eugenio-pace-new-avatar

Pace co-founded Auth0 in early 2013 with CTO and “brother-in-arms” Matias Woloski while living 7,000 miles apart from each other. Since then, Pace has played an instrumental role in growing Auth0 into a leading identity management company that is loved by developers and trusted by global enterprises. He loves traveling and has visited more than 35 countries for business and pleasure. He currently lives in Redmond, Washington with his wife, two sons, and their labrador retriever. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors, rowing, riding bikes, spending time with his family, restoring his 1970 Karmann Ghia, writing his blog, and reading history and philosophy.

CEO and Co-Founder

Eugenio Pace

Standing in solidarity against racism and police violence against Black people.



Far too many incidents, including the recent murder of George Floyd, the tragedies of Ahmaud Arbery, Christian Cooper, Breonna Taylor, and many other injustices, continue to spotlight the deeply rooted racism, prejudice, and discrimination in our country. Watching in despair over what’s happening in this country – the country I have called home for the past 16 years – I simply can’t stay silent any longer. **We** cannot and should not stay silent.

These human beings, these tragedies, not only represent lives lost, but lives lost unnecessarily and without any justifiable cause. We could be angry, but just being angry is useless. We must come together and fight for justice and equality because it is the right thing to do.

## Racism is Wrong

We don’t need anyone to tell us that racism is wrong. No one is born a racist. We slowly become that way, whether it is intentional or not. But the harsh reality is that it exists. These horrible killings and racist actions serve as a sobering reminder of what millions live through every day in America and around the globe. It also calls to light the privilege that many of us experience each and every day. I reflect on my own privilege with these simple things that can easily be taken for granted: 

* I go for a run without any consideration that something bad might happen to me.
* I go to public parks without any worry that someone will call the police just because of how I look. 
* I don’t live in constant fear from those who are supposed to protect me (despite them bearing the power to inflict disproportionate harm).

I grew up in Argentina in the ’70s and ’80s, during one of the worst military dictatorships in the country’s history. And while I was also privileged then, fear was widespread in everything we did, however mundane. There was always a chance of being caught in the middle of violence, even if you were simply getting groceries or going to school. This occurred throughout my elementary school years. As a parent now, I can only imagine the anguish and fear my mother, father, and grandmother must have felt each time I left the house. But the fear of my childhood was real and founded. More than 30,000 people are estimated to have been murdered during those years, most of them were arrested and simply disappeared without a trace.

I vividly remember two phrases that were repeated during those years, known later as the “Dirty War”: _algo habran hecho_ (“they probably did something”) and _no te metas_ (“mind your own business”). The first phrase referred to the assumption that those arrested (killed and disappeared) were guilty of something, and therefore deserving of what happened to them. And the second was a call to keep your head down. An effective intimidation method.

Those phrases come to mind yet again when I see the horror of recent events. Civilized societies have written agreements on the consequences of committing crimes. One of which is that everyone, even a criminal, is equal in front of the law and deserves a fair process. Second, is that silence, not “speaking up”, makes us all guilty by omission. Silence makes you an accomplice.

It is time we speak up.

## We Can’t Accept This Reality

What is happening in this country is sad, unfair, below us, and crazy. It is just plain WRONG. We know it is wrong. 

It is unacceptable that a large percentage of our communities live in fear just because they are Black.
 
And, while the United States is a great country in many respects – and I am grateful and proud to be a citizen here – I find it disgraceful that the poison of racism still exists and is rampant. 

It is shameful to see the rest of the world looking at us, and wondering how a country that claims to stand up for democracy, the rule of law, and “out of many, one” could tolerate this. A country that on one hand provides so many incredible growth opportunities to people (like me), and on the other, oppresses and discriminates against large groups of others. It is shameful that in the age we live, the U.S. cannot shake this cruelty.

What makes it worse is that this cruelty is embedded in “good people,” like the woman walking her dog in NY threatening a Black man with ”I’ll call the police.”

It is made exponentially worse when some of the authorities to whom we delegate the power to protect us, are racist, bigots, equally cruel, and unfortunately taint and cast mistrust towards all the members of the organizations they belong to.

Any “good” law enforcement officer who doesn’t speak up against racism and bigotry and hate is complicit of the actions of “bad” ones. Their intentions might be good, their vocation for service might be genuine, but they will be guilty in the eyes of everyone else.

Law enforcement needs to be held to very high standards because we delegate to them an enormous amount of power to do harm. We empower them to terminate people’s lives. We give them that power with the assumption they will unleash that violence **only when absolutely needed**. Not freely at the whim of their emotions.

Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. (And hundreds more). They were someone's child, parent, sibling, friend, co-worker… "they" are "us." Those of us with whatever privilege and power we have must make real change, and starting with our voices, stand up for those who don’t have a voice anymore to say, loud and clear:  

* Racism is wrong. 
* This must stop. 
* We want justice and equality. 
* No more fear. 
* Black lives matter.

I will use my voice and take action as a citizen to help in any way I can. And so will Auth0. Through Auth0 Gives, our philanthropic program, we pledge to commit time, money, and resources to reinforce our voices and play an active and ongoing role in seeing change happen. What will you do?

Here are some recommendations I’ve found in my research:

* Donate money to or volunteer with organizations like the [ACLU](https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-responds-minneapolis-police-killing-george-floyd), [NAACP](https://naacp.org/campaigns/we-are-done-dying/), [Color of Change](https://colorofchange.org/), [Black Lives Matter](https://blacklivesmatter.com/), [Minnesota Freedom Fund](https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/), and [Fair Fight](https://fairfight.com/). 
* Sign petitions by groups like Change.org or MoveOn. 
* Call your city council members and demand better oversight of the police department.
* Call the offices of progressive candidates to volunteer.
* Make sure you're **registered to vote** so you can elect candidates who share your beliefs about rooting out systemic racism.


It’s Time to Speak Up

jenny-obrien

I'm a former business journalist who's fascinated by the intersection of tech and business strategy — in particular how the right solution can transform an idea into reality. I specialize in ROI, data privacy, and identity.

Business Content Manager

Jenny O'Brien

Breach protection isn’t enough — you need to prove trust with accreditation and data privacy respect


"As a CTO, I really don't want to be responsible for a data leak that showed passwords and user logins and those kinds of things. I'm 100% sure that Auth0, a company that is built around this, will have better ability to take care of the security than I'm able to do &mdash; your entire business depends on it," says Rolf Bekkstrand, former CTO, 4human HRM.

He's not alone.

No one wants to be the person who tried to save budget using a lesser level of encryption &mdash; and got hacked. Or, worse, [exposed customer data by storing it poorly](https://threatpost.com/facebook-data-of-millions-exposed-in-leaky-datasets/143412/).

In a broader sense, security is about trust. When your customers share their identity with you, they're trusting you to keep it safe &mdash; and while blogs posts and webinars can help convey that a third-party vendor is trustworthy, it's not enough for a company to just claim that it's secure. We need to prove it.

That need for proof has gone far beyond being a business requirement. GDPR's data protections may have come into force in 2018, but many countries already maintained strict requirements and others have data privacy plans in the works. All of this regulation is part of a global trend inspired, at least in part by the rising number of data breaches.

![Illustration for The Real ROI of Auth0, Part 3: Security](https://images.ctfassets.net/23aumh6u8s0i/24eCHY1wwRU8LJRrLT72iQ/868299ecb1a894525fe3b8169f2fa0eb/the-real-roi-of-auth0-part-3)

## Global Data Privacy Trends Include Civil Action

[Breaches](https://auth0.com/blog/what-is-a-data-breach/) are happening at such a rapid rate that USA Today now maintains a [ranked breach index](https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/12/28/data-breaches-2018-billions-hit-growing-number-cyberattacks/2413411002/). In the first half of 2018 alone, there were [668 breaches and over 22 million records exposed](https://www.statista.com/statistics/273550/data-breaches-recorded-in-the-united-states-by-number-of-breaches-and-records-exposed/).

According to the Ponemon Institute, the global average cost of a data breach rose to $3.86 million last year ([Forbes puts it at $7.91 million in the U.S.](https://auth0.com/blog/what-is-a-data-breach/)) &mdash; and those calculations are pre-GDPR. With [€50 million in non-compliance fines leveled at Google](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46944696), a [suit already filed against eight other companies including Apple and Amazon](https://www.darkreading.com/privacy/gdpr-suit-filed-against-amazon-apple/d/d-id/1333690?_mc=NL_DR_EDT_DR_daily_20190119&cid=NL_DR_EDT_DR_daily_20190119&elq_mid=88915&elq_cid=25956827), and an [EU judge ruling that civil action against Facebook is viable](https://tech.newstatesman.com/business/schrems-facebook-legal-battle), security and compliance are about much more than your perimeter.

Lest you think that these concerns only apply to your EU customers, the shift towards protecting data privacy is a global trend, but one where different countries might use GDPR as a baseline, but tweak it for their needs. A case in point is California's data privacy law, coming into force in 2020, which looks likely to provide [the basis for a Federal data law in the U.S](https://digitalguardian.com/blog/lawmakers-see-california-consumer-privacy-act-basis-federal-law). You can find in-depth look at expected data privacy trends in 2019 [here](https://auth0.com/blog/data-privacy-2019-the-lowdown/).

The likelihood that data has been exposed is part of the reason behind all the regulation, but due to the rising number of data breaches, it's no longer just companies and partners that want to be protected, says John McKim, VP of Product & Technology, [A Cloud Guru](https://auth0.com/learn/cloud-guru-saves-550000-aud-annually-using-auth0/), "Customers want to know that their data is going to be protected and secured, and identity is a critical part of that. Having confidence that the systems that hold their very personal information... is really critical. That's why we like to use Auth0."

## Proving Trust with Accreditation

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FySg3K4HXAs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Accreditations are often on a required term-of-business checklist, but the reasoning for that placement lies in trust, says Auth0 CISO/VP of Operations Joan D. Pepin. "That certification means an external third-party has verified that we meet a professional standard &mdash; and it's not a one-and-done effort. We have to work to maintain that accreditation. Just as you need to regularly update the software on your laptop, we need to continually update our security."

This continuous improvement and monitoring happen alongside our development efforts, helping us to continue building in security as we innovate.

Companies who choose Auth0 instead of building identity in-house benefit from our accreditations.

Certifications like [SOC 2, HIPAA, and ISO 27001](https://auth0.com/security/) require an upfront investment to achieve the accreditation plus yearly costs to maintain it. "Most Fortune 500 companies won't sign deals if you don't have the applicable certifications," says Auth0 Senior Manager of Governance Risk and Compliance Adam Nunn. "Yearly tooling costs can vary from organization to organization, ranging from $25,000 to multi-millions, depending on the size of the org."

Auth0 invests yearly on third-party auditors, salaries for the staff who make sure we're compliant, and internal compliance tools (excluding engineering tools and/or tools deployed for security purposes), and continually improving our processes &mdash; eliminating both certification worry and cost for our customers.

For companies protecting large amounts of sensitive and regulated data, like healthcare collaboration platform [ACT.md](https://auth0.com/learn/act-md-sees-2x-dev-savings-auth0/), realizing it doesn't have to be painful can come as a surprise.

"We hadn't expected to be able to find a partner like Auth0 who would be so focused on security, proper authentication, and yet create a platform that's incredibly well-documented, easy to test, and is HIPAA compliant," Narath Carlile, Chief Medical Information Officer, ACT.md.

## Getting the 'Jump' on Fraudulent Users

Working with identity experts means dealing with fewer bugs, vulnerabilities, and introduced workarounds, but active security features like anomaly detection and brute force protection can remove a significant amount of worry for your and your customers &mdash; even if you're doing business in a challenging space.

"Marketplaces can be a heavily fraudulent space. A lot of scammers list fake cars and they have different mobile numbers and email addresses or whatever, and they try to convince people to wire transfer money,"  says former Cox Automotive Australia CTO Jeremy Gupta. Instrumenting Auth0 in the private seller experience allows Autotrader to verify mobile and email using out-of-the-box flows plus customization.

"We also get some really strong moderation through the Auth0 platform, which allows our customer service team to jump on fraudulent users ahead of time," says Gupta.

## Security ROI

"I'm a big proponent of letting experts do what they do best. If you get identity management wrong, it falls apart horribly, and you get put on the front page of the newspaper as having exposed a large number of people to really bad things. I didn't want to rely on building it ourselves," David Bernick, former Director of Cloud and Technology, Harvard Medical School

Since we control the front door to our customers' applications, we are a security company. Auth0 takes protecting our customers identity transactions seriously. "We invest heavily in our Security team, building out a cutting edge program and hiring talented engineers who want to build the security of a security company," says Auth0 Senior Director of Security Duncan Godfrey.

That behind-the-login-box effort pays off for our customers. "Security is often misunderstood, and when it is an afterthought, left to the end, it tends to bite you in the butt.," says Stephen Berard, former Senior Global Software Architect, Schneider Electric. "We didn't have to kick the proverbial can down the road every time a new security or authentication question came up, whether the question was hypothetical, practical or mission critical.

## Resources

**The Real ROI of Auth0**
[The Real ROI of Auth0, Part 1: Time To Market](https://auth0.com/blog/the-real-roi-of-auth0-part-1-time-to-market/)<br> 
[The Real ROI of Auth0, Part 2: Innovation](https://auth0.com/blog/the-real-roi-of-auth0-part-2-innovation/)<br> 
The Real ROI of Auth0, Part 3: Security (you're reading Part 3)<br> 
[The Real ROI of Auth0, Part 4: Maintenance](https://auth0.com/blog/the-real-roi-of-auth0-part-4-maintenance/)<br> 

**Guidance**: [Auth0's Approach to Information Security](https://auth0.com/resources/whitepapers/auth0-security/) details our approach to information security and our list of certifications and compliance capabilities so that you can better understand how Auth0 protects your data.

**Docs**: Customers often cite the benefit of our clear documentation and Jumpstarts. Get started [here](https://auth0.com/docs/).

**Questions?** Please reach out to an [Auth0 Resource](mailto:sales@auth0.com) if you'd like to learn how we can support your specific project or digital transformation.


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