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The $5 Billion Effort to help Secure the World’s Shared Software

October 27, 2026 · 33 min

Show notes

AI is changing cybersecurity and raising hard questions about how fast organizations can
respond. 

Earlier this year, IBM and Red Hat launched Lightwell, a $5 billion initiative backed by a force of
20,000 engineers with the goal of securing the open source software that powers a great deal of
modern life — from banks and payment systems to transportation and critical infrastructure.
Malcolm Gladwell speaks with cybersecurity leader Jen Easterly, Wells Fargo Chief Information
Security Officer Munish Sharma, and Red Hat’s Gunnar Hellekson about how AI is transforming
vulnerability discovery, how open source software can introduce risk, and what it will take to
secure the shared digital infrastructure much of the world depends on.

If this episode sparks a question you’d like to ask an IBM technical expert, submit your question
at ibm.com/smarttalks

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