2017 Tech Trends: 'A Major Bank Will Fail'

What are the big technology trends to watch out for in 2017? Cybersecurity will undoubtedly be the dominant theme of 2017, as all tech innovations could be undermined by data thefts, fraud and cyber propaganda.

As accusations of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election continue to reverberate around the world, hackers, whether private or state-sponsored - would seem to be getting the upper hand.

Prof Richard Benham, chairman of the National Cyber Management Centre, gives a dire warning: "A major bank will fail as a result of a cyber-attack in 2017 leading to a loss of confidence and a run on that bank."

In November last year, hackers stole £2.5m from 9,000 Tesco Bank customers in a raid the UK's Financial Conduct Authority described as "unprecedented".

Last year Tesco Bank seemed to be offering free cash withdrawals to hackers, too. And the more connected the world becomes, think connected cars, smart homes, sensor-laden cities, the more opportunities for hackers to break into the system and wreak havoc.

"The internet of things (IoT) and industrial internet of things (IIoT) will play a larger role in targeted attacks in 2017," says Raimund Genes, chief technology officer at cybersecurity company Trend Micro.

"These attacks will capitalise upon the growing acceptance of connected devices by exploiting vulnerabilities and unsecured systems to disrupt business processes, as we saw with Mirai."

The firm also predicts that throughout 2017 criminals will continue renting out their ransomware infrastructures, the tools that enable hackers to break in to your system, encrypt all your data, then demand a ransom to decrypt it.

Hackers can achieve the same result by knocking out your website or factory control systems in a DDoS [distributed denial of service] attack - flooding your computer servers with so many requests that they cease functioning.

And hackers are not just interested in stealing data and making money from it, warns Jason Hart, chief technology officer in charge of data protection at Gemalto, a digital security company.

They're altering it, with potentially dire consequences. "It's scary, but data integrity attacks have the power to bring down an entire company and beyond; entire stock markets could be poisoned and collapsed by faulty data. "The power grid and other IoT systems, from traffic lights to the water supply, could be severely disrupted if the data they run on were to be altered," he says.

As well as poorly secured devices, gullible humans will continue to be targeted, with so-called "business email compromise" fraud continuing to reap rich rewards for criminals, experts predict.

Simply tricking employees in to transferring funds to criminals' bank accounts is lo-tech but surprisingly effective, with Trend Micro reporting that the average payout in the US was $140,000 (£114,000) last year.

"Cybercriminals are targeting human vulnerabilities," says Prof Benham. "Millions is being spent on technology, but nothing on awareness training."

Artificial Intelligence

AI was the buzzword of 2016 and looks set to dominate 2017 as well, for better or worse.

Enabling machines to learn, adapt to new circumstances and make decisions for themselves, rather than simply obeying pre-programmed instructions or algorithms, seems to present as many disadvantages as advantages.

The pessimists envisage self-programming machines running amok and breaking free of human control, with potentially apocalyptic consequences.

But optimists believe that applying a more restrictive, less autonomous form of machine learning to the wealth of data we are now generating and storing in the cloud could help identify correlations and patterns that were impossible for humans to see before.

And as more devices and sensors become connected, we will learn even more about the world around us. This ability to make sense of all this data could help us cure disease, tackle climate change, grow food more efficiently and generally run our lives in a much smarter, more sustainable way, proponents believe.

Lots was made of customer service chatbots last year, sometimes described erroneously as AI in action, but most of these were actually pretty dumb, merely guessing the most likely answer to fit the question.

Real AI, underpinned by natural language processing, neural networks and machine learning, will understand how humans think, talk, and categorise concepts, making it smarter and easier to interact with.

And the more people who use it, the more data it will have to learn from and the better it will become. So we are likely to see a proliferation of smarter virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa, Google's Assistant, Microsoft's Cortana, Apple's Siri, and newcomers like Viv.

Businesses will use their own versions of these AI assistants to make sense of all the data they now have to cope with.

"With AI we have the opportunity to build decision-support systems that see, hear, understand and collaborate with us to help make decisions faster, more relevant and better informed," says Gayle Sheppard, general manager of Saffron Technology, an Intel-owned cognitive computing firm.

Of course, these always-on listening devices connected to the cloud pose another potential security threat, not to mention privacy concerns over what happens to all the data they're hoovering up.

Cyber-Security Arms Race

And another worry about AI is that hackers will have access to it as well - it's a cybersecurity arms race.

"AI will power malware, and will use data from the target to send phishing emails that replicate human mannerisms and content," warns Andy Powell, head of cybersecurity at Capgemini UK, an IT consultancy.

"Seeming more lifelike, these AI powered attacks will resonate with the target better than ever before, meaning they'll be more likely to fall victim."

There's simply no escaping the cybersecurity issue in 2017.

Augmented and Virtual Reality

While Pokemon Go showed how augmented or mixed reality tech could take the mobile gaming world by storm, 2017 is likely to see more businesses adopting the technology, too.

The marketing opportunities are obvious, with companies like BMW linking up with Accenture and Google Tango to create an app that lets customers visualise what various car models would look like in real-world situations.

Lots of other retailers will be using it to enhance their marketing. But there are plenty of industrial and educational applications, too, with smart glasses and head-up displays enabling workers to follow instructions, read manuals and navigate workplaces more efficiently.

Virtual reality is still primarily for gaming, but when lighter, faster headsets are combined with haptic technologies, training and teaching applications will become more viable, too.

Automation

As AI increasingly takes over from call centre and customer service staff, and automation continues its takeover of manufacturing, the big question is what new jobs there will be for all these redundant workers.

We've already seen how the effects of globalisation and automation have stirred up voters in the US and potentially across Europe this year.

Could there be a new Luddite revolution brewing? After all, who benefits most from cheaper production? It's certainly not the poor.

"We're going to start confronting some hard truths about technology and the labour force," says Tien Tzuo, founder of subscription technology platform Zuora. "We're going to have to figure out how to create jobs for people in this new economy, and if there literally are going to be fewer jobs, then we'll need to establish some sort of living standard or basic income for people."

So 2017 could also be the year the world is forced to deal, finally, with the tangible impacts of technology upon human society.

BBC:           Tesco Could Have Been Facing £2bn Fine After The Bank Hack

 

« Watson For Cybersecurity
Hackers Target France’s Presidential Election »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Check Point

Directory of Suppliers

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout

DigitalStakeout enables cyber security professionals to reduce cyber risk to their organization with proactive security solutions, providing immediate improvement in security posture and ROI.

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

ManageEngine

ManageEngine

As the IT management division of Zoho Corporation, ManageEngine prioritizes flexible solutions that work for all businesses, regardless of size or budget.

CloudEndure

CloudEndure

CloudEndure offers Disaster Recovery and Continuous Replication for the Cloud.

CW Jobs

CW Jobs

CWJobs.co.uk is a leading specialist IT recruitment website covering all areas of IT including Cyber Security.

Fieldfisher

Fieldfisher

Fieldfisher's Technology, Outsourcing & Privacy Group has class-leading expertise in privacy, data & cybersecurity, digital media, big data, the cloud, mobile payments and mobile apps.

Backup Systems

Backup Systems

Backup Systems is a leading backup and disaster recovery systems provider across the UK.

Vaddy

Vaddy

Vaddy provide an automatic web vulnerability scanner for DevOps that performs robust security checks to ensure that web app code is secure.

Operational Center for Information Systems Security (COSSI)

Operational Center for Information Systems Security (COSSI)

COSSI is responsible for the detection and mitigation of cyber attacks directed at French Government information systems.

MerlinCryption

MerlinCryption

MerlinCryption develops infrastructure security software, delivering advanced encryption, authentication, and random data generators, for Cloud, VoIP, eCommerce, M2M, and USB hardware.

Information and Communication Technology Authority (ICT Authority) - Kenya

Information and Communication Technology Authority (ICT Authority) - Kenya

The ICT Authority is responsible for enforcing ICT standards in Government and ensuring information security.

Cloud Managed Networks

Cloud Managed Networks

Cloud Managed Networks provides enterprise grade IT network solutions for cloud-based and on premise network security, Wi-Fi, data switching, collaboration, device management and more.

Venrock

Venrock

Venrock helps entrepreneurs build some of the world's most disruptive, successful companies. We invest in technology: Security, Cloud Services, Big Data, Healthcare IT, AdTech.

Identity Digital

Identity Digital

Identity Digital simplifies and connects a fragmented online world with domain names and related technologies that allow people and businesses to build, market and own their digital identities.

Dig Security

Dig Security

Dig Security offers the first data detection and response (DDR) solution, providing real-time visibility, control and protection of your data assets across any cloud.

Umbrella Cyber

Umbrella Cyber

Umbrella Cyber specialises in Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus Certification and penetration testing.

CyberGrape

CyberGrape

CyberGrape is a client centric managed services company, providing enterprise leading security solutions and helping companies through their IT risk and security challenges.

Atlantica Digital

Atlantica Digital

Atlantica design and create highly innovative software solutions and solid, scalable and secure IT infrastructures for a constantly evolving market.

Zeroday Ops

Zeroday Ops

At ZeroDay Ops, our vision is to democratize cybersecurity by making enterprise-grade vulnerability assessment accessible, continuous, and actionable for every organization in the digital world.