BRIAN GRACELY
TECH & AI
“ The second option is to build a custom fix with your own patch. This saves upgrading the whole system but takes time, costs money and leaves you responsible for maintaining that custom fix forever.
“ Or, the third option is to do nothing. Leave the flaw unpatched and hope hackers don’ t exploit it.”
Lightwell removes this tradeoff through a process called backpoint. It takes the security fix and carefully retrofits it into the exact older version of the software the customer is already using.
The company gets the fix immediately without having to upgrade their entire system or maintain custom code.
Lightwell also submits the security fix back to the public open-source community. That way, everyone using the software is protected in future versions.
Matt Hicks, President and CEO of Red Hat, adds:“ By pairing automated remediation with our deep engineering heritage, we aim to deliver the trusted infrastructure required to consume open source reliably, sustainably and at AI speeds.”
Accelerating the patch to production window New AI-powered tools are dramatically accelerating the speed and volume at which security vulnerabilities are discovered. While Lightwell directly addresses this by backporting patches at scale, enterprises face a second major operational hurdle: getting those patches into active production systems.
BRIAN GRACELY
TITLE: SENIOR DIRECTOR, PORTFOLIO STRATEGY
COMPANY: RED HAT
INDUSTRY: SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT
LOCATION: RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, US
Brian playfully claims to“ wear many hats” at Red Hat. As Chief Storyteller and former OpenShift leader, he connects strategy, product marketing and executive engagement.
84 September 2026