Saturday Special - Top 5 Must Reads: 2/10/2024

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Introducing InformationWeek's new Cyber Resilience Newsletter!

Cut through the dizzying noise of cyberattack news, and get the most important takeaways for CIOs and other tech execs.

This newsletter covers the whole realm of unhappy possibilities that impact IT resiliency -- from ransomware, to cloud outages, to natural disasters, to political upheaval. Click the link below to join us now!

Sent Thursday nights (because disasters don’t wait until morning).

You already know that every day at InformationWeek brings expert insights and advice to help today’s IT leaders identify the best strategies and tools to drive their organizations forward.

That means original reporting from our team of journalists and unique commentary you won’t see anywhere else! But in case you missed them, here are some of our favorites from this week:

1. Out of This World

Story by John Edwards

Key Points:

• “We’re seeing the launch of smaller satellites in lower orbits that require a totally different approach than traditional satellites. At the same time, space is important for many different applications, from gathering Earth observation imaging to enabling connectivity, and powering next-generation services,” says Helen Weedon , managing director of the Satcoms Innovation Group (SIG) , a satellite industry association, in an email interview.
• The massive data generated by satellites and sensors offers another lucrative avenue for tech companies specializing in data processing and analysis, which is valuable for industries such as energy, finance, and insurance.
• “Establishing partnerships with seasoned space companies, government agencies, or other tech firms is crucial to bridging expertise and resources gaps,” says Elizebeth Varghese , partner and principal of 德勤 ’s People in Space Team, via email.
• Looking to the future, Varghese predicts that virtually every tech company will someday be a space company.

2. In Too Deep

Story by Richard Pallardy

Key Points:

• Digital reality is eminently susceptible to alteration and our brains are simply not tuned to reliably detect those alterations.
• While this may appear to be a digital parlor trick, an amusing sleight of hand, the implications are far more insidious. Both celebrities and private citizens have had their faces inserted into pornographic images and videos.
• Legislation has targeted specific aspects of the deepfake phenomenon but is far from comprehensive. And while some technologies have emerged to quickly analyze deepfakes, they are not widely available.
• One of the first known deepfakes was generated in 1997 by a program called Video Rewrite, while the first paper on generative adversarial networks (GANs), which are the basis of deepfake technology, was published in 2014.

3. Google Cloud's Anton Chuvakin on GenAI

Story by Joao-Pierre Ruth

Key Points:

• From proprietary code to sensitive data, the stakes can be high for organizations.
• Generative AI (genAI) that is not built specifically for the rigors businesses face could be a liability when it comes to regulatory compliance on information security and access.
• Anton Chuvakin , security advisor at the Office of the CISO with Google Cloud , spoke with InformationWeek about how consumer-oriented generative AI might bring more headaches than efficiency to businesses.
• Catch up on the full conversation in the story above!

4. Scarcity on Skills Impacts IT

Story by Nathan Eddy

Key Points:

• A June report from Lightcast estimated the US cybersecurity worker shortfall was approaching 500,000, with a supply-demand ratio of 69%, meaning there are 69 workers available for every 100 job openings.
• “For years, we’ve been led to believe there is a substantial gap between the number of open jobs and qualified candidates to fill cybersecurity jobs. While this is partially true, it doesn’t provide a true view into the current state of the market,” says Dave Gerry , CEO at Bugcrowd , in an email interview.
• Omri Weinberg , co-founder and CRO at DoControl , says promoting cybersecurity education, offering mentorship and internships, increasing diversity, and providing ongoing professional development opportunities are all ways to help companies close the cybersecurity skills gap.
• Gareth Lindahl-Wise , CISO at Ontinue notes the post-COVID world has made remote working an expectation, but businesses should make sure candidates understand how they can effectively come together with peers and stakeholders face to face when needed.

5. State of DEI

Story by James Connolly

Key Points:

• It’s about the enterprise challenge -- and opportunity -- of making a workforce and a corporate strategy better reflect and serve the varied constituencies of a large population.
• In the end, the goal is to improve the work product so that it is appropriate for a diverse customer base and workforce.
• Enterprise DEI also extends far beyond employment. Companies are looking at who can or can’t access or utilize their products and services, or when their offerings are subtly or blatantly racist or sexist.
• The InformationWeek articles inside our quick study are just a sampling of those discussing some of the issues and improvements DEI is addressing, often with minimal effort.

Latest Major Tech Layoff Announcements

Original Story by Jessica C. Davis, Updated by Brandon Taylor

Key Points:

• As COVID drove everyone online, tech companies hired like crazy. Now we are hitting the COVID tech bust as tech giants shed jobs by the thousands.
• Updated February 9, 2024?with layoff announcements from Pure Storage , Getaround , and Grammarly .
• Check back regularly for updates to our IT job layoffs tracker.

AVAILABLE TO WATCH ON-DEMAND:

"Why DDI?" Webinar Presented by Network Computing & Infoblox

On Wednesday – January 31, we launched?our free online webinar featuring Mike Twumasi - Principal Consultant at UpTime365 and Robert Rose - Product Marketing Manager Coach at Infoblox as our keynote speakers! Watch the archived broadcast?now at the link above!

Why DDI? How to Integrate DNS, DHCP, and IP Address Management in Your Network

DDI is a three-fer, combining three core network components --DNS, DHCP, and IP Address Management (IPAM) -- into a single network management tool or service.

If you already have processes in place to track those three components, why switch to DDI?

This webinar is full of real-world reasons to move to DDI including lowering costs, accommodating the soaring number of IP addresses, and simplifying management through intelligent automation.

Those attending this webinar will:

• Hear from industry experts about the growing challenges managing DNS, DHCP, and IPAM.
• Learn why it is increasingly important to manage the three with a single DDI approach.
• Walk away with an understanding of the benefits enterprises gain with a move to DDI.

Treasures from the Archives...

Story by Kelly Sheridan

Key Points:

• To celebrate Black History Month this February, we look at innovators who influenced modern technology. Some of these tech pioneers have had an impact on technology in ways that affect you every day, though you may not know it.
• Consider Granville T. Woods, an early inventor with more than 50 patents, or Gerald A. Lawson, whose work is enjoyed by anyone who has used an Xbox, PlayStation , or Nintendo Wii gaming console.
• However, despite many contributions to the technology landscape, minorities continue to make up a small percentage of the tech workforce.
• Read on in the story above to learn more about the innovators we are highlighting here and how their work influenced the technology we use today.

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