Essential Emerging Technology: Companies are Woefully Unprepared
By Chuck Brooks, Skytop Contributor / August 19th, 2022
Chuck Brooks, President of Brooks Consulting International, is a globally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert on Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies. LinkedIn named Chuck as one of “The Top 5 Tech People to Follow on LinkedIn.” He was named by Thomson Reuters as a “Top 50 Global Influencer in Risk, Compliance,” and by IFSEC as the “#2 Global Cybersecurity Influencer.” He was featured in the 2020 Onalytica “Who’s Who in Cybersecurity” – as one of the top Influencers for cybersecurity issues. He was also named one of the Top 5 Executives to Follow on Cybersecurity by Executive Mosaic. He is also a Cybersecurity Expert for “The Network” at the Washington Post, Visiting Editor at Homeland Security Today, Expert for Executive Mosaic/GovCon, and a Contributor to FORBES. He has also been a featured author in technology and cybersecurity blogs & events by IBM, AT&T, Microsoft, Cylance, Xerox, Malwarebytes, General Dynamics Mission Systems, and many others. He recently presented to the G20 on Energy Cybersecurity.
Chuck is on the Faculty of Georgetown University where he teaches in the Graduate Applied Intelligence and Cybersecurity Risk Programs. In government, Chuck was a “plank holder” at The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) serving as the first Legislative Director of The Science & Technology Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. He served as a top Advisor to the late Senator Arlen Specter on Capitol Hill covering security and technology issues on Capitol Hill. He has an M.A from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from DePauw University.
The 4th Industrial Era
The emerging 4th Industrial era of connecting our physical industries to digital operations has arrived. The pace of innovation in industry is accelerating so rapidly and so exponentially that breakthroughs in emerging technologies are transforming our world. Understanding and adapting to that digital transformation is essential for business leaders and shareholders to thrive in the global commercial ecosystem.
The Age of Mastery
Renowned Futurist Dr. Michio Kaku characterizes the technological shift we are experiencing as moving from the “age of discovery” to the “age of mastery.” He characterizes it as a period in our history where we will be able to harness our technologies and control our destinies.
For companies that want to excel in the new digital economy, the business objectives of reliability, quality, cost-efficiency, and responsive customer service are integral to success. Industry has spent years developing technologies and processes to meet those objectives and improve operational capabilities.
Innovation of Technologies
Digital transformation combined with tech foraging of the 4th Industrial Era has led to significant jumps in innovation of technologies. This includes, for example, emerging tech such as big data, artificial intelligence, IoT, smart cities, 5G wireless, virtual & augmented reality, nanotechnologies, robotics, self-driving cars, 3-D Printing, cybersecurity, quantum computing, predictive data analytics, Biometrics and wearables, self-healing materials, bioinformatics, genetic engineering, and a new world of medical applications.
Technological advancements certainly have been profound and impacting. Consider a brief list of technologies that have been introduced into the marketplace in the last two decades: the MP3 audio format, flash storage, the mega search engine, Wi-Fi, multicore processors, big data, social media, smartphones, Bluetooth, virtual reality, connected vehicles, 5G, satellite imaging, and especially growth is capabilities machine learning and artificial intelligence.
I have compiled working summaries of what the C-Suite and shareholders should know about which emerging technologies will impact the business ecosystem in 2022 and beyond below.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning
The benefits derived from artificial intelligence and Machine Learning can provide for more efficient decision making by prioritizing and acting on data, especially across larger networks with many users and variables. Some of the basic activities computers with AI are designed for include speech recognition; learning planning; and problem solving. For cybersecurity, synthesizing data is surely an advantage in mitigating threats.
Machine Learning is the science of getting a computer to act without programming. It often combines with AI and can be thought of as the rapid automation of predictive analytics. In cybersecurity terms, machine learning provides the fastest way to identify new attacks, draw statistical inferences and push that information to endpoint security platforms. Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning will dominate industry priorities as it looks to be one of the most critical emerging technologies of the decade. Robotics are also becoming more ingrained in the deployment of AI. No doubt this will have implications on governing, commerce, sustainability, health, and even how we fight wars in the future.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
RPA is a form of artificial intelligence that is already being used by businesses to reduce manual work and help eliminate human errors for more mundane work. RPA transforms service operations by deploying technology for common, repeatable tasks, and frees up human talent for higher, more complex issues. It can be customized to performance requirements and is scalable. RPA is used widely in the private sector including for contact centers, insurance enrollment and billing, claims processing, and medical coding.
RPA is used widely in the private sector, including contact centers, insurance enrollment and billing, claims to process, and medical coding. Another automated form of bots called chatbots is used to automate tasks that were done manually for phone, messaging, social and social media. These bots too are growing in use in service platforms along with RPA.
Avatars are often used with RPA and are virtual assistants that combine digital interfaces to provide for an improved user experience. A report predicts that SMEs will be run by lookalikeavatars of their business owners by 2050. SMEs will be run by avatars in time for 2050 – SMEs will be run by avatars in time for 2050 – study.
Global Spending in AI
Investments in areas of artificial intelligence are a good barometer of both the importance and promise of the technologies. According to IDC, a research firm, global spending in AI is forecasted to grow to more than $110 billion by 2024. Worldwide AI spending to reach more than $110 billion in 2024 – Help Net Security.
Big Data: Real-time Analytics and Predictive Analytics
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the world will store 200 zettabytes of data by 2025. This includes data stored on private and public IT infrastructures, on utility infrastructures, on private and public cloud data centers, and on personal computing devices. The World Will Store 200 Zettabytes Of Data By 2025 (cybersecurityventures.com).
According to Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, we produce more data every other day than we did from the inception of early civilization until the year 2003 combined. Therefore, organizing, managing, and analyzing data is more important than ever.
Data Analytics
Most digital data is unstructured: a complex mesh of images, texts, videos, and other data formats. Estimates suggest 80-90 percent of the world’s data is unstructured and growing at an increasingly rapid rate each day. To even begin to make sense of this much data, advanced data analytic technologies are required.
Data analytics can be used to distill that data and collapse the information gap, giving businesses the tools they need to uncover trends, population movements, customer preferences, demographics, commerce traffic, transportation, etc. The process is essentially a reengineered optimization for decision making. These tools can also help several industries, including customer service, by identifying caller trends; healthcare, by flagging potential fraud; and financial services, by proactively flagging a borrower that is on the verge of lapsing in payment. The value of data analytics is something agencies and businesses cannot ignore because it can increase productivity, efficiency, decision-making, and new business activities.
Internet of Things (IOT)
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the general idea of things that are readable, recognizable, locatable, addressable, and/or controllable via the Internet. This incorporates physical objects communicating with each other, including machine to machine, and machine to people. The commercial IOT “landscape of sensors” is becoming more exponential and complex by the moment. By 2025, it is expected that there will be more than 30 billion IoT connections, almost 4 IoT devices per person on average and that also amounts to trillions of sensors connecting and interacting on these devices. State of the IoT 2020: 12 billion IoT connections (iot-analytics.com). According to The McKinsey Global Institute, 127 new devices connect to the internet every second.
Some of the industry verticals IoT are impacting include facilities and infrastructure management, industrial applications, energy (smart grid, medical and healthcare, transportation, building/construction (smart buildings), environment (waste management), water resources, retail and supply chain, communications, and education (learning analytics).
Smart Cities
Smart Cities will implement IoT technologies and sensors to integrate transportation, energy, water resources, waste collections, smart-building technologies, and security technologies and services. The term “smart city” connotes creating a public/private infrastructure to conduct activities that protect and secure citizens.
5G and 6G
5G and 6G will enable faster networks with more capabilities and less latency or lag times for businesses. 5G will create innumerable benefits for the enterprise business community and the U.S. economy. Advanced 5G and wireless networks will bring a wide variety of benefits, including higher traffic capacities and increased reliability. It will empower millions by broadband connectedness. It will impact commercial verticals such as retail, health, and financial by enabling processing and analytics in real time. 5G will function as a data superhighway. 5G next generation networks are currently being rolled out, and the future generation of 6G will be much faster. They will both be integral for orchestrating IoT devices in networks and for smart cities operations.
Virtualization and Augmented Reality
The common elements that characterize the emerging virtual digital world are exponential connectivity, collective engagement, access, and information sharing via people and objects. The technological components of the virtual world are supported by devices using sensory inputs incorporating graphics, video, sound, and smell. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies are rapidly expanding across industry, academia, and government and intertwining the physical and digital worlds. The world is going virtual, and it is being supported by a myriad of new and exciting technologies including artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and exponential connectivity to both people and objects. AR/VR goggles are already being used in industry and government for training, First Responders, and for healthcare applications, including diagnostics and surgeries.
3-D Printing
3-D printing is trailblazing future manufacturing. 3-D printing connotes a three-dimensional object that is created layer by layer via computer aided design programs. To be able to print the object, the computer divides it into flat layers that are printed one by one. By printing with advanced pliable materials such as plastics, ceramics, metals, and graphene there have already been breakthroughs in prosthetics for medicine and wearable sensors.
The big advantage for industry is that 3-D printing can be customized, produced rapidly, and is cost-effective. The possibilities for 3-D printing are limitless. 3-D printing innovation is making its way into printing electronics, sensors, and circuits. “Printed electronics” or electronic chips are fabricated by printing their features on top of thin surfaces. Using semiconducting and conductive inks and materials, 3-D printers can now print transistors, sensors, circuits, batteries, and displays.
Blockchain
Blockchain is a peer to peer network with a shared, distributed ledger. It is already being used in the financial sector and offers selective transparency and privacy. Blockchain acts both as the information and the conduit. It also creates an audit trail that makes it appealing for reconciliation purposes of historical records, transactions, and regulations that will impact a whole host of future commercial and government functions and services.
Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing consists of moving and storing data and applications over the Internet from remote servers. The cloud offers business users cost flexibility, mobility, and increased productivity. The ability to securely store, prioritize, analyze and share (and scale) that data is fundamental to operations and commerce. The movement of business data to the cloud and hybrid clouds is trending. Forecasters are estimating that most data processing workloads will be located in cloud data within the next couple of years. For cybersecurity purposes, the cloud allows for better firewalling and managed security. A big advantage of the cloud is you know where the data resides and who is managing its security.
Edge Computing
The ability to securely store, prioritize, analyze and share (and scale) device data is fundamental to operations and commerce. Because of those functional requirements, storing data in the cloud or hybrid clouds is more than prudent. Edge computing strives to bring real-time computation, data storage, and operations closer to the device, rather than relying on a central location, thereby avoiding latency issues.
Because of the growth of Internet of Things devices, and eventually smart cities, edge computing will be needed to maximize capabilities of processing speeds and reduce bandwidth requirements.
Quantum Computing
We are starting to evolve beyond classical computing into a new data era called quantum computing. Futurist Ray Kurzweil said that humankind will be able to “expand the scope of our intelligence a billion-fold” and that “the power of computing doubles, on average, every two years.” Recent breakthroughs in physics, nanotechnologies, and materials science have brought us into a computing reality that we could not have imagined a decade ago.
Quantum computing works by harnessing the special properties of atoms and subatomic particles. Physicists are designing quantum computers that can calculate at amazing speeds and that would enable a whole new type of analytics and cryptography. Photonics computers that use light photons instead of electrons to transmit and analyze data are also being developed within the quantum realm.
It is envisioned that quantum computing will accelerate us into the future by impacting the landscape of artificial intelligence and data analytics. As we get closer to a fully operational quantum computer, a new world of supercomputing beckons that will impact on almost every aspect of our lives. The quantum computing power and speed will help us solve some of the biggest and most complex challenges we face as humans.
Cybersecurity
Many corporations, organizations and agencies have continued to be breached throughout 2021 despite cybersecurity investments. In 2022 and beyond we will be facing a new and more sophisticated array of physical security and cybersecurity challenges (including automated hacker tools) that pose significant risk to people, places, and commercial networks. The nefarious global threat actors are terrorists, criminals, hackers, organized crime, malicious individuals, and in some cases, adversarial nation states.
Cybersecurity is even more critical today than anticipated. Digital transformation was rapidly pushed by COVID-19 and the need to move individuals working in offices to working remotely from their homes. That led to millions of connected offices. Home offices are not as protected as the fortified office sites that have more secure firewalls, routers, and access management run by its security teams. Remote work has created new opportunities for hackers to exploit vulnerable employee devices and networks.
Addressing 2022 and beyond on evolving cyber-threats requires incorporating a better and more calculated risk awareness with a risk management framework that will need to be comprehensive, adaptive, and elevated to C-Suite decision making levels.
Comprehensive Risk Management Approach
At its core, a risk management strategy encompasses the practice of identifying gaps, assessing vulnerabilities, mitigating threats. A comprehensive risk management approach should be to protect core applications and ensure the privacy of the data. This requires transparency, knowing exactly where the data is, who is trying to access it, and what they are doing. A risk management framework is especially important as technology continues to evolve. New automation and analytic tools supported by machine learning and artificial intelligence can help identify gaps and provide for better mitigation and resilience. A risk management framework can continually evaluate technology tools, processes, and people interacting with any data.
Automated cybersecurity tools of threat detection, information assurance, and resilience are the glues that will enable business to optimally utilize emerging technologies to operate safely in a world of converged sensors and algorithms.
Cryptography and Encryption
Cryptography and Encryption are also vital elements of a cybersecurity framework. In symmetric key encryption, the same key is installed on both computers that transmit and receive the encrypted information. Public key encryption is the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL is commonly used by browsers and Internet servers when transmitting confidential data. Encryption protects against most cybercriminals and hacktivists because it creates a formidable time/effort barrier for them to breach.
Digital Transformation
In the digital transformation of our 4th Industrial era, protecting user data in any security approach needs to be dynamic and not static. As the sophistication of hackers and the attack surface grows, the cyber-threats will continue to evolve. Most of our vital critical infrastructures operates in a digital environment, including the health care, transportation, communications, financial, and energy industries. These cybersecurity areas need to be the focus and priority of risk management and cybersecurity framework for business:
Endpoint security: Protecting remote access to a company’s network
Network Security: Protecting network from unwanted users, attacks and intrusions
Cloud Security: Protecting from unauthorized party gaining access to an asset
Mobile Security: Protection from fake and malicious apps
Supply Chain Cyber Attacks: Protecting each component within the supply chain
Data Security & Data Privacy Regulations: Securing data and adhering to data and privacy standards
Identity Management: Understanding the access every individual has in an organization
Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning: Effective plan for the business to continue in the event of a breach
Economic Resilience
Maintaining economic resilience requires new ways to develop and deploy critical and emerging technologies, cultivate the needed human capital, and build trust in the digital fabric with which our world will be woven. A risk management framework integrating cybersecurity is key to that process.
I have just touched on several of the implications of emerging technology areas that will have significant impact in our lives in the coming years. There are common threats that ties all these tech innovations together: the collection, analysis, and utilization of data via both cybersecurity and advanced computing capabilities. Last year, the scientific organization IEEE released the results of a survey of global technology leaders. The study, which included 350 CTOs, CIOs and IT directors, covers the most important technologies in 2022, industries most impacted by technology in the year ahead, and technology trends through the next decade. Because of the global pandemic, technology leaders surveyed said they highlighted the accelerated adoption of cloud computing, AI and machine learning, and 5G. Which technologies will be the most important in 2022? – Help Net Security.
Transforming Our Civilization
Certainly, as the IEEE survey recognized, we have entered a new era of scientific breakthroughs and technological applications that will change life as we know it. Accelerated technological development is transforming our civilization. AI/ML, 5G, cloud and edge computing, and IoT, are all tech components in a larger vision that technologists envision as the metaverse. We have entered a new renaissance of accelerated technological development that is transforming our civilization.
The pace of innovation is growing so rapidly that it is becoming exponential as each year passes. The emerging technology areas I described above are just the tip of the iceberg, as we really are amid a major paradigm shift in applied scientific knowledge. Other emerging tech areas such as materials science, medical tech including CRISPR and genomics, wearables, and human neural computer interfaces are significantly impacting the future.
With Emerging Technologies Come Risk
With these transformative benefits of emerging technologies also come risks if businesses and shareholders are not prepared to assimilate them. The real imperative here is the need for an industry framework that emphasizes planning, ethical policy protocols, and systematic technology integration. Hopefully, that will provide us with a guiding technological framework that will keep us prosperous and safe.