2020 and 2021 have seen dramatic changes in the way we do business and in turn, the way we protect those businesses and people. Cybersecurity is a fast changing industry where some trends stay, while others simmer out. However, let’s discuss three topics that have been trends or major events for 2021 and will surely have an effect on cybersecurity in 2022.
In this article, we’ll be talking with our resident AI Expert Olivier Michaud, our Lead Developer Alexandre Viau, and our Co-Founder Mathieu Lavoie. Olivier will be commenting on how consumers understand AI, Alex will be commenting on dependency management and Mathieu will be discussing data privacy.
If there is one trailblazing technology that elicits some sort of reaction from technology and non technology enthusiasts alike, it is Artificial intelligence (AI).
One phenomenon Flare frequently encounters is the “magic box” of AI. Many people claim that AI has become a buzzword and is heralded as the one stop shop solution to all our technological problems.
Let’s hear from Olivier on what consumers understand about AI.
- 52% of people are confident that cyber-security is not a threat when sharing personal information online because of robust AI technologies.
– Blumberg Capital
Olivier Michaud: “The fact is that users must be aware that AI can’t protect your data. AI can’t replace good online cyber hygiene and practices. This means that users still need to use strong passwords and two-factor authentication. You need to avoid phishing or spam emails and not click on links when you’re not aware of the source. You also need to know what wifi you’re connecting to. AI can’t do any of those practices for you. However, AI is there to help you. So AI can detect if you’re using bad passwords, phishing or spam emails and network abnormalities. The issue here is that AI and how it’s marketed gives consumers misconceptions of what technology can do, so it’s our responsibility in the cybersecurity field to clear those misconceptions and establish what AI can do and what it can not do.
If you’re in the cybersecurity space you’re bound to have heard of the log4j vulnerability. A vulnerability that surfaced during the month of December 2021, Log4j quickly became a hot topic and questions began to arise, could we have avoided this issue somehow ?
Our lead developer Alex shares his thoughts on the subject.
- On December 9, 2021, when the Log4J Shell vulnerability was shared publicly, there was only one developer, Ralph Goers, to handle the Java logs of millions of companies worldwide.
Alexandre Viau: I hope this will serve as a wake up call for the industry. Much of the software that we use is built on top of core projects and libraries that need more attention than what they currently get, due to nobody taking the responsibility. There needs to be organizations, probably already established open source organizations, that start looking at solutions for improving the funding of these projects and getting the industry on board.
Lastly our CEO, Mathieu will be discussing the current status of privacy in cybersecurity in 2021 and how he sees privacy concerns changing in 2022.
- By the end of 2023, modern privacy laws will cover the personal information of 75% of the world’s population – Gartner, additionally 67% of internet users worldwide are more concerned with their online privacy – Statista
Mathieu Lavoie: I think these two quotes are related. What I’m seeing on one front is the demand from consumers to companies to do more for privacy and have some guidelines in place to protect the customer or the clients data. On the other hand, we see that more internet users today are concerned about their online privacy, wondering where their information ends up and how it is viewed. I think right now what I read between the lines and my projection for 2022 is that people are concerned but they’re not necessarily aware of what is possible with their information. What we’ll see in 2022 is that more and more people will start to be interested in the question of privacy and will ask questions about privacy guidelines, good practices and how their information should be used. In the future, internet users will be more aware of their online privacy and educated about whether their information will be used or misused. In 2022, I think yes companies will be more regulated but also internet users will be more educated and interested in how their information will be used.
That’s all from this article! If you’d like to learn more about how cyber security and cyber risks fared in 2021 and how these three contributors envision 2022, sign up for our webinar to learn more!
The webinar will cover AI, dependencies management, privacy and a few more topics that we think will play a significant role in cybersecurity moving forward.
