Avoiding digital chaos: Part 2: The threats and opportunities of new technology
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July 6, 2023 - Businesses, governments, and individuals are constantly faced with complex, evolving threats and opportunities in the digital world. As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, becoming a resilient and adaptable organization will help navigate this ‘digital chaos’ and maintain security, compliance, and trust.
In part one of our Avoiding digital chaos series, we discuss why building brand trust is imperative to success in today’s digital world. Here in part two, let’s look at common cyber threats and opportunities that arise from advancing technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, and machine learning.
Is the digital supply chain too transparent?
Digital chaos is partly fueled by a growing concern surrounding digital supply chain transparency. For organizations, having visibility into their supply chain ensures the safety, security, privacy, and ethical standards of products and services they rely on. However, change in technology is rapid, which makes it difficult to stay ahead of the curve. Cyberattacks on the digital supply chain are a growing threat, highlighting the importance of implementing robust cybersecurity measures to protect against these threats.
With new technology, comes new threats
There are new threats on the horizon, including the emergence of virtual reality and the potential risks posed by advanced AI. A study from the customer service platform TIDIO found that nearly 69% of college graduates believe AI could take their job or make it irrelevant in a few years.
There are further risks associated with increased utilization and reliance on AI in commercial, customer, and societal settings, including:
- Bias in data refers to a systematic error or deviation in the performance of a machine learning model that results in the unequal treatment of different groups of data. This can lead to inaccurate or unfair predictions, classifications, or decisions.
- Adversarial attacks could be used to bypass security measures or mislead the system.
- Over-dependency or increased usage could lead to complacency with security, privacy, or ethics or the absence of critical thinking in employees.
The way to address these new technology issues is to take a proactive approach to risk management and continuously assess and improve the resiliency of your digital infrastructures and footprint. Maintain a close eye on your digital and information supply chain, vet suppliers regularly against standards for security, privacy, and ethics, and regularly revisit and re-assess vetting to maintain confidence.
Read part one of the digital chaos series: Why a strong reputation is your armour and listen to the full Connect Summit session: Trust Amongst the Digital Chaos. For more insights on other digital trust, privacy, information security, and environmental, health, and safety topics that should be at the top of your organization's list, visit BSI's Experts Corner.
