AI Tools Are Proliferating At an Extraordinary Rate

The Rise of AI Tools: A Technological Revolution In recent years, we have witnessed a significant surge in the development and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. This extraordinary growth can be attributed to several factors, including advancements in computing power, data availability, and innovative algorithms. As AI continues to evolve, it is reshaping various industries and transforming the way we live and work. 1. Impact on Industries: AI tools have found applications in numerous sectors, such as healthcare, finance, retail, and manufacturing. In healthcare, AI-powered systems are being used for early diagnosis, personalized treatment plans, and drug discovery. The financial sector has also embraced AI for fraud detection, risk management, and algorithmic trading. Retailers are leveraging AI to optimize supply chain management, enhance customer experience, and improve inventory management. Meanwhile, manufacturers are employing AI-driven automation and predictive maintenance to increase efficiency and reduce downtime. 2. Transforming the Workforce: As AI tools proliferate, they are changing the nature of work and the skills required to succeed in the job market. While some jobs may become obsolete due to automation, new opportunities will emerge that focus on the development, management, and maintenance of AI systems. Workers will need to adapt by acquiring new skills and embracing lifelong learning. 3. Ethical Considerations: With the rapid expansion of AI tools comes a growing concern about their ethical implications. Issues such as privacy, bias, and accountability need to be addressed to ensure responsible AI development and deployment. Governments, businesses, and researchers must collaborate to establish guidelines and regulations that promote transparency, fairness, and security in AI systems. 4. Future Prospects: As AI technology continues to advance, we can expect even more sophisticated tools to emerge, further transforming our lives and society. Some potential developments include advanced natural language processing, improved computer vision, and enhanced decision-making capabilities. These innovations will enable AI systems to better understand and interact with the world, opening up new possibilities and challenges. In conclusion, the proliferation of AI tools is indeed extraordinary and has far-reaching implications for various industries, the workforce, and society at large. By embracing this technological revolution and addressing its ethical concerns, we can harness the full potential of AI to create a more efficient, innovative, and inclusive future.

Managers need to Manage, Not Rest on their Laurels

How often have we seen excellent practitioners promoted to management, and be so very unprepared for the job. Companies owe it to their people to train them if they are new to management. Empowering employees, mentoring them, and supporting them are key skills that are hard to come by, but are essential for any good manager. Think back to your experiences with some of your previous managers and I am sure you can have a wide variety of experiences.

Russia vs Russians

So will it be a trend that will continue where all Rusians and Russian companies will be dropped? How do we balance being fair to people that have nothing to do with this horrible invasion with the desire to both punish Russia and protect our own interests and security?

OWASP LA is going LIVE and In-Person!

Big News from SoCal: the OWASP LA Chapter meeting May 25 at 5:30pm will be in-person in Santa Monica, hosted by Lawrence Harvey. We are looking for companies interested in providing food and drink for our attendees. Want to partner with us? Let me know. Thanks!

Prettyfluid Technologies

I am excited to announce that I have joined the Advisory Board of an innovative and emerging software company, PrettyFluid Technologies (https://lnkd.in/gPVaa7c7), headquartered in Scottsdale Arizona. The company was founded by software and technology industry veterans, who have a passion for securing and protecting data. It’s flagship product, Zentinel, allows small-medium sized companies to protect customer information and eliminate business breach liability with the same level of security and compliance as Fortune 500 companies, but for a small fraction of the effort and cost. Personally, I am a huge consumer rights and data privacy advocate, and what I also love about Zentinel is it allows consumers to centrally manage their own data! PrettyFluid Technologies is committed to helping organizations to preserve revenue while addressing federal, state, and industry data privacy regulations such as GDPR, CMMC, CCPA, HIPAA, and others. I feel strongly about recommending this solution and company; check out https://www.prettyfluidtechnologies.com/ or feel free to contact me for an introduction.

Be Yourself

Reflecting on my long career, the most important aspect, as well as one of the toughest things to do, is to be yourself. People, particularly those who work for you, will see right through all your clever phycological machinations, no matter which advanced degree program or mentor you learned them from. Nothing resonates more than honesty, integrity, and being yourself.

Preventing Ransomware Events

There is no special magic bullet to prevent ransomware. A good Information Security Plan covers all the things you need, but which sadly are not being done by so many companies and agencies. Here are a few key things that come to mind: 1. Don’t allow any unencrypted services, like telnet, on your network 2. Don’t use RDP, at least not without VPN 3. Advocate for your company's hardened systems only connecting to your network; otherwise implement good mitigating controls 4. Offline backups to restore data if attacked and data encrypted 5. Regular and tested patch management process 6. Use threat intelligence to block known bad sites 7. Require admins to only use privileged accounts when doing privileged tasks 8. Security awareness: don’t click that link or open that attachment! 9. Test your incident response and backup/restore plans 10. Use MFA 11. Use DMARC, SPF, and DKIM with your email domain so cybercriminals cannot spoof your email accounts.

Trump DOJ Secretly Seized Phone Records of NYTimes Journalists Reporting on Comey’s Clinton Investigation

And THIS is why we must staunchly fight for privacy rights. Power corrupts. Encryption back-doors can also be abused by those in power who are unscrupulous. https://www.newsandguts.com/deja-vu-trump-doj-secretly-seized-phone-records-of-nytimes-journalists-reporting-on-comeys-clinton-investigation/

Supreme Court sides with police officer who improperly searched license plate database

Better think about updating your policies! Proving violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act just got a lot tougher. https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/03/politics/supreme-court-cybercrime-law-case/index.html

Building Strong Teams

Building strong teams is probably the most important aspect of a successful leader's role. Choosing the right people and getting them all to blend together to work together for a common goal is more important than anything else you can do. None of this has anything to do with technology, but is clearly a human issue. When you are looking for good people, choose the best person available, not one who brings a very focused and specific set of skills, but might have character issues. Be flexible in your organizational structure and be willing to move people around to achieve harmony and success.

You Have Enemies?

"You have no enemies, you say? Alas, my friend, the boast is poor. He who has mingled in the fray of duty that the brave endure, must have made foes. If you have none, small is the work that you have done. You’ve hit no traitor on the hip. You’ve dashed no cup from perjured lip. You’ve never turned the wrong to right. You’ve been a coward in the fight." - Charles Mackay

Predictions for 2021

Predictions for 2021: 1) Rezoning of commercial districts to allow conversion of office space into residential condos. 2) Migration of professionals away from central cities, resulting in movement of some states from red to blue (reference Ga and Tx). 3) Lowering of salaries as companies will not have to pay big city rates. 4) Reduction in attendance at regional events in big cities 5) Increase in attendance at professional organization meetings in mid and small cities 6) Increase in hoteling workspaces in company offices as staff only will come to work physically 1-2 times/week.