Will automation rule over human interaction thanks to the coronavirus?
Thanks to advancements in technology, the need for human interaction -- when you shop for groceries, book a taxi, order a takeaway or watch the latest blockbuster -- has gone from necessity to nice-to-have, with self-service checkouts, apps to order cabs and kebabs, and streaming services all examples of automation that have everyday use.
Despite its influence on consumer behaviors, one of the perceived downfalls of automation is the limit it has on the reliance for humans to carry out certain tasks and jobs. A debate that has, and will, rage on for quite some time. But, with the current coronavirus pandemic, will automation become more of a necessity as we come to terms with social distancing and what life might be like in the future? Here we look at the role automation could play in the fight against COVID-19 and beyond.
Three industries benefiting from biometrics to fight COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of biometric technology across industries. From touchless payments at shops and restaurants to reduce the use of cash transactions to biometric-based contact tracing efforts, virtually every industry has had to readapt to meet the shift in customer and regulatory requirements.
The widespread adoption of biometrics was already underway when the coronavirus began to spread in early 2020. Now, companies are moving ahead with the installation of this technology to offer better safety, security, and efficiency to their customers. These three industries, in particular, are well-suite to see their operations advance as a result of biometric adoption.
The questions to ask to avoid cloud trade-offs
There is an old saying that there are no perfect solutions, only trade-offs. We have all experienced this trade-off situation in our lives at some point, when we must make a decision knowing that there is no perfect solution available and that we will be forced to compromise in some way.
This is one of the reasons why some people choose to put money in the stock market, they’re prepared to take a risk, while some people prefer to put money in savings accounts, where the payback is more predictable. The trade-off in this example is that you cannot put the same money in both places at the same time. You need to make your decision based on the existing trade-off of higher risk and return (stocks) or lower risk and return (savings account).
4 ways that HR teams can use Identity and Access Management (IAM) for secure remote working
As businesses start to take tentative steps out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are still understanding what our 'new normal' is. In the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic, we’re taking a heightened risk-based approach to living our lives and working.
Businesses and departments that were unable to work remotely shutting down during the lockdown led to a negative impact on businesses, industries, and the economy as a whole -- you only have to look at the retail and hospitality sectors to see this. A paradigm shift has occurred, particularly with technology and its use in a post-pandemic world.
How to defend against hackers
As damaging as security threats can be, they’re also easily avoidable when you have the appropriate safeguards in place. For businesses in particular, investing in the right methods is essential.
Here are my top 7 tips for keeping your data secure.
Phishing attacks for the COVID-19 era: What to look out for
Despite the devastating recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus, phishing attacks continue to drag us and our businesses down. So how exactly do COVID-19 related phishing attacks work?
Cybercriminals have taken it upon themselves to wreak havoc and feed off the fears people have about the virus. Emails are being sent that ask their targets to open attachments containing information about the latest coronavirus statistics or news. Or, they claim to be from legitimate companies offering information about COVID-19.
All about quantum-safe certificates
The advent of quantum computers will render ECC and RSA encryption algorithms obsolete, requiring companies to migrate their computing systems and PKI infrastructure to new, quantum-safe cryptographic algorithms.
This migration of PKI solutions to quantum-safe crypto algorithms will pose many major challenges for many enterprises. All existing applications and systems will need to be updated to support the new quantum-safe algorithms now being developed in response to the threats posed by quantum computers. The process of updating to new algorithms requires significant engineering work and many systems will require extensive updates.
Can AI replace white collar jobs?
Let’s start with the definition of "REPLACE," from Merriam-Webster: To restore to a former place or position (e.g. replace cards in a file); To take the place of especially as a substitute or successor; To put something new in the place of (e.g. replace a worn carpet).
Now, let’s check the definition of "ENHANCE": To increase or improve in value, quality, desirability, or attractiveness (e.g. enhanced the room with crown molding); To increase or improve (something); To make greater or better (e.g. the products claim to enhance beauty).
How to securely comply with rising CCPA rights requests amid COVID-19
As California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) enforcement officially started July 1, affected enterprises (based on size, California customer base and business type) can no longer delay complying with the new law. CCPA grants California residents an array of new rights, starting with the right to be informed about what kinds of personal data companies have collected and why it was collected.
A June 2020 survey found that more than 20 percent of organizations were either somewhat unlikely to be, very unlikely to be, or didn't know if they would be fully compliant with CCPA by July 1. With only 14 percent of respondents CCPA compliant and nearly one-third of organizations just starting to plan for CCPA, enterprises need to be prepared for enforcement sooner than later to uphold the rights of California consumers and avoid non-compliance penalties, which can reach up to $7,500 per violation.
The importance of customer-centric digitalization in the next normal
Addressing the challenges brought about by COVID-19 should not be the only concern of businesses. It is equally important to look forward to the next normal or the situation after the pandemic. Nobody knows when the virus outbreak will end, but just like many other global health problems in history, it will eventually reach a conclusion.
The end of the pandemic does not automatically mean that all businesses will return to profitability. There will be improvements, but success is never guaranteed without the companies doing anything to secure it. Normalcy during and after the pandemic is unlikely to be the same as what people think it is. There’s the concept of the new normal. Then, there’s the next normal. Some are also floating the idea of never normal.
How my startup was born out of frustration
About seven years ago, as the COO of a financial services firm, I got pissed off. My company had a very simple service level agreement (SLA) with its clients: we would complete all of their financial transactions within three seconds. Period. And to ramp up our operations, we decided to move our infrastructure from on-site physical servers into the cloud.
But once we were on the cloud, we found that we were actually getting poorer transaction times -- way beyond our three-second SLA. We were not sure why, so we used a stack of off-the-shelf software to monitor the cloud’s operation. And when that didn’t give us the visibility we needed; we tried more applications. Even the cloud’s operators pitched in with their own professional service people. But again, no luck, no visibility, and worse, we started seeing a falloff in our business. Beyond that, we were spending twice as much on monitoring as we did on the cloud hosting itself. But to no avail, it didn’t offer us any help in troubleshooting our issue.
Building a data-driven culture with a data analysis framework
Creating a data-centric culture in your business requires a shift in mindset that won’t happen overnight. However, it is a goal that becomes more attainable the more it is driven by your people working towards it with passion and enthusiasm -- as opposed to something dictated to them from the top.
There are a mix of factors that can cause barriers that hamper the successful development of a data-driven culture. At the base level, the technology and infrastructure choices a company makes, and what it provides its employees to work with, can be majorly prohibitive to a healthy data culture if that technology doesn’t support people in how they do their job.
Searching for business ideas: Three effective approaches for robotics
Startups are the new gold rush. It’s trendy to be smart, it’s trendy to have your own business, and it’s trendy to invent. If the stories of your mother's best friends' twenty-something year old children being Silicon residents make you a bit snarky, don’t miss a moment. The year 2020 is all about opportunities. Especially for robo-geeks.
Read our three pieces of advice for finding free niches for your project, and pick up ideas that are just in front of you!
KeePassXC 2.6.0 released with completely overhauled interface and Have I Been Pwned checks
KeePass has long made life easier when it comes to managing an ever-growing list of passwords for websites, online accounts and so on. Now with the release of KeePassXC 2.6.0, users are being treated not only to a redesign -- including a dark mode option -- but also new features including offline database password health checks.
The program now features comprehensive reports about passwords stored in its database, including checking with security service Have I Been Pwned to see if any have been involved in password breaches. But there's more.
Debunking four object storage myths
There is no arguing the fact that data continues to grow at an exponential rate, particularly unstructured data, which is predicted to represent 80 percent of all data by 2025. And because of trends likes IoT, the continued proliferation of mobile devices and the rise of remote work, this growing data is being used and accessed in new ways.
At the same time, it’s become increasingly clear that traditional SAN and NAS storage technologies cannot scale to meet these data growth demands nor support the need for data to be readily accessible from anywhere and at any time. To ensure these surging volumes of data are accessible and manageable, more and more enterprises are turning to object storage to meet their storage needs. However, there are still several misconceptions that persist about object storage. Here are four myths about the technology debunked.
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