Daily Tech Digest - April 01, 2024

The Future Is Now: AI and Risk Management in 2024

Generative AI can write code, generate personalized content, and even compose music. IT and business leaders are incorporating custom LLMs into their workflows to maximize worker productivity and streamline routine procedures. Governments are developing regulations for the use of all forms of AI, with the goal of making it safer for humans to use. Organizations are also writing internal guidelines to clarify and standardize the deployment of AI in their own operations. ... Generic, generative AI isn’t reliable – especially when lives are on the line. AI for risk management is tailored to industry-specific needs, providing accurate, relevant data to allow for expedited decisions and swift actions. It considers historic threats and delivers updates in real time as events unfold. It can also understand linguistic nuances specific to risk management. ... AI-powered risk intelligence must be continuously fed quality data vetted by expert data scientists who specialize in machine learning and risk intelligence. The technology should be monitored and trained by humans to ensure it provides only the most accurate and trustworthy information.


Strengthening Cyber Security

In today’s interconnected digital ecosystem, the ramifications of a cyber breach extend far beyond mere data loss. They can disrupt essential services, compromise national security and erode public trust in Government institutions. Therefore, the imperative to fortify cyber security measures cannot be overstated. Regular security audits serve as a pre-emptive measure to identify vulnerabilities, assess risks and implement corrective actions before they can be exploited by malicious actors. By mandating such audits, the GAD is not only demonstrating foresight but also fostering a culture of vigilance and accountability within Government Departments. Moreover, the emphasis on engaging CERT-in-empanelled agencies underscores the importance of leveraging expertise and best practices in cyber security. ... Equally crucial is the timely implementation of audit findings and recommendations. Too often, audits yield valuable insights that languish in bureaucratic inertia, leaving vulnerabilities unaddressed. This entails establishing clear lines of responsibility, allocating adequate resources, and instituting mechanisms for continuous monitoring and evaluation.


The Complexity and Need to Manage Mental Well-Being in the Security Team

“Security people are often overwhelmed,” comments Thea Mannix, director of research (and a cyberpsychologist) at Praxis Security Labs. Apart from the day to day work, she adds, “They’re expected to be futurologists able to predict the future, and psychologists able to understand the human elements of security – how users may react to social engineering and how they may subvert security controls to make work easier. And they never get any positive feedback; it’s mostly negative because the whole process of security is mostly negative – stop the outside bad guys doing anything bad, and stop the inside good guys doing anything wrong.” But there’s also a disturbing edge to this ‘human’ side of cybersecurity. Security teams sometimes work with SBIs and the FBI on criminal investigations. Tim Morris, chief security advisor at Tanium, knows what can be involved because he and his team have done this. “We do cybersecurity to protect data and people. And the only reason we must do this is because there’s an evil side of humanity. 


How to Become a Cyber Security Analyst? A Step By Step Guide

If you’re contemplating a career in cybersecurity, you’re positioned advantageously. The field is experiencing a robust surge and is poised for continued expansion in the coming years. ... The core responsibility of a cyber security analyst revolves around safeguarding a company’s network and systems against cyber attacks. This entails various tasks such as researching emerging IT trends, devising contingency plans, monitoring for suspicious activities, promptly reporting security breaches, and educating the organization’s staff on security protocols. Additionally, cyber security analysts play a pivotal role in implementing threat protection measures and security controls. They may conduct simulated security attacks to identify potential vulnerabilities within the organization’s infrastructure. Given the ever-evolving tactics and tools employed by hackers, cyber security analysts must remain abreast of the latest developments in digital threats. Staying informed about emerging cyber threats ensures that analysts can effectively anticipate and counteract evolving security risks.


Viewpoint: AI Is Changing the Cyber Risk Landscape

Any time an organization adopts new technology, that organization inherently opens itself up to risk by introducing a new set of unknowns to their business practices. Allowing the wrong users access to a program, for example, or flaws in the program’s code, are technological issues that can create security vulnerabilities which need to be addressed by IT and cybersecurity professionals. The practice of hacking – where cybercriminals use code to break through an organization’s cybersecurity systems – is increasingly difficult, but the sudden ubiquity of AI offers a new way to create vulnerabilities by targeting system users with lifelike dupes. Emails that look genuine but are designed to extract important security credentials are not a new phenomenon, but generative AI has allowed new, sophisticated forms of phishing attacks to proliferate on an unprecedented scale. Deepfakes are a convincing new form of cyberattack where criminals develop highly convincing visual and auditory assets to impersonate others. 


Achieving Data Excellence: How Generative AI Revolutionizes Data Integration

Data integration combines data from various sources for a unified view. Artificial intelligence (AI) improves integration by automating tasks, boosting accuracy, and managing diverse data volumes. Here are the top four data integration strategies/patterns using AI: Automated data matching and merging – AI algorithms, such as ML and natural language processing (NLP), can match and automatically merge data from disparate sources. Real-time data integration – AI technologies, such as stream processing and event-driven architectures, can facilitate real-time data integration by continuously ingesting, processing, and integrating data as it becomes available. Schema mapping and transformation – AI-driven tools can automate the process of mapping and transforming data schemas from different formats or structures. This includes converting data between relational databases, NoSQL databases, and other data formats — plus handling schema evolution over time. Knowledge graphs and graph-based integration – AI can build and query knowledge graphs representing relationships between entities and concepts. 


Generative AI, the Digital Divide, and the Tremendous Opportunity

Access to generative AI and tools such as ChatGPT is becoming the new table stakes for many walks of life. As businesses implement this technology, workers will need to be upskilled. Children -- the next generation of workers -- will need access at school and at home. And leaders must continually strive for an AI future that’s fair and equitable. The reality is that those who know how to use AI tools will have a significant advantage over those who don’t. For telecoms, adopting an ESG-principled strategy to introduce or enhance broadband services in low-income areas is more than an opportunity to enhance the quality of life among people who have been historically under-connected; it can also build their brand and grow their subscriber base. By aligning business strategy with a clear ESG framework, companies can significantly reduce the cost of borrowing when raising capital to invest in major GenAI infrastructure projects. In the KPMG US 2023 ESG and Financial Value survey, 43% of business leaders at companies with more than 10,000 employees cited access to new capital sources as one of the top financial benefits of their ESG strategies.


How to design and deliver an effective cybersecurity exercise

Playbooks come in a variety of styles, including action plans, flow charts and storylines. They are based on cyber-attack scenarios and are used by facilitators to guide participants throughout the cybersecurity exercise. They include pieces of information for participants (e.g., indicators of compromise, a customer complaint, a help desk report, a piece of threat intelligence or a SOC alert), as well as key stages of the exercise. ... An appropriate target audience must be identified before considering the type of cyber exercise to perform. Audiences can consist of different functions, levels and areas of an organization such as executives, crisis management, incident response or operational teams (among others). The audience will shape the objectives, injects, discussion areas and storyline of the scenario. Tailoring these specifically to an audience is paramount to conducting a successful exercise. ... The organization must select suitable targets for cybersecurity exercises. Targets can comprise one or more types of assets, such as critical business applications, technical infrastructure, physical devices, people, or office/factory locations.


How data centers can drive a more sustainable world

In spite of the race to greater sustainability, the demand for more data speed and bandwidth is still driving the need for increased DCI network performance, capacity, and scalability. In order to meet these demands while maintaining competitiveness, hyperscalers must cut costs and streamline operational efficiency, even as they enhance capacity. Traditionally, the wavelength range of ROADM networks was limited because conventional transmission solutions were divided into C-band and L-band. This is particularly problematic in metro and long-haul DCI networks. Recent advances in continuous C+L ROADM architecture allow transport platforms to handle both wavelength bands at once. This not only increases maximum transmission capacity and simplifies network capacity upgrades, it also reduces environmental impact by using half the common line system equipment versus current bolt-on or C-band overbuild approaches.In addition to capacity enhancements, technology advances are contributing to increased distance for long-haul DCI networks. 


The metaverse mystique- Reshaping virtual interaction

For all businesses, the metaverse will eventually develop into a platform where they have to engage with their customers. A host of global brands, from Adidas to JP Morgan have launched metaverse initiatives. It offers businesses an unprecedented opportunity to connect with their customers on a deeper level – offering a Metaverse platform can potentially allow businesses and brands to develop an even deeper 360-degree view of their customers which allows for more accurate and granular segmentation analytics, enabling customer insights in ways previously unimaginable. This will facilitate the delivery of products and services with unparalleled precision, aligning them seamlessly with customer insights and expectations. The potential for businesses in the Metaverse is staggering, with McKinsey estimating its value creation potential to reach up to $5 trillion by 2030. Beyond the consumer-centric applications, industrial uses are also gaining traction. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) tools, along with digital twin architectures, are increasingly finding applications in various industrial sectors.



Quote for the day:

''To so great things is difficult; but to command great things is more difficult.'' -- Friedrich Nietzsche

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