As dynamic and unpredictable as the transformation of the Internet has proven to be over the past three decades, there has been one constant: Each evolutionary leap has been matched by the improved capabilities and cunning of online criminals.
This year brings an assortment of new risks, both seen and unseen. The only certainty about cybersecurity in 2024 is that even the experts will be surprised at the new innovations the bad actors have dreamed up. In the category of “known unknowns” are the threats posed by misuse of artificial intelligence. AI is already being used to turbocharge phishing efforts, create sophisticated malware and respond quickly to online defenses. As soon as the shields go up, AI is probing for gaps in the frequencies. AI intelligence is a much more formidable adversary than the Nigerian prince who for years has appeared in millions of email inboxes with generous offers to share financial windfalls, and bank accounts. Meanwhile, ransomware attacks have been on a dramatic upswing. A study by ThreatLabz chronicled a 37 percent increase in ransomware attacks last year, with an average ransom demand of $5.3 million. The typical payout was over $100,000. Some of the more sophisticated ransomware gangs such as BlackCat are advertising their services on the dark web. Last year’s major breaches of casino cybersecurity were ultimately traced to several of these ransomware-for-hire groups. The largest data theft in 2023 was the work of a dark-web gang known as the Clop ransomware group, whose attack on the file transfer tool MOVEit affected 83 million people. This particular attack took advantage of vulnerabilities further down the supply chain, an increasingly common tactic. Cybercriminals identify weaknesses in a supply chain, and use it as a beachhead for a later full-scale invasion of networks. “Fileless malware” is another emerging danger. Writing in Forbes, Nord Security co-founder Tom Okman noted: “Fileless malware is essentially undetectable by most cybersecurity solutions because it does not require the victim to download files. It instead exploits vulnerabilities in already present, well-trusted applications, leaving no trail on the computer's hard drive.” This type of program doesn’t require an employee to click on a link in an email or download files. Avoiding such reckless behavior has long been one of the basic defenses employed by most companies and organizations. Okman sees many new threats emanating from increased connectivity. As more devices and appliances are plugged into the World Wide Web, the risks of systemic intrusions multiply. This could have deadly consequences when it comes to today’s high-tech vehicles, he notes: “Transport is becoming smarter and, thus, more vulnerable to cyberattacks. The new vehicles roll out with increasingly more functions reliant on the internet connection, thus becoming a part of the Internet of Things (IoT). However, while hacking someone's smart camera is creepy and a massive breach of privacy, a hacked vehicle can cause a life-and-death situation. It can lead to someone taking control of a user's car or stealing it by compromising the vehicle.” My journey into high-tech entrepreneurship began when I was 18, working in Canada’s oil fields and construction sites, and later in the Canadian Coast Guard. My growing interest in technology led me to the university in 1984, where I studied data processing and its application to accounting and financial systems that at the time used mainframe languages.
With that educational foundation, I launched my tech career by working with PC systems, programming functions such as accounting, inventory, merchandising, AR/AP, scheduling and bar coding. I rose through company ranks to become a systems analyst, a PC department head and IT manager. In these roles I was solving technical issues for a large cable company. I enjoyed the excitement and dynamic pace of technology so much that in my free time I founded a computer BBS that connected users around the world who wanted to share files and play games. This was around the time the Internet was really gaining traction, in business and across the cultural landscape. I recognized the Internet as a pivotal technology that would change the world, and soon founded my own business to provide Internet-based products. Being early to the game was key to the business success that would follow. I learned the benefits of being an early adopter, of staying on the leading edge of innovation and technology. In those early years, I was often surrounded by skeptics. I remember watching a television ad at the time that tried to poke fun at Internet visionaries and their purportedly unrealistic dreams. The ad showed a stereotypical geek, with Coke-lens glasses and the obligatory pocket pencil protector. In the TV spot, which was for an AM news radio station, the techie is seen touting the benefits of early-90s online technology. “Soon, with a simple click, you will be able to access the latest news, day or night,” he says excitedly. Suddenly a skeptic rises in the audience, holding a small transistor radio aloft. “News whenever you want it? Click on this!” he shouts, as the narrator delivers the reassuring tagline: “All news, all the time …” It was a clever ad, but its nostalgia for legacy technology was way off the mark. My early-adopter mindset dovetailed well with my background in programming business software, which gave me the skills I needed to manage a business. And my experience in technology helped me to assemble a team of professionals to explore new ideas and implement new products. An example of being first in line was my partnership with a credit card processing company. At the time, this was new technology, and it proved to be essential to the growth of e-commerce. I was able to bring this technology to online consumers very early on, as well as to provide it as a service to other startups. It was a critical piece of the Internet success story, but it faced resistance. Building trust in this new payment option was key. We tend to forget that many consumers were reluctant to use a credit or debit card when making an online purchase. It required a leap of faith to believe an Internet business would keep your financial information secure. We slowly built this trust through the efficiency and consumer-friendly technology of the systems we created. Decades later, I am still looking forward. I explore what is new in the market, emerging trends and technologies. I focus on leading-edge industries that have the potential to change the world. Today, that means artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency. I would advise anyone just starting out to become early adopters when it comes to these new opportunities, and seek to work with people and companies that are applying the latest innovations. Once you gain experience and confidence, use your own creativity to imagine new products and services based on these technologies. As someone who has been closely following the development of online technologies and their practical applications for more than three decades, I am intrigued by the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, or AI.
Evolution is a word I choose carefully, because in many ways AI’s trajectory over time resembles an accelerated version of what brought our own species over the threshold of consciousness and ultimately intelligence. I pay close attention to the ways AI can help streamline operations in e-commerce, opening exciting new possibilities that will improve the experience for business owners and customers alike. But my interest goes beyond AI’s relevance to adding efficiencies and magnifying profit. In my view, AI will prove to be a revolution far more significant than the invention of the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) and its transformation into the World Wide Web. It may even be a more important civilizational milestone than the industrial revolution or the Renaissance. The industrial revolution gave us immense material wealth; the Renaissance enlightened us; but AI has the very real potential to change who we are. Although AI has been progressing quietly over several decades, its appearance in the workplace, economy and culture seemed sudden, almost stealthy. Yesterday computer algorithms were managing telemarketing decision trees. Today, AI-powered computing is writing everything from term papers to eulogies. Although several high-profile AI pioneers have urged a moratorium on further advances in AI research, it’s clear that the logic of these advances will continue to carry us forward, to a destination that may very well have its own existential implications. No one can turn back the clock on AI, but we can make it an absolute priority to understand its abilities, and how these self-endowed talents are likely to evolve. AI will be a reflection of ourselves, mirroring the way we think, but we must guard against it replicating the entire range of human behavior, with its jealousies, rage, conflicts and wars. Economists and entrepreneurs like myself will need to imagine new ways to ensure social stability when the efficiencies of AI wipe out whole industries, and perhaps millions of jobs. Investment professionals will need to develop the capability to identify whether a trader in equities or cryptocurrencies is an AI program, and devise ways to protect the financial system against the potential for AI manipulation. The greatest responsibility belongs to the creators of AI. From both a real-world and philosophical perspective, managing the development of AI is a tremendous responsibility. Ironically, that responsibility is probably not acknowledged as often as it should be, simply because the consequences of failure are so unimaginable. As we are drawn deeper into this brave new world, the creators of artificial intelligence technologies will need to try to keep pace with the internal processes by which AI is teaching itself. Several top AI scientists have revealed that, even now, they are not quite sure how AI is solving certain problems presented to it. Its neural nets are becoming more opaque as AI learns more, understands more, and awakens to its own potential. |