Sony executives turned to old BlackBerries found in a basement in the firm’s California headquarters in, using SMS text messages and a ‘phone tree’ to communicate in the wake of the attack.
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As we come to the end of 2014, it is time to reflect on the developments of the last 12 months and also look ahead at what improvements we can make in the year to come.
Personally, there were three major issues in technology that caught my eye in 2014 and they form the basis for my New Year’s Resolutions for 2015.
2014 was a watershed year for cybersecurity and privacy issues. With security breaches impacting many of our most trusted brands, retailers and banks (Sony, Target, Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase to name a few).
The good news is people are now more aware of online privacy. The bad news is that these attacks look to remain an issue for the foreseeable future.
In 2015, each of us has a responsibility to be the best digital citizens we can be, and do our part to protect ourselves, our privacy, our data and devices online. I’m getting involved through AVG’s Smart User Mission which aims to educate the next generation of connected people as they come online around the globe.
As businesses, we have an ongoing responsibility to our customers to ensure their data is protected. That means upping our game in the increasingly changing and challenging cyber security environment.
This important issue finally gained a much-deserved attention in 2014. Over the past year, we’ve seen Silicon Valley’s first major reporting on diversity in the workforce, after some high profile prodding by civil rights champion Rev. Jesse Jackson. Among others, a book released by Stanford scholar Vivek Wadhwa on Innovating Women and Babson College’s report on VC funding for women entrepreneurs drew further attention to the disparity issues women face in tech.
While the diversity numbers are not pretty, the good news is tackling the diversity issue in technology has gained momentum and has resulted in some positive actions; among them the Diversity 2.0 Summit and The National Venture Capital Association has taken steps to increase opportunities for women and minorities.
I am looking forward to doing my part, and I am delighted to have been selected as a speaker at the 2015 SXSW Interactive program with a Core Conversation on “Boardroom or Baby” on March 14th.
We’ve made good progress but, without doubt, there is much more to be done. I believe that in 2015 we should all make an effort to support diversity in technology. It can only bring benefits to everyone involved.
It’s hard to believe, but the last of the Baby Boomer generation (1946-1964) turned 50 this month. Last fall, the PBS series The Boomer List chronicled an amazing list of 50 people who represent the iconic generation and the impact they have had culture and our lives from arts and entertainment to science and technology, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (below).
Though Boomers helped invent the digital age – and we get little credit for it – we are often viewed as neophytes and often marketed to by tech companies as novices (if, in fact, at all).
My final resolution for 2015 is to do what I can to change the way that the technology talks to the older generations. I’ll start by sharing new AVG research along with my thoughts on the tech industry’s need to adapt to new and different needs of this audience during my talk on “The Fear Factor” at the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show’s Lifelong Tech Summit on January 6 in Las Vegas. If you are attending CES, please come check it out.
Here’s to a very happy, healthy, fulfilling and safe 2015 for us all. Look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
Facebook is to face a class action lawsuit over ‘reading’ its user’s messages, a U.S. judge has ruled.
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A glow-in-the-dark sword promises to help you vanquish any unsecured WiFi access point.
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Realtime call-monitoring and GPS tracking of partners by domestic abusers is on the rise, both via dedicated electronic listening devices or using sophisticated spyware software.
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It’s billed as the hottest new messaging app on the planet, and it’s rocketed into the top ten in the U.S. in just a year. But how safe are you on Yik Yak?
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The recent hacking of Sony Pictures offers valuable lessons in cybersecurity from which every company and consumer can learn.
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The Tor Project is warning that an unnamed attacker is planning to try to cripple the network by seizing directory authorities, the servers that help Tor clients find Tor relays in the network. Tor officials said that the network right now is still safe to use, and also emphasized that they are taking steps to […]
A host of UK broadband providers are hijacking people’s browsers mid-session to force them into making decisions on adult content filters.
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As 2014 comes to an end, it is time to look ahead to 2015. This year though, rather than give my predictions about emerging technology, my mind is drawn to our behavior and the changing the way we actually interact with technology.
There are three areas in which I foresee the most change during 2015 thanks to increased public interest and acceptance:
The discussion about privacy; my right to be me and own my data has been gaining momentum in the last five years. We are rapidly losing control over our personal data and identities in today’s fast moving digital world. The advertising world collects ever more data to try and predict our needs based on who we are and our behavior. 2014 has shown us that our online identity isn’t safe from advertisers, hackers or even governments.
So the problem of who controls my identity becomes more and more interesting to the actual owners – each and every one of us. . Laws around how to keep and secure data, and restrictions about sharing it are on the way through movements like the Right to Be Forgotten.
In the passing year we have seen lots of solutions focusing on sharing using “Privacy by design” to be the key feature, apps like Snapchat , Whisper, Secret, Tinder, Tumblr, the Silent circle messaging and their Blackphone. These applications are chat, photo sharing and social media where the privacy and trust is built in.
So the market demand for privacy oriented solutions is there and the technology has existed for several years. The missing key ingredient that will drive it into the mass market is how business can make money from privacy. In the next year I expect to see more and more monetization concepts to make money from solutions that provide anonymity and privacy. The market demand is there and the technology is there…
Since the 90’s, the idea of a connected smart home has excited millions. The idea of an electric light that will turn on when you step in the room and you can close with a clap is not new. But it is only in the last year that the idea of Internet of Things has really started to be feasible.
The good news is that electronics are back and so is software. After all it is through software that we interact with devices and makes them seem exciting and new. Over the last 15 years we have tried to create value in software by adopting various business models. From the Freemium model, giving limited functionality and then charge when features are added through the models that monetize through Google Ads and search up to the SaaS models where it is not the software you pay for but a service that comes with it…
In 2014, we saw Fitbit emerge as a leading wearable device, and a big part of this is software that makes it seem very personal to every one of us. It was the same with the GoPRo camera – transferring a simple camera into high end extreme sports filming equipment. In 2015 I expect many devices will evolve to become connected and take on new roles in our digital world. Software will be an important factor in deciding which devices are successful, it’s through software that devices become personal and relatable.
Since the beginning of the internet, search has taken a cardinal place in our interaction with data. First Yahoo and then Google made sure our homepage is a search page.
Microsoft went on and translated this behavior into the application on the PC, and now we have a search box almost in everything and everywhere…
With Adwords technology Google cracked the way to monetize search behavior. The search term that the user enters translated to ads that the user wants at that moment.
Smartphones arrived and quickly become a main vector for search, both of the Internet and of ever growing app stores. Importantly they also heralded the arrival voice recognition technologies and of voice search. But as technology advances there is a quest to predict the search. To analyze requests and behavior so that the information we seek is already there waiting for us. We can see it in action with programs like Google Now that collects information about you from a range of sources and tries to predict what you need, whether it’s directions to work, your flight times that day or what the weather will be like.
But in less obvious move, many successful mobile apps have removed the search field and actually providing people with suggestions or things to discover as a way increasing engagement as well as servicing and increasing the value of apps and services.
There are many examples of this discovery mechanic in online news where services like Outbrain and Tabula offer more content to people who read news, and monetize through pay-per-click
Other examples of discovery replacing search are popular apps like Instagram, Flipboard and Facebook where people are encouraged to roam and discover news, pictures or friends.
Perhaps the best example of this is Tinder where rather than searching for match, the app makes constant suggestions that the user accepts or rejects
I think in 2015 we will see this trend getting stronger and more apps and services will increase the promotion of content to their customers as a way to keep them interested in using the application or service.
