Google is one of the most important and popular companies in the world. Everyday there are hundreds of thousands new aspiring employees that wish for a chance to work inside the internet giant. Even if Google is really sought-after by prospective employees, it is definitely not the most powerful or influential entity in the United States; this is one of the main reasons which led Peiter Zatko, into leaving Google ATAP for a job that would essentially allow him to assist the United States government to create more secure software for the whole nation. Former Google ATAP employee and respected researcher for computer security, Peiter Zatko (also known by the nickname Mudge), announced his intentions to leave the company via Twitter, in which he stated that the White House was asking him to create a CyberUL.
Peiter Zatko’s (Mudge) enthusiasm could be easily noted in its first Tweet, in which he said farewell to Google ATAP. According to Zatko, working with Google was, in his exact words “a blast”, even if he eagerly accepted working together with the White House. After his first Tweet describing his departure from Google, Peiter Zatko clarified some confusion revolving around what he would fundamentally be doing. Many of Mudge’s Twitter followers believed that Zatko was leaving Google to create a completely new government entity, to clarify this a second Tweet was sent, in which Peiter Zatko stated that this “new gig” was not going to specifically be in the White House. Sources familiar with Zatko’s intentions also further explained that Mudge is trying to set up a new non-profit organization which would be entirely focused on software security. Although still in exploratory phases, Peiter Zatko is planning to get funding for the upcoming startup with the government’s help.
Peiter Zatko would be focusing mostly on creating a CyberUL, an idea first proposed in the year 1999 by Lopht Heavy Industries, which Zatko was a member of. The CyberUL would essentially be responsible of setting the security standards for new software, while at the same time it tests the already existing ones. Underwriters Laboratories for the digital era is without a doubt something that would greatly benefit the whole as there is currently no standardized security measures in software, they could be as secure or non-secure as the developer wishes.