Daily Tech Digest - June 17, 2025


Quote for the day:

"Next generation leaders are those who would rather challenge what needs to change and pay the price than remain silent and die on the inside." -- Andy Stanley



Understanding how data fabric enhances data security and governance

“The biggest challenge is fragmentation; most enterprises operate across multiple cloud environments, each with its own security model, making unified governance incredibly complex,” Dipankar Sengupta, CEO of Digital Engineering Services at Sutherland Global told InfoWorld. ... Shadow IT is also a persistent threat and challenge. According to Sengupta, some enterprises discover nearly 40% of their data exists outside governed environments. Proactively discovering and onboarding those data sources has become non-negotiable. ... A data fabric deepens organizations’ understanding and control of their data and consumption patterns. “With this deeper understanding, organizations can easily detect sensitive data and workloads in potential violation of GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA and similar regulations,” Calvesbert commented. “With deeper control, organizations can then apply the necessary data governance and security measures in near real time to remain compliant.” ... Data security and governance inside a data fabric shouldn’t just be about controlling access to data, it should also come with some form of data validation. The cliched saying “garbage-in, garbage-out” is all too true when it comes to data. After all, what’s the point of ensuring security and governance on data that isn’t valid in the first place?


AI isn’t taking your job; the big threat is a growing skills gap

While AI can boost productivity by handling routine tasks, it can’t replace the strategic roles filled by skilled professionals, Vianello said. To avoid those kinds of issues, agencies — just like companies — need to invest in adaptable, mission-ready teams with continuously updated skills in cloud, cyber, and AI. The technology, he said, should augment – not replace — human teams, automating repetitive tasks while enhancing strategic work. Success in high-demand tech careers starts with in-demand certifications, real-world experience, and soft skills. Ultimately, high-performing teams are built through agile, continuous training that evolves with the tech, Vianello said. “We train teams to use AI platforms like Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT to accelerate productivity,” Vianello said. “But we don’t stop at tools; we build ‘human-in-the-loop’ systems where AI augments decision-making and humans maintain oversight. That’s how you scale trust, performance, and ethics in parallel.” High-performing teams aren’t born with AI expertise; they’re built through continuous, role-specific, forward-looking education, he said, adding that preparing a workforce for AI is not about “chasing” the next hottest skill. “It’s about building a training engine that adapts as fast as technology evolves,” he said.


Got a new password manager? Don't leave your old logins exposed in the cloud - do this next

Those built-in utilities might have been good enough for an earlier era, but they aren't good enough for our complex, multi-platform world. For most people, the correct option is to switch to a third-party password manager and shut down all those built-in password features in the browsers and mobile devices you use. Why? Third-party password managers are built to work everywhere, with a full set of features that are the same (or nearly so) across every device. After you make that switch, the passwords you saved previously are left behind in a cloud service you no longer use. If you regularly switch between browsers (Chrome on your Mac or Windows PC, Safari on your iPhone), you might even have multiple sets of saved passwords scattered across multiple clouds. It's time to clean up that mess. If you're no longer using a password manager, it's prudent to track down those outdated saved passwords and delete them from the cloud. I've studied each of the four leading browsers: Google Chrome, Apple's Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. Here's how to find the password management settings for each one, export any saved passwords to a safe place, and then turn off the feature. As a final step, I explain how to purge saved passwords and stop syncing.


AI and technical debt: A Computer Weekly Downtime Upload podcast

Given that GenAI technology hit the mainstream with GPT 4 two years ago, Reed says: “It was like nothing ever before.” And while the word “transformational” tends to be generously overused in technology he describes generative AI as “transformational with a capital T.” But transformations are not instant and businesses need to understand how to apply GenAI most effectively, and figure out where it does and does not work well. “Every time you hear anything with generative AI, you hear the word journey and we're no different,” he says. “We are trying to understand it. We're trying to understand its capabilities and understand our place with generative AI,” Reed adds. Early adopters are keen to understand how to use GenAI in day-to-day work, which, he says, can range from being an AI-based work assistant or a tool that changes the way people search for information to using AI as a gateway to the heavy lifting required in many organisations. He points out that bet365 is no different. “We have a sliding scale of ambition, but obviously like anything we do in an organisation of this size, it must be measured, it must be understood and we do need to be very, very clear what we're using generative AI for.” One of the very clear use cases for GenAI is in software development. 


Cloud Exodus: When to Know It's Time to Repatriate Your Workloads

Because of the inherent scalability of cloud resources, the cloud makes a lot of sense when the compute, storage, and other resources your business needs fluctuate constantly in volume. But if you find that your resource consumption is virtually unchanged from month to month or year to year, you may not need the cloud. You may be able to spend less and enjoy more control by deploying on-prem infrastructure. ... Cloud costs will naturally fluctuate over time due to changes in resource consumption levels. It's normal if cost increases correlate with usage increases. What's concerning, however, is a spike in cloud costs that you can't tie to consumption changes. It's likely in that case that you're spending more either because your cloud service provider raised its prices or your cloud environment is not optimized from a cost perspective. ... You can reduce latency (meaning the delay between when a user requests data on the network and when it arrives) on cloud platforms by choosing cloud regions that are geographically proximate to your end users. But that only works if your users are concentrated in certain areas, and if cloud data centers are available close to them. If this is not the case, you are likely to run into latency issues, which could dampen the user experience you deliver. 


The future of data center networking and processing

The optical-to-electrical conversion that is performed by the optical transceiver is still needed in a CPO system, but it moves from a pluggable module located at the faceplate of the switching equipment to a small chip (or chiplet) that is co-packaged very closely to the target ICs inside the box. Data center chipset heavyweights Broadcom and Nvidia have both announced CPO-based data center networking products operating at 51.2 and 102.4 Tb/s. ... Early generation CPO systems, such as those announced by Broadcom and Nvidia for Ethernet switching, make use of high channel count fiber array units (FAUs) that are designed to precisely align the fiber cores to their corresponding waveguides inside the PICs. These FAUs are challenging to make as they require high fiber counts, mixed single-mode (SM) and polarization maintaining (PM) fibers, integration of micro-optic components depending on the fiber-to-chip coupling mechanism, highly precise tolerance alignments, CPO-optimized fibers and multiple connector assemblies.  ... In addition to scale and cost benefits, extreme densities can be achieved at the edge of the PIC by bringing the waveguides very close together, down to about 30µm, which is far more than what can be achieved with even the thinnest fibers. Next generation fiber-to-chip coupling will enable GPU optics – which will require unprecedented levels of density and scale.


Align AI with Data, Analytics and Governance to Drive Intelligent, Adaptive Decisions and Actions Across the Organisation

Unlocking AI’s full business potential requires building executive AI literacy. They must be educated on AI opportunities, risks and costs to make effective, future-ready decisions on AI investments that accelerate organisational outcomes. Gartner recommends D&A leaders introduce experiential upskilling programs for executives, such as developing domain-specific prototypes to make AI tangible. This will lead to greater and more appropriate investment in AI capabilities. ... Using synthetic data to train AI models is now a critical strategy for enhancing privacy and generating diverse datasets. However, complexities arise from the need to ensure synthetic data accurately represents real-world scenarios, scales effectively to meet growing data demand and integrates seamlessly with existing data pipelines and systems. “To manage these risks, organisations need effective metadata management,” said Idoine. “Metadata provides the context, lineage and governance needed to track, verify and manage synthetic data responsibly, which is essential to maintaining AI accuracy and meeting compliance standards.” ... Building GenAI models in-house offers flexibility, control and long-term value that many packaged tools cannot match. As internal capabilities grow, Gartner recommends organisations adopt a clear framework for build versus buy decisions. 


Do microServices' Benefits Supersede Their caveats? A Conversation With Sam Newman

A microservice is one of those where it is independently deployable so I can make a change to it and I can roll out new versions of it without having to change any other part of my system. So things like avoiding shared databases are really about achieving that independent deployability. And it's a really simple idea that can be quite easy to implement if you know about it from the beginning. It can be difficult to implement if you're already in a tangled mess. And that idea of independent deployability has interesting benefits because the fact that something is independently deployable is obviously useful because it's low impact releases, but there's loads of other benefits that start to flow from that. ... The vast majority of people who tell me they've scaling issues often don't have them. They could solve their scaling issues with a monolith, no problem at all, and it would be a more straightforward solution. They're typically organizational scale issues. And so, for me, what the world needs from our IT's product-focused, outcome-oriented, and more autonomous teams. That's what we need, and microservices are an enabler for that. Having things like team topologies, which of course, although the DevOps topology stuff was happening around the time of my first edition of my book, that being kind of moved into the team topology space by Matthew and Manuel around the second edition again sort of helps kind of crystallize a lot of those concepts as well.


Why Businesses Must Upgrade to an AI-First Connected GRC System

Adopting a connected GRC solution enables organizations to move beyond siloed operations by bringing risk and compliance functions onto a single, integrated platform. It also creates a unified view of risks and controls across departments, bringing better workflows and encouraging collaboration. With centralized data and shared visibility, managing complex, interconnected risks becomes far more efficient and proactive. In fact, this shift toward integration reflects a broader trend that is seen in the India Regulatory Technology Business Report 2024–2029 findings, which highlight the growing adoption of compliance automation, AI, and machine learning in the Indian market. The report points to a future where GRC is driven by data, merging operations, technology, and control into a single, intelligent framework. ... An AI-first, connected GRC solution takes the heavy lifting out of compliance. Instead of juggling disconnected systems and endless updates, it brings everything together, from tracking regulations to automating actions to keeping teams aligned. For compliance teams, that means less manual work and more time to focus on what matters. ... A smart, integrated GRC solution brings everything into one place. It helps organizations run more smoothly by reducing errors and simplifying teamwork. It also means less time spent on admin and better use of people and resources where they are really needed.


The Importance of Information Sharing to Achieve Cybersecurity Resilience

Information sharing among different sectors predominantly revolves around threats related to phishing, vulnerabilities, ransomware, and data breaches. Each sector tailors its approach to cybersecurity information sharing based on regulatory and technological needs, carefully considering strategies that address specific risks and identify resolution requirements. However, for the mobile industry, information sharing relating to cyberattacks on the networks themselves and misuse of interconnection signalling are also the focus of significant sharing efforts. Industries learn from each other by adopting sector-specific frameworks and leveraging real-time data to enhance their cybersecurity posture. This includes real-time sharing of indicators of compromise (IoCs) and the techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) associated with phishing campaigns. An example of this is the recently launched Stop Scams UK initiative, bringing together tech, telecoms and finance industry leaders, who are going to share real-time data on fraud indicators to enhance consumer protection and foster economic security. This is an important development, as without cross-industry information sharing, determining whether a cybersecurity attack campaign is sector-specific or indiscriminate becomes difficult. 

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