Daily Tech Digest - June 09, 2023

Why Protecting Data Centers Requires A Personalized Security Approach

Since each industry has its own unique security and privacy needs, businesses should work with security providers to vet their services and ensure they’re a vertical fit. Beyond HIPAA and PCI, these can also include standards in government like FISMA and FEDRAMP as well as FERPA in education. For businesses in these industries, partnering with a security provider with background in their respective vertical is a must. Security needs vary from data center to data center, so security providers must do a thorough analysis of all potential risks and threats. These solutions providers should ask hard questions of their customers to truly understand the security level needed. Businesses need to be prepared for a worst-case scenario and determine how they can secure customer data in the event of a disruption. If there’s a power outage, how long can they be down for? If they’re a retail business, what’s the impact on the bottom line if an outage happens on Black Friday? How much damage to a business’ reputation will happen if customer information is leaked in a breach? 


ChatGPT’s ‘Perfect Storm’: Managing Risk and Eyeing Transformational Change

At the eye of this storm lies the rapid evolution of ChatGPT’s capabilities, marking the advent of what we refer to as the “Age of AI” or the “Fourth Industrial Revolution.” I shed light on ChatGPT’s transformational capabilities, especially its potential to reshape business operations. In my personal experience, ChatGPT has proven itself valuable in tasks such as drafting initial document versions and creating LinkedIn posts, even suggesting suitable emojis! However, accompanying this storm is a limited understanding of associated risks, further compounded by an absence of a regulatory framework tailored to such advanced AI models and varying levels of organizational preparedness for AI-driven future. ...  It calls for interdisciplinary collaboration involving technological expertise, regulatory compliance, risk management and operational understanding. By ensuring this balanced and holistic approach, organizations can fully exploit the advantages of AI technologies like ChatGPT while mitigating potential risks and pitfalls.


The Six Disruptive Forces That Will Shape Your Business’s Future

Technological advances and digital innovations – the primary driver of growth in the US economy during the past 25 years – will continue to drive new business models and ecosystem relationships. The past few decades witnessed a massive explosion of computing and communications capability, along with the scaling of new business models, and the ability to connect every person on the planet through the internet. The next decade promises even more of this, perhaps exponentially so, driven by technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, 5G networks, and edge computing. ... A proliferation of new communication technologies enabled the widespread adoption of hybrid work models in the wake of the pandemic. Some see this shift in working patterns as an evolutionary step in how work occurs – an incremental change. We see it differently: in our view, remote work represents a step change in how labor markets are organized, raises big questions about productivity, and creates important collateral effects in other areas of the economy.


How to use the new AI writing tool in Google Docs and Gmail

The AI tools in Slides and Sheets are not yet available, but Help Me Write is in limited preview; you can try it out in Google Docs or Gmail on the web by signing up for access to Workspace Labs with your Google account. (You’ll be put on a waitlist before being granted access.) Like the well-known ChatGPT, Help Me Write is a chatbot tool that generates written text based on prompts (instructions) that you give it. Whether you’re a professional writer or someone who dreads having to write for your job, the potential of AI assistance for your writing tasks is appealing. Help Me Write can indeed write long passages of text that are reasonably readable. But its results come with caveats including factual errors, redundancy, and too-generic prose. This guide covers how to use Help Me Write in both Google Docs and Gmail to generate and rewrite text, and how to overcome some of the tool’s shortcomings. Because it’s in preview status, keep in mind that there may be changes to its features, and the results it generates, when it’s finally rolled out to the public.


Winning the Mind Game: The Role of the Ransomware Negotiator

Professional negotiation is the act of taking advantage of the professional communication with the hacker in various extortion situations. The role comprises four key elements:1. Identifying the scope of the event - Takes place within the first 24-48 hours. Includes understanding what was compromised, how deep the attackers are in the system, whether the act is a single, double or triple ransomware, if the attack was financially motivated or if it was a political or personal attack, etc. In 90% of cases, the attack is financially motivated. If it is politically motivated, the information may not be recovered, even after paying the ransom.2. Profiling the threat actor - Includes understanding whether the group is known or unknown, their behavioral patterns and their organizational structure. Understanding who the attacker is influences communication. ... This can be used for improving negotiation terms, like leveraging public holidays to ask for a discount.3. Assessing the "cost-of-no-deal" - Reflecting to the decision makers and the crisis managers what will happen if they don't pay the ransom.


RFI vs. RFP vs. RFQ: What are the differences?

Each document -- a request for information (RFI), a request for proposal (RFP) and a request for quote (RFQ) -- has a distinct purpose when undertaking a significant project, even if some overlap exists. While it's possible to issue all three types of requests for a single project, buying teams will typically only issue one or two of them, given the overlap. ... Software buying teams use a request for information when they want additional information from vendors before finalizing the RFP or RFQ. The buying team may lack clarity on requirements, want more information on available options in the market or need details validated, which the vendors' industry experts can do. ... The RFP will list the requirements in detail, provide a recommended timeline and request pricing from the vendors. The buying team might ask specific questions about the vendor, such as the length of time they've been in business, completion proportion of similar projects, annual sales and number of staff. The RFP response may have mandatory terms to follow, such as a submission due date and other critical information.


Contextual Computing and the Internet of Things: A Perfect Match

The convergence of contextual computing and the IoT is a natural progression, as both technologies rely on data to function effectively. By combining the contextual awareness of AI-powered systems with the vast amounts of data generated by IoT devices, we can create intelligent systems that are capable of making real-time decisions and providing personalized experiences. One of the most significant benefits of this convergence is the ability to create more efficient and sustainable systems. For example, in the realm of energy management, IoT devices can collect data on energy consumption patterns, while contextual computing can analyze this data to identify inefficiencies and suggest improvements. This could lead to the development of smart grids that optimize energy distribution and reduce waste, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable future. Another area where the combination of contextual computing and the IoT can have a significant impact is in healthcare. 


Beyond Requirements: Tapping the Business Potential of Data Governance and Security

The teams responsible for data protection and security have often been pitted against the teams that want to leverage data for business insight. This conflict is unsustainable when the business needs maximum agility to respond to volatile market conditions and unexpected competitive pressures. In fact, the alignment of internal objectives and incentives is an opportunity to accelerate outcomes for the business. ... Functions of data governance, data security and data privacy are becoming increasingly interdependent within the enterprise. Stakeholder communication and collaboration are critical. But in many cases, there is a counterproductive feedback loop inhibiting this critical cultural alignment. Siloed technology often obstructs meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration, which prevents the adoption of more unified supporting technologies. In this sense, both automation and integration should be key areas of technological focus for today’s businesses. Now is the time for change, as many organizations risk falling behind in their data governance and security efforts.


Cybersecurity Pioneer Calls for Regulations to Restrain AI

“We know that you can use deep fakes to do scams or business email compromise attacks or what have you.” Current tools gave criminals and other bad actors the ability to generate unlimited personas, which could be used for multiple types of scams. More broadly, the march of AI also means that whatever can be done purely online can be done through automation and large-scale language models like ChatGPT, he said, which has obvious implications for developers. However, he said, humans are harder to replace where there’s an interface between the real world and online technology. Rather than studying to build software frameworks for the cloud, he said, “You should be studying to build software frameworks for, let’s say, medical interfaces for human health because we still need the physical world. For humans to work with humans to fix their diseases.” Looking slightly further ahead, he said that people who worried about the likes of ChatGPT becoming too good, or achieving AGI, “haven’t paid attention”, as that is precisely what the declared goal of OpenAI is.


The steep cost of a poor data management strategy

For many organizations, the real challenge is quantifying the ROI benefits of data management in terms of dollars and cents. Unlike other business investments, the returns may not be immediately apparent because the benefits accrue over time. This places a major focus on the initial investment instead of the potential outcomes and ROI, often disguising data management’s incredible value. Let’s look at how we can resolve this—while there is still time to do so. Regardless of your industry, data is central to almost every business today. Leveraging that data, in AI models, for example, depends entirely on the accessibility, quality, granularity, and latency of your organization’s data. Without it, organizations incur a significant opportunity cost. A few years ago, Gartner found that “organizations estimate the average cost of poor data quality at $12.8 million per year.’” Beyond lost revenue, data quality issues can also result in wasted resources and a damaged reputation. 



Quote for the day:

"Even the demons are encouraged when their chief is "not lost in loss itself." -- John Milton

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