Understanding a vendor's security practices early in the purchasing process is crucial to avoid potential risks. This guide provides foundational security questions to ask vendors, tailored to different business stages, ensuring businesses can build trust and make informed decisions.

Google's new Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) is an open standard that allows AI agents to initiate payments on behalf of users across various platforms, addressing trust issues related to authorization, authenticity, and accountability in transactions. With participation from over 60 organizations, AP2 aims to create a universal framework for secure and efficient agent-led payments, ensuring broad interoperability and compliance with security and regulatory standards.

Open-source software (OSS) is increasingly vulnerable to supply chain attacks that exploit the trust developers place in widely-used libraries and tools. Notable incidents, including attacks on Solana's Web3.js and Amazon's Q extension, demonstrate how malicious actors can compromise critical components, leading to significant security breaches. The article emphasizes the need for improved security measures and governance in the open-source ecosystem.

Delve automates compliance processes through AI agents, helping businesses save time and enhance security while achieving necessary certifications like SOC 2 and GDPR. Their service includes personalized support and resources to streamline compliance efforts, enabling companies to close deals faster and demonstrate trustworthiness to clients.

In the current AI boom, startups must prioritize building trust from the outset, as investors and enterprise buyers demand strong security and clean financials before closing deals. Vanta and Mercury provide systems to help early-stage companies establish credibility and navigate compliance challenges efficiently, turning trust into a growth driver.

1Password emphasizes the importance of security in AI integration, outlining key principles to ensure that AI tools are trustworthy and do not compromise user privacy. The principles include maintaining encryption, deterministic authorization, and auditability while ensuring that security is user-friendly and effective. The company is committed to creating secure AI experiences that prioritize privacy and transparency.