I think that misses the point though. From a rational perspective, of course, companies don't want the US government grabbing their private data. But from an emotional impact perspective, which seems to be the idea of a pitch, it makes it sound sketchy.
Possibly more emotive, and catering to the (annoying) zeitgeist would be "[...] designed from the ground up to keep your data out of the hands of hackers and cyber-terrorists [...]"
keep your data out of the hands of hackers and cyber-terrorists
I'm not good at marketing: I'm too honest. I simply can't grossly exaggerate threats like that. Black hats, sure. Cyber terrorists? Not a very real threat.
Sure. But on the other hand, what "security" is about is selling protection from a perceived threat, whether it really exists or not. On the plus-side, in the US these days, "terrorism" has been redefined to "people doing things we don't like". ;-)
what "security" is about is selling protection from a perceived threat, whether it really exists or not
No. As anyone who works in the field can tell you, the first step in any security work is to analyse what threats exist (which involves assessing both opportunity and motive -- if you're the US Air Force, you probably don't consider the NSA to be a threat even if the NSA is able to break into your systems).
But that's my point (and that of several others here -- and really I'm just providing this commentary in hopes that it will help) -- your elevator pitch isn't for anyone who works in the field, it's for your customers and their bosses and investors. I understand that factually you're solving a real problem and noting that in your pitch and that other security experts will understand that too, but if customers / investors read it and immediately think, "nutjob", then it's going to work against you.
Given that I have trouble with dumbing things down for a non-security-literate audience, I think the right solution here is for me to work at educating people -- I'm already planning on doing this, actually, by providing information about all the potential attacks which my code is designed to prevent (and which other code isn't).
That angle may work best. If you can prove to someone they have no pants on while they think they are fully clothed, that is sure to tag the amygdala, and hence attentiveness.
I think that misses the point though. From a rational perspective, of course, companies don't want the US government grabbing their private data. But from an emotional impact perspective, which seems to be the idea of a pitch, it makes it sound sketchy.
Possibly more emotive, and catering to the (annoying) zeitgeist would be "[...] designed from the ground up to keep your data out of the hands of hackers and cyber-terrorists [...]"