Category: Blog
Cloud Companies Chase Future in Cybersecurity ‘Wild West’
In March, VMware Inc. Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger took the stage at a premier cybersecurity conference to deliver a cutting message to attendees: The industry had failed its customers and many of the companies were akin to ambulance chasers.
“We have 6,000 products, 5,000 companies, highly fragmented, (and) not operational,” Gelsinger recalled telling those at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. “We’re the fastest growing line item for IT and the number and scope of breaches has increased.”
The reaction: “There were people who wanted to kill me,’’ he said. “There were people who considered me a prophet of the future.”
Key Speakers At The 2017 Montgomery Summit
Pat GelsingerPhotographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg
Five months after Gelsinger’s speech, VMware entered the fray, buying cybersecurity company Carbon Black Inc. for $2.1 billion, and joining an estimated 5,600 companies that offer security hardware, software or services. VMware, majority owned by Dell Technologies Inc., and Box Inc. are among the software makers that have targeted the area as the next frontier for growth. Businesses are spending more to protect their information in an era when cyber-attacks have become more frequent and data is moving from corporate servers to huge public cloud-computing vendors.
Companies spent $112.7 billion on information security and risk management in 2018, and are projected to increase that outlay almost 9% more per year through 2022, according to research firm Gartner Inc. Still, with the industry so diverse, and so many niche products available, it will be difficult for any new entrant to capture a big share of the business, said Erik Suppiger, an analyst at JMP Securities.
“Security is a very specialized technology and it’s difficult to replicate the culture of security innovation at a company that’s not focused on security,” Suppiger said in an interview. “When you have other companies trying to expand beyond their core focus, I think a lot of times they are more successful if it’s adjacent to what they do. It’s when they move beyond a good complement that they get into trouble.”
Credits: Bloomberg Cybersecurity
The Future of Lawyers: Legal Tech, AI, Big Data And Online Courts
In the future, is it conceivable that a firm would be charged with legal malpractice if they didn’t use artificial intelligence (AI)? It certainly is. Today, artificial intelligence offers a solution to solve or at least make the access-to-justice issue better and completely transform our traditional legal system. Here’s what you need to know about how AI, big data, and online courts will change the legal system.
When I sat down in conversation with Richard Susskind, OBE, the world’s most-cited author on the future of legal services, to discuss the future of law and lawyers, it became apparent just how much change the legal system will face over the next decade thanks to innovation brought about by artificial intelligence and big data.
In Richard’s book The Future of Law, published in 1996, he predicted that in the future, lawyers and clients would communicate via email. This revelation was shocking at the time, especially to those working in the legal system; however, transmitting communication via email is now commonplace for lawyers and their clients. This story gives insight into the challenges faced in bringing the traditionally conservative legal system into the 21st century.
In his brand new book Online Courts and the Future of Justice, Richard argues that technology is going to bring about a fascinating decade of change in the legal sector and transform our court system. Although automating our old ways of working plays a part in this, even more, critical is that artificial intelligence and technology will help give more individuals access to justice.
Our current access-to-justice problem, even in what are typically thought of as mature systems, is significant. In fact, only about 46% of people have access to the legal system. There are unimaginable backlogs in some court systems. For most of us, litigation takes too much time and money. We can use technology to help with this issue and make court a service rather than a place as we move legal resolution online.
Credits: Forbes
Why Covid-19 Could Expedite the Role of RegTech in Finance
One of the nastier side-effects of the coronavirus (in the digital realm, at least) has been the spike in cybercrime, as bad actors seek to turn the disruption to their favor.
Tech Wire Asia has reported at length on how cybercriminals have sought to capitalize on a sudden shift to remote working. The use of personal devices and networks has led to greater vulnerabilities which hackers have been quick to exploit, while the obvious distractions and anxieties part-and-parcel of a pandemic create a new angle for scams which feed off current concerns.
In a wider sense, many businesses – including retailers, banks, or government services, and more – have been forced to quickly ‘go digital’; more so than they have done before. And that’s opening new opportunities for quick-thinking criminals and opening up new risks for companies who are entering new ground.
As lockdowns begin to lift, we are accepting that things will not go back to ‘normal’ as we knew them. Many businesses will likely continue to embrace flexible working approaches – others will seek to disrupt their industries with aggressive investments in new technology, like machine learning and AI.
What we can be certain is that our growing reliance on data is not going to go anywhere and, as such, we will see a hike in interest in the tools and solutions that can help us safeguard it.
Credits: Tech Wire Asia
3 Elements For Success With Mobility As A Service In Our Cities
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “the urban population in 2014 accounted for 54% of the total global population, up from 34% in 1960, and continues to grow.” This means that people are, for the foreseeable future, continuing to migrate into cities, adding pressure to housing, services and infrastructure like roads and transit. For a more visual representation, UNICEF has published a site that offers the prediction that by 2030, places like the U.S., Mexico, Canada, the U.K. and Spain will all have populations with over 80% in urban centres. Nations such as France, Brazil and Australia will be over 90% urban!
Cities, more than any other entity, are at the forefront of coping with these massive, growing pressures. Many exemplars of urban adaptation are making their successes known, however. Helsinki, the capital of Finland, is leading the way with an effort known as Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). As explained: “MaaS integrates multi-modal transport services, including buses, taxis, rail and metro, offering compelling on-demand services, resulting in transportation modal shifts.” Execution of the concept has immediate effects. Up to 2.3 billion car rides in urban centres are expected to be replaced by MaaS usage each year by 2023, a mere four years away.
Given that cities around the world are keen on becoming “smart”, and given that a rich selection of mobility options in urban centres is critical to that goal, it comes as no surprise that many have already mapped out what steps are required to support the change. In short, there are three broad elements to account for: infrastructure, data and incentives.
Credits: Forbes
