What’s eroding our trust in tech – and what can we do to restore it?

Transform is an online magazine and platform about digital technology. The latest edition is about talent development, with a focus on the #DigitalSkillsShortage.

In issue #1 of Transform, we looked at why overall societal levels of trust in tech appear to be on the decline in a number of countries. How can we trust tech giants? Few of us know, or understand, what they’re doing. Where will emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence ultimately lead?

Read Transform edition #1 to find out more: https://tinyurl.com/y8vudmve

Cyber security expert Bruce Schneier: cyber regulations fail to keep pace with tech

Harvard cyber security expert Bruce Schneier spoke with Transform last year for the publication’s inaugural issue on “Trust in Tech.”

In a wide-ranging talk with Executive Editor-in-Chief, Gavin Allen, Schneier said we should be able to trust that our tech systems are secure – in the same way we trust that food from the grocery store is safe to eat and planes are safe to fly in.

If those things are safe, it’s only because governments regulate them. But sometimes, technology evolves so quickly that regulations simply can’t keep up.

“Tech moves much faster than government,” Schneier said, “and we don't really have a good theory of agile regulation.”

You can watch the Transform interview with Bruce Schneier here.

Is the AI fear factor overblown?

Ever since Alan Turing introduced the idea in 1948, people have wondered what would happen if machines outsmarted their creators and took charge of the planet.

Even some AI researchers have called for a six-month moratorium on training advanced AI systems.

Such caution is understandable. But it could create another risk: that while “bad guys” move full speed ahead to use AI for their own nefarious ends, “good guys” proceed carefully – and slowly. If we take this two-track approach the results could be bad.

Hackers are already using AI to create botnets, guess passwords, break CAPTCHA systems, make illegal robocalls, and engage in other forms of cyber mischief. They don’t care about collateral damage, and they don’t need to think about certification, testing, or regulatory compliance. Unfortunately, this means that right now, bad people are using AI in more advanced and innovative ways than good people are. That will likely cause some – perhaps many – to distrust AI even more than they do now.

Read the full article here.

A Singaporean entrepreneur is building “Trust in Tech” one company at a time

When companies say they protect your confidential data, how do you know whether to believe them? You can check the rating given the company by Credence Lab, launched two years by Philip Heah, a former telecoms regulator turned entrepreneur.

Credence audits corporate practices across a range of areas, starting with basic governance. “Does management really understand the value of data – its potential benefits and risks?” Heah asks. “You can’t treat data as someone else’s job. It requires the attention of top management.”

Credence also checks to see whether companies understand how data comes into their organization, whether they have obtained users’ consent, whether they’re using the data for its intended purpose, and whether they’re storing it properly.

Once Credence has completed its evaluation, the target company’s practices are audited by a third-party assessor that tests the technical systems that are in place. After that, Credence Lab decides whether the company gets a thumbs-up.

Read the entire article about Credence Lab here.

What exactly is a “backdoor” in cyber security?

People throw the term around a lot. Unfortunately, many of them are using it wrong.

This short video looks at the ins and outs of vulnerabilities and backdoors.

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