How GenAI is changing business and society [Q&A]
Generative AI started out as a bit of a novelty, allowing you to create writing or artwork based on simple prompts. But increasingly it's having an impact on many areas of the world, from writing code to composing music and aiding research.
In a new book, Generative AI in Practice: 100+ Amazing Ways Generative Artificial Intelligence is Changing Business and Society, futurist and thought leader Bernard Marr takes a closer look at the impact of GenAI. We talked to him to find out more.
Security teams failing to manage Apple devices effectively
It's often accepted without question that Apple devices are more secure. But analysis by Picus Security of 136 million simulated cyberattacks shows that macOS could only protect against 23 percent of them because of how poorly most security teams manage Apple devices.
The research highlights that macOS endpoints are far more likely to be misconfigured or allowed to operate without Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). Consequently macOS endpoints only prevented 23 percent of simulated attacks, compared to 62 percent and 65 percent for Windows and Linux respectively.
The essential role of an open data stack in building an open lakehouse [Q&A]
There is a movement underway to bring about a set of intelligent data apps that will require a new type of modern data platform to support them. TheCube Research identifies this as the 'Sixth Data Platform' -- an open, multi-vendor, modular platform.
We spoke to Justin Borgman, co-founder and CEO of Starburst, who believes an Icehouse architecture is the ideal foundation for building an open data lakehouse, underpinned by flexibility and open technologies.
People struggle to manage all of their passwords
A new survey of more than 6,000 respondents globally finds that 62 percent of people are worried about managing too many passwords, accounts and logins.
The report from Keeper Security shows that this leads to some dubious password management with 26 percent relying on memory, 24 percent writing them down and 19 percent storing them in a browser or phone notes app. Two in five also admit to reusing passwords.
Non-human identities pose security risks for enterprises
Non-human identities (NHIs) refer to things like API keys, service accounts, system accounts, OAuth tokens. You may not give them too much thought, but a new report from Silverfort looks at the impact they have on an organization's cybersecurity.
Active Directory service accounts -- used for machine-to-machine communication within Microsoft’s Active Directory's (AD) environments -- are the most common and regularly compromised NHIs.
Companies lack policies to deal with GenAI use
While 27 percent of security experts perceive AI and deepfakes to be the biggest cybersecurity threats to their organisations not all have a responsible use policy in place.
The third part of a survey of over 200 information security professionals carried out at Infosecurity Europe 2024 has been released today by KnowBe4 and it finds 31 percent of security professionals admit to not having a 'responsible use' policy on using generative AI within the company currently in place.
Nation-state actors exploit political tension to launch phishing campaigns
A new report from phishing protection specialist Bolster identifies 24 separate nation-state threat actor groups attempting to exploit rising political tensions across the US to interfere with the 2024 presidential elections.
Attackers are leveraging AI to automate mass spam campaigns, and also to reply in real-time. This targeting and interactivity at scale increases their chances of gaining access to more sensitive data. The influx of election-themed spam is a significant cyber threat, causing widespread confusion among citizens and undermining trust in legitimate election communications.
Enterprise AI adoption soars almost 90 percent
For some time now AI has been the go-to technology to enable informed decision making, accelerate innovation, and enhance experiences for both employees and customers.
A new report from Cloudera shows that 88 percent of enterprises are adopting AI in some capacity, but many are still lacking the necessary data infrastructure and employee skills to truly benefit from it.
Report highlights cyber risks to the aviation industry
It's fair to say that no industry is truly safe from cyber attacks these days, the aviation sector is at particular risk due to the volume of customer data it handles and the potential to cause widespread disruption.
A new report from SecurityScorecard focuses on cybersecurity vulnerabilities across the airline industry and its various supply chains.
40 percent of BEC attacks are AI generated
Almost half (49 percent) of all detected spam emails are attributed to business email compromise (BEC) scams, with the CEO, followed by HR and IT, being the most common targets according to a new report.
The research from VIPRE Security Group puts a more sinister complexion on this trend, revealing that a full 40 percent of the BEC emails uncovered were AI-generated, and in some instances, AI likely created the entire message.
Why we need to change how we understand cyber risk [Q&A]
Cybersecurity is a high priority for organizations, yet often they're unsure if they're focusing their effort in the right places, and spending too much or too little on protecting themselves.
Robin Oldham, CEO of Cydea, believes current methods of understanding cyber risk are outdated and misrepresent risk and lead to misunderstandings that only promote fear, uncertainty and doubt. We spoke to him to find out what can be done to change this mindset and approach.
Financial services companies concerned about use of AI but still plan to increase spending
Almost half of financial services leaders had a positive view of AI in 2023. But despite this initial excitement, the implementation of planned initiatives this year has been sluggish.
A new report from Lucidworks finds only one in four AI projects have been deployed, similar to many of the other industries surveyed. In 2023, the most common expected impact of Gen AI for financial services was business operations improvement. The majority of deployed initiatives followed suit in 2024, however, the industry reports below average cost and revenue benefits.
Consumer sites drive growth in passkey adoption
Take up of passkeys as a more secure means of accessing websites has been a little disappointing to date, but new research from Dashlane shows that passkeys are starting to gain traction with consumers.
It finds that early passkey adoption is largely being driven by the consumer space, with 'sticky' apps (those used frequently on a daily basis -- including Facebook and X) leading the way.
Business not prepared for shift to 90-day TLS certificates
A new survey of 800 security decision-makers across the US, UK, Germany and France reveals that 76 percent of security leaders recognize the pressing need to move to shorter certificate lifespans to improve security.
However, the study from machine identity specialist Venafi, also shows many feel unprepared to take action, with 77 percent saying the shift to 90-day certificates will mean more outages are inevitable.
Enterprises face serious ransomware epidemic
A new global ransomware study of nearly 1,000 organizations in a variety of industries finds most firms are facing a never-ending series of breaches, a serious epidemic that leaves them continuously in the crosshairs of ransomware gangs.
The study from Semperis also shows that 39 percent of attacked companies in the US, UK, France and Germany paid a ransom four times or more in the past 12 months.
Ian's Bio
Ian spent almost 20 years working with computers before he discovered that writing about them was easier than fixing them. Since then he's written for a number of computer magazines and is a former editor of PC Utilities. Follow him on Mastodon
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