Jeff Pollard

Charlotte, United States

VP, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research

VP & Principal Analyst @Forrester covering #infosec, #cybersecurity, #privacy. Primary focus areas CISO Leadership & Security Services.

Featured in: Favicon

forrester.com Favicon

itproportal.com Favicon

cdotrends.com

Articles

Small Purchases, Big Risks: Shadow AI Use In Government

1 week ago | cdotrends.com | Jeff Pollard

Powerful AI tools are now widely available, and many are free or low-cost. This makes it easier for more people to use AI, but it also means that the usual safety checks by governments, such as those done by central IT departments, can be skipped. As a result, the risks are spread out and harder to control. A recent EY survey discovered that 51% of public-sector employees use an AI tool on a daily basis.
Small Purchases, Big Risks: Shadow AI Use In Government

2 weeks ago | forrester.com | Jeff Pollard

Powerful AI tools are now widely available, and many are free or low-cost. This makes it easier for more people to use AI, but it also means the usual safety checks by governments — like those done by central IT departments — can be skipped. As a result, the risks are spread out and harder to control. A recent EY survey discovered 51% of public sector employees use an AI tool on a daily basis.
Zscaler Snatches Up Red Canary: The Good, The Bad, And The Concerning

1 month ago | forrester.com | Jeff Pollard

Although details are limited with more expected to come during an upcoming earnings call, we know that a leader in the SSE market will consume a leader in the MDR market with Zscaler announcing that it intends to acquire Red Canary. Here’s our analysis of the good, the bad, and the concerning about this acquisition, what it means for the cybersecurity market, and what it signals for security leaders and their teams. On its face this acquisition makes sense.
How CISOs Can Thrive Amid Economic Volatility

2 months ago | forrester.com | Jeff Pollard

In today’s unpredictable economic climate, chief information security officers (CISOs) face familiar — but intensified — challenges. From US government funding cuts to global geopolitical instability, organizations must operate in an environment that is more volatile than ever. Our latest Forrester report, Security Leaders: How To Thrive Through Volatility, provides actionable insights for CISOs to navigate these turbulent times. Here are a few of the key lessons and what they mean for you.
Google To Acquire CNAPP Specialist Unicorn Wiz For $32 Billion

Mar 19, 2025 | forrester.com | Andras Cser |Paddy Harrington |Jeff Pollard

Google has announced definite plans to acquire cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) vendor Wiz for $32 billion, which is the largest ever acquisition in cybersecurity, surpassing the $28 billion that Cisco paid for Splunk in 2024. This is also Google’s largest ever acquisition and, based on Forrester’s estimates of Wiz’s annual revenue, represents an astronomically high, approximately 45–50x estimated multiplier of Wiz’s annual revenue.
The Akira IoT device attacks aren’t just about THAT device

Mar 12, 2025 | forrester.com | Paddy Harrington |Jeff Pollard |Merritt Maxim

Protecting IoT devices is not easy. With few exceptions, you can’t take a traditional endpoint protection approach and install a local agent on the IoT device for protection. Proprietary OS/firmware in many cases precludes installing an endpoint. Even when the device runs embedded Linux or Windows Embedded OS, standard endpoint defensive measures aren’t available either as those are locked OS’s that require complicated processes to update.
Top Recommendations For CISOs In 2025: Deal With Uncertainty… Again

Mar 12, 2025 | forrester.com | Jeff Pollard |Allie Mellen |Merritt Maxim

The security landscape continues to evolve as does global uncertainty, leaving CISOs to prepare for turbulence ahead. Our latest report, Top Recommendations For Your Security Program, 2025, provides timely guidance for security leaders as they navigate another precarious year for their roles, programs, and organizations. We’ve included four of our twelve recommendations in this blog as a starter pack for what CISOs will deal with in 2025 and most importantly: what they should do about it.
How I Apply Third-Party Lab Results In My Security Operations Research

Mar 3, 2025 | forrester.com | Allie Mellen |Jeff Pollard |Jitin Shabadu

Last week, I attended the AV Comparatives conference in Innsbruck, Austria. This conference brought together many cybersecurity vendors, particularly those with a European focus, as well as a few non-profits, academic institutions, and analyst firms. The event was a combination of talks and an award ceremony, a typical arrangement for a conference from a security testing lab vendor.
Lessons From The Inaugural Conference Of The International Association for Safe and Ethical AI

Feb 27, 2025 | forrester.com | Brandon Purcell |Jeff Pollard |Jitin Shabadu

Last week’s inaugural conference of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI in Paris started with a dire warning from renowned computer scientist Stuart Russell: “There are two potential futures for humanity: a world with safe and ethical AI, or a world with no AI at all. We are currently pursuing a third option.” He said we’re in a moment where the entire human race is about to board an airplane that needs to stay aloft forever, and we have no safety standards in place.
Announcing The Forrester Wave™: Managed Detection And Response Services, Q1 2025!

Feb 27, 2025 | forrester.com | Jeff Pollard |Jitin Shabadu |Alla Valente

The third installment of the Forrester Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Services Wave™ is now live. There’s so much to love about the MDR market: fantastic providers, engaged clients, and meaningful outcomes. This year is no different. Forrester clients can access The Forrester Wave™: Managed Detection And Response Services, Q1 2025 here. As we mentioned in Choose Your Own MDR Adventure Amid Ever-Expanding Services, the MDR market continues to evolve.