M-24-15 from 2024, yet history suggests a repeat outcome. The reluctance of federal entities to conduct independent audits, even after policy shifts, wasn't due to a lack of desire but a deficit in capacity. Expect SWFT to face the same inertia unless a concrete solution for audit execution is baked in.

Insight No. 2 — Hidden risks emerge in open source

What if a seemingly innocuous, widely adopted component held unforeseen risks deep within your infrastructure? The easyjson discovery is not an isolated incident. As we peel back the layers of the open-source ecosystem, more such exposures are likely. CISOs must prepare for a potentially volatile period requiring enhanced monitoring and incident response capabilities across the software stack.

Insight No. 3 — Better data, not more, for security teams

Are your security teams drowning in alerts, struggling to discern signal from noise? The answer lies not in more data, but in better data. Consider the focused precision of Application Detection and Response (ADR), which offers context-rich intelligence, a stark contrast to the undifferentiated flood of alerts often produced by traditional tools like WAFs.
alert fatigue ADR (Application Detection and Response) Supply Chain Risks CISOs (Chief Information Security Officers) Data Prioritization SWFT (Software Fast Track) DoD (Department of Defense) Federal Audits Open Source Security easyjson
David Lindner, Chief Information Security Officer

David Lindner, Chief Information Security Officer

David is an experienced application security professional with over 20 years in cybersecurity. In addition to serving as the chief information security officer, David leads the Contrast Labs team that is focused on analyzing threat intelligence to help enterprise clients develop more proactive approaches to their application security programs. Throughout his career, David has worked within multiple disciplines in the security field—from application development, to network architecture design and support, to IT security and consulting, to security training, to application security. Over the past decade, David has specialized in all things related to mobile applications and securing them. He has worked with many clients across industry sectors, including financial, government, automobile, healthcare, and retail. David is an active participant in numerous bug bounty programs.

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