The increasing use of technology in all areas of life makes it all the more important to focus on security as an essential part of innovation.

We all enjoy the benefits of innovation and are quick to embrace new ways of making life better. Our world is increasingly filled with technology, as we make mobile phones a central part of daily life, do business in the cloud, and rely on intelligent cars to keep us safe, comfortable, and entertained. 

Despite all the ways we’ve welcomed technology, though, we are still slow to trust. If a new product or service doesn’t perform the way we expect it to, even in small ways that might impact security or convenience or quality, we can lose faith and look elsewhere. 

Building Trust Takes Time

Recent trends in the smart-home market are a good example of how trust can take time to develop. New, cloud-connected appliances make it easier than ever to experience entertainment, stay informed, and control our living environments. Consumers saw the benefits early on and rushed in, but growing concerns over security, with smart speakers and TVs that might listen in on our conversations and smart thermostats that might be hacked, have slowed adoption and made people wary. We may crave convenience, but only if we can trust it to protect our privacy and security.

In automotive, on the other hand, time and careful evaluation have helped establish trust. Each new addition to the car – airbags, anti-lock brakes (ABS), anti-theft immobilizers, electronic stability programs (ESPs) – is introduced only after extensive study. What were once new concepts have now become indispensable features, because we trust what has proven itself reliable and safe. In fact, the automotive industry has so effectively gained our confidence that we now allow vehicles to intervene on our behalf, letting automation take over in moments of inattention that can put lives at risk. 

Maintaining Trust is an Ongoing Challenge

The challenge of establishing trust starts as a simple problem of numbers, because the more technologies we use, the greater the chances that something will fail. The increasing use of technology makes it all the more important to focus on building and maintaining trust.

How we deliver technology has a role to play. The pace of innovation, spurred on by growing competition in every technology arena, places pressure on companies and raises the risk that development teams will take shortcuts or miss a potential problem. It’s hard to be both rigorous and fast.

Big data has an impact on trust as well. Today’s technology can yield an astonishing amount of information about the world and our lives in it. We’re still exploring how best to use that information in positive ways, without violating privacy or damaging the trust of those who provide the data.

Any number of things can trigger a loss of trust. It might be something you, yourself, experienced while using a technology, or it could be learning about someone else’s bad experience. History can influence perceptions about security and quality, whether it’s a particular company that delivered a poorly made product or an entire country that, as a whole, is thought to be less concerned with standards for safety and reliability. A questionable move by one company can endanger the reputation of an entire market segment. News from the hacker community, whether it’s a story about ethical hackers uncovering a security flaw or unethical ones exploiting a loophole, can influence opinion, too. 

Trust Starts at the Core

The tight connection between technology and trust is making trust a key differentiator for products and services, and that creates a compelling reason for companies and brands to focus on security and quality at every point, whether it’s in the supply chain or as part of the consumer experience. 

This is something that we, in the semiconductor industry, know well. Innovation is at the heart of our business. We are keenly aware that our products are essential building blocks for technological advances of all kinds, and that means trust is, by necessity, a vital part of what we do.

When we look to the future of driving, for example, we see opportunities to add innovation throughout the vehicle. We know that features like higher processing power, improved connectivity, and increased energy efficiency are all things that Tier-1 companies are interested in having. But we also know that car manufacturers won’t move ahead with new features unless they are trustworthy. 

To ensure trust, we as engineers must ask ourselves, at every point of development, if we’ve done all we can to meet industry requirements, protect information, and keep people safe. That means putting tighter controls on processes such as product design, qualification, and manufacturing, and striving for continual improvement. 

It’s also important to identify areas that need protection and implement tested, certified security mechanisms that prevent attacks in the virtual and physical worlds. Being proactive, with customer education along the supply chain, participation in regulatory initiatives, and clear communication with government agencies, is another aspect of building trust in our products.

Perhaps most important, though, is creating a company culture where every employee feels responsible for the products the company provides. When everyone makes trust a top priority, our customers can be confident that we’re delivering the highest levels of security, quality, and reliability – and that helps spur innovation.

The Future Depends on Us

The pace of innovation will continue to accelerate, which means the future is not as far away as we might think. Those of us in the semiconductor industry can already see the day when the car is the driver, the cloud is where we keep all our digital keys, and our homes are more intuitive and efficient while being more personal and sustainable. We have the ability to bring these systems to life – but we will only succeed in doing so if we can prove to everyone that technology-driven innovations deserve our trust.