Trust is often treated as a buzzword or a box for corporations to check, but this is a profound mistake. At Lenovo, trust is the foundation of every innovation and solution we build.
At Tech World last year, Lenovo’s Chairman and CEO, Yuanqing Yang, spoke about the ongoing AI revolution and our need to make the paradigm shift faster, more accessible, more connected, and more sustainable. To continue to lead this transformation, our customers — and the world — must trust the technology transforming how we work, create, and connect. How else can they embrace this unprecedented moment?
That’s why we’ve placed trust at the heart of everything we do, from our AI governance framework to our global supply chain, and from how we design products to how we protect data.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a perfect time to reflect on Lenovo’s security-first approach to AI innovation and the urgent need to lead by example.
The stakes of cyber trust
Cybercrime remains one of the fastest-growing global threats, with an expected global cost of US$10.5 trillion by the end of 2025, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. If cybercrime were a country, it would represent the world’s third-largest economy. And the pace isn’t slowing — it’s projected to cost the world US$1 trillion per month by 2031.
In recent months, cyberattacks on major global retailers and automotive manufacturers have halted production lines, frozen payment systems, and erased billions in market value. This all underscores the real-world cost of digital vulnerability. A single attack can bring an enterprise to a standstill and erode customer confidence overnight.
Security teams across all companies face hundreds of attempted intrusions every week. No organization is immune, but those that invest in people, culture, and resilient systems stand the best chance of maintaining customer trust.
A security-first culture
Our mission at Lenovo is simple: to deliver smarter technology for all and be the most trusted and secure technology company for our customers, partners, and employees.
Security isn’t a department — it’s a mindset. Across 30+ manufacturing facilities in 11 markets, we embed security at every step of our value chain. Our Security by Design approach ensures protections are built in and not bolted on. Every Lenovo device, service, and infrastructure solution is developed and tested against global standards, including ISO 27001, TAPA FSR, and CSA STAR.
We’ve also deepened our public-private collaboration through partnerships with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Lenovo is a proud participant in both the Secure by Design and Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) initiatives, which unite industry leaders to proactively strengthen global defenses and secure critical infrastructure.
Empowering people as the first line of defense
The biggest vulnerabilities in cybersecurity are often human and not technical. That’s why we invest in and empower our people, especially in the AI era. Every Lenovo employee undergoes regular security awareness training and simulated phishing exercises. But beyond compliance, we reward critical thinking and encourage everyone to pause, question, and act as the first line of defense.
AI is accelerating the sophistication of attacks, from credential phishing to deepfake-enabled fraud. Emerging tools like “SpamGPT” can automate social engineering at scale. But by combining human vigilance with AI-driven detection (combining solutions from trusted partners and new technologies developed in-house), Lenovo continues to stay one step ahead.
The intersection of AI and trust
As AI becomes embedded in every product and service, trust in AI is now as essential as trust in infrastructure. At Lenovo, we established the Chief AI Office and Responsible AI Council to oversee AI development and deployment.
All AI initiatives go through a standardized review process with oversight from security, legal, and privacy teams. Thanks to centralized governance, our internal flag rates for new AI tools have fallen from 55% to 15%, signaling that responsible AI practices have moved upstream and across teams. This is a product of both process optimization and evolving our culture to meet the moment.
This rigor matters. As the prompt injection incident known as the “dead grandma trick” showed, even well-intentioned AI models can be manipulated into unsafe behavior. Lenovo’s AI governance process is designed precisely to mitigate these kinds of evolving threats.
Our commitment aligns with global principles, including the Canadian Government’s Voluntary Code of Conduct for Responsible Generative AI, and UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI.
For Lenovo, our approach to AI security is anchored in transparency and accountability.
Partnerships that build resilience
Cyber resilience requires collaboration. We work closely with Intel, Microsoft, and SentinelOne to deliver solutions like Lenovo ThinkShield Build Assure, which verifies supply-chain integrity at every stage. Our Cyber Resiliency as a Service initiative extends that protection, giving customers real-time visibility, automated risk assessments, and 24/7 response.
Our security culture extends beyond technology — though that of course is one of our greatest strengths — and is embedded in how we operate, governed by our Global Security Organization and guided by principles that respect privacy, integrity, and human rights.
Trust is the true competitive edge
The AI era will reward those who innovate responsibly, especially in the long term. At Lenovo, security and innovation are inseparable; one cannot scale without the other.
Our customers have never needed a technology partner they can trust more than they do today. By placing security at the heart of Lenovo — by design and by culture — we build a digital future that’s safe, transparent, and trusted.