Daily Tech Digest - March 17, 2017

A Model Proposal for Organizational Prudence and Wisdom Within Governance of Business and Enterprise IT

An organization’s ability to respond to changing environments is a critical issue. Decision-making bodies at all levels need to adjust to meet fast-changing environments. Basically, an organization needs to change its information systems to fit the new requirements. In turn, appropriate computer techniques and technologies can be applied that best meet the requirements for the changed business conditions and stakeholder needs. The current failures of organizations indicate that their information systems are not reflective of current business conditions and ecosystems, even though the application of newer techniques and technologies may abound in the organization. The turbulence of current business conditions, then, necessitates the need for decision makers to use the latest in information system developments—that is, optimal knowledge management (KM)/wisdom management (WM) systems.


Intel pursuing new chips as it plots a wearables future

The company's approach to wearables is being replicated in other areas like the Intel Sports Group, which is developing technology so users can watch 3D sports broadcasts as if they were in the stadium. One way to achieve that is by putting more cameras across the field, including helmets worn by players. Using algorithms, Intel servers slice and dice the images from the cameras to provide the customized footage. This will translate well to wearables like VR headsets, as users will be able to get a bird's eye view of a touchdown in a football game or a goal in soccer. Chips like Curie are already instrumental in improving the sports viewing experience from events like last year's Winter X Games. In real time, viewers were able to view key athlete performance data like the height of a snowboarder jump and how far they rotated.


How A.I. technology is causing major ripples in the travel industry

“Flight fares and hotel prices are ever-changing and vary greatly depending on the provider,” software company AltexSoft admits. “No one has time to track all those changes manually. Thus, smart tools which monitor and send out timely alerts with hot deals are currently in high demand in the travel industry.” Dynamic pricing and fare forecasting tools are all the rage right now. People know there are better deals out there and want access to information that helps them save as much money as possible on flights, hotels, and other accommodations. Hopper is one of the leading startups in this area. They’ve raised more than $37 million to date and have built an advanced application that uses applied predictive analytics to tell users exactly when to pull the trigger on a travel deal.


Augmented and virtual reality to see aggressive growth by 2021

IDC includes in its count of commercial VR and AR the numerous arcades in China's cities where customers play online VR games. "A lot of VR gaming is taking place that way," he said. Those headsets are purchased by the arcade or movie theater operators, and are counted as commercial sales, he explained. Even with those kinds of early successes, VR still suffers from limited content. "There's not a lot of VR content out there and what is out there is very targeted" to younger users and gamers, Ubrani said. Facebook, which purchased Oculus in 2014, allows users to create VR avatars to use in a virtual world, for example. Strategy Analytics on Thursday said VR is "poised for tremendous growth over the next several years," but tempered its optimism with a survey that indicates VR experiences are still wanting.


Why Google's smart jacket could be a boon for commuters

Google and Levi's first announced plans to create the interactive jacket last year. It will mark the first widely available product using technology from Google's Project Jacquard, announced in 2015, which aims to make it possible to "weave touch and gesture interactivity into any textile using standard, industrial looms," according to the project's website. Basically, Google has made conductive yarn, which will allow the company to create smart clothes and smart furniture by adding in interactive surfaces to the fabric. "Project Jacquard will allow designers and developers to build connected, touch-sensitive textiles into their own products," the website stated. The Levi's Commuter Trucker Jacket was designed specifically for urban bike commuters. The jacket is dark denim, very similar in terms of looks to other Levi's commuter coats.


Online cybersecurity course targets business professionals

Because new technologies will require new policies and incentives, and emerging policies must adapt to future technologies, "We have brought together a pool of world-renowned faculty cybersecurity experts from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Sloan School of Management to teach this online course," Shrobe said. The six-week course offers a holistic, comprehensive view of key technologies, techniques and systems. The goal, said Shrobe, is for participants to walk away with a broad understanding of hardware, software, cryptography, and policy to make better, safer long-term security decisions. "Some of the research we focus on is about creating systems that are harder to hack. We’ve demonstrated that it is possible to design a modern computer system that attackers can’t break into and that can protect our information," Shrobe said.


3 Important New Cyber Security Trends

If 2016 was the year of cyber attacks, 2017 is the year of prevention. Twelve months ago, experts were predicting an increase in the innovation and sophistication of cyber attacks and a greater breakdown in security measures on a global scale. With the Internet of Things (IoT) making the world more connected than ever and companies continuing to back-burner security issues, forecasters pointed to a perfect storm. Organizations and individuals would be more vulnerable than ever. They were right. But from the wreckage of hacks and privacy violations of 2016, some important lessons were learned and they will set the trend for the next wave of technology innovations. Managing Director of the Information Security Forum (ISF) Steve Durbin, a risk management expert, said, “I think we are seeing a raised level awareness about the fact that operating in cyber brings about its own peculiarities…I see an increasing maturity and development of the cyber crime gangs.


Standards and Security: The Great DDoS Challenge

DDoS attacks are becoming far more sophisticated so it’s essential that hardware and software manufacturers start to seriously consider standards to address the potential security risks in the growing Internet of Things. One key standard is the Open Trusted Technology Provider Standard, or O-TTPS, which addresses these issues around supply chain security and product integrity. Recently approved as ISO/IEC 20243, this set of best practices can be applied from design to disposal, throughout the supply chain and the entire product life cycle. Standards like the O-TTPS aim to reduce the risk of tainted (e.g., malware-enabled and malware-capable) and counterfeit hardware and software components from entering the supply chains and making their way into products that connect to the internet. This specific standard also has a conformance program that identifies Open Trusted Technology Providers who conform.


Cybersecurity not a one-time effort for small businesses; requires constant vigilance

Invasions that render a computer’s files unusable unless the user pays a ransom have also surged. Cybercriminals who use this method are aggressive — one variation of ransomware attacked an estimated 100,000 computers a day within weeks of its release last year, according to the FBI. The costs of an invasion can be steep. Heath estimates he lost $10,000 in business because the site was down. He didn’t have to pay to have the website rebuilt, because his business was part of an incubator where tech help was available for free. But recreating a website could run a business well into the thousands of dollars. Many owners believe they don’t have the resources — human or financial — to keep their companies safe, which takes keeping up with frequent security updates for software and equipment.


India ID plan wins World Bank praise amid Big Brother fears

An ambitious government-run project -- just like the Internet at the time of its creation decades ago -- Aadhaar began in 2009 to target payments to the poor across India’s vast hinterland. Other governments are already interested in its potential. Countries such as Tanzania, Afghanistan and Bangladesh have visited India to talk about the system, said Nandan Nilekani, billionaire co-founder of the technology company Infosys Ltd. and former chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, who created Aadhaar. Russia, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia have also indicated their interest in Aadhaar, R.S. Sharma, chairman of the telecom regulatory authority of India, told the Mint newspaper in July 2016. "They’re all keen to see how they can replicate this in their countries," Nilekani said by phone. "This is a great example of how governments can build the most modern digital public infrastructure, and make it available as a public good to everybody."



Quote for the day:


"Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change." -- Mary Shelley


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