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5 Things to Look for in Your Next Data Science Platform

Posted in: Business Intelligence - Aug 09, 2021

Finding the right data science tools is paramount if your team is to discover business insight. Here are five things to look for when you search for your next data science platform. top

How COVID-19 Is Driving Digital Transformation

Posted in: Blogs, COVID, Covid-19, Digital Transformation, digital transformation challenges, digital transformation strategy, News & Trends - Aug 06, 2021

Without question, COVID-19 reshaped the technological world. The global pandemic drastically changed how businesses use technology, and has inspired innovations across sectors. Every industry needed to adjust to uncertainty more rapidly than at any time in history. This created a new wave of digital transformation.

At first, the pandemic overwhelmed every business. Industries like manufacturing, hospitality, and travel were among the hardest hit, though other industries rebounded. Today, advancements made over the past year are shaping how people work and communicate.

Teleconferencing

The need for video conferencing sky-rocketed for businesses and people during the early days of the pandemic, and Zoom jumped out as one of the leaders in communication. Zoom adopted a direct response to Covid-19. Zoom was nimble and fast enough to even take on Microsoft Teams and Skype.

According to a recent CNBC survey, 45% of companies plan to embrace a hybrid model in the second half of 2021. This means that enterprises will continue needing conferencing tools to connect with workers and customers worldwide.

Aside from Zoom and its competitors, collaboration and messaging apps are also seeing widespread adoption. Slack, Spark, Discord, and Signal, used by remote workers to meet the demand, serve as valuable tools.

PPE Production

The pandemic highlighted how unprepared the health care industry was for a global crisis. For one thing, the health care industry needed personal protective equipment (PPE) in massive quantities, which meant manufacturers and fulfillment centers had to adopt innovative supply-chain software to meet the greater demand.

Telemedicine

By early March 2020, HHS lead an initiative to expand telehealth services. This HIPAA-compliant software was primarily used by clinics and hospitals before COVID-19, but it gave the health care industry more tools to meet with patients virtually. Telehealth platforms like Teladoc, Mend, and MDLIVE provide flexibility to an overburdened health system.

Innovations in Pharmaceutical Production

Pharmaceutical companies have experienced some of the most significant changes over the past year. Government aid and innovations in supply chain management have given companies the ability to fast-track vaccines.

Further, the use of AI allows faster testing cycles. As a result, companies can create, test, and distribute their vaccines to the public more quickly and efficiently.

Technological innovations around using RNA in vaccines are also changing the landscape, according to Nature. Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis used techniques developed by DARPA. This rapid development of safe vaccines helped spur digital transformation in pharmaceutical technology.

Read more: AI Software Trends for 2021

Streaming

The public’s consumption of media grew exponentially in 2020, leading to a surge in the use of cloud-based streaming services. As more people were isolated at home, subscriptions to services like Apple TV, Prime Video, and Hulu soared.

According to VEXXHOST, “Cloud computing allows streaming platforms to leverage storage and data to ensure the highest viewing quality for consumers.”

High-Speed Internet

The need for high-speed connectivity for businesses, individuals, and students required the FCC to begin a “Keep Americans Connected Pledge campaign.”

Over eight hundred Internet service providers met the challenge by increasing available bandwidth with new infrastructure, or offering internet service for free.

Protecting Privacy

Because so many workers are now working from home, combatting fraud and protecting privacy has never been more important.

The FTC “developed a public dashboard to track and alert the public to shifts in COVID-related reports from consumers, identify and respond to emerging threats, and identify law enforcement targets.” The dashboard, hosted on Tableau, provides up-to-date data to help businesses and individuals spot spikes in fraud and identity theft.

Misinformation

Early on 2020, bad actors began widely circulating misinformation around COVID-19 and vaccines. Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms wrestled with fact-checking, adjusting their algorithms that spot and eliminate bot accounts.

According to the Journal of Medical Internet Research, the social media algorithms that combat bots today are modeled on “early attempts to identify spam emails, social phishing, and other types of cybercrimes.”

Platforms have adapted this technology to fight against social herding bots that spread misinformation. Further, these companies have undertaken initiatives to informing the public and provide fact-checking tools.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many businesses. However, this crisis has spurred digital transformation in countless organizations. Hopefully, this revolution will continue after the pandemic ends and foster positive change.

The post How COVID-19 Is Driving Digital Transformation appeared first on CIO Insight.

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7 Things to Know About Low-Code Development Platforms

Posted in: development, IT Strategy, Leadership, low-code, low-code platforms - Aug 04, 2021

What is one thing to know about low-code development platforms?

To help business owners fully understand low-code development, we asked low-code developers and business professionals to share their best insights on this question. From double-checking effects on page speed to being more user-friendly, there are several things to keep in mind about low-code development platforms for the growth of your business.

Here are seven things to know about low-code development platforms:

Verify Customization Possibilities

As a low-code development platform, Comidor offers truly custom applications and integration. We are professional developers who write thousands of lines of code, so we can offer our clients low-code tools that require no development skills.

Our low-code programming is enabled with workflow automation, Robotic Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. All these features come together to help our clients utilize Comidor‘s low-code platform for easier low-code app development and cost reduction.

Spiros Skolarikis, Comidor

Not All Applications Are the Same

The main thing to know about low-code development platforms is that they are not all the same. The term “low-code” covers a wide range of applications and products, from simple templates that allow users to create forms or reports with little or no coding, to full-fledged development environments with visual programming languages and tools to develop fully functional applications.

If you are used to one platform, you won’t automatically find your way around another. Much comes down to experience and trial and error.

Peter Thaleikis, Developer

Possess a Variety of Uses

One thing to know about low-code development platforms is that they’re great for marketing. As a content marketer, I try to stay up-to-date with marketing trends, and low-code is something marketers can take advantage of. Low-code allows marketing teams to put together applications without using valuable IT resources.

Using a low-code content management system with a fresher content architecture simplifies the idea-to-deployment process. Last but not least, low-code platforms allow for more automation and increased productivity when it comes to marketing. At first glance, low-code doesn’t seem like a marketing tool, but when you think about it, it really is.

Francesca Nicasio, Payment Depot

Low-Code Development Is More User-Friendly

Low-code, in my opinion, is software development using a visual drag-and-drop interface. The concept is basic, and the user interface is intuitive. Yet the outcomes are scalable, safe, and fast. Lowering the quantity of “hand coding” (creating code from scratch) and increasing the amount of code reuse and app development are the key goals of low-code development.

When you use a visual IDE to build a component, it’s straightforward to reuse that component in multiple contexts. You benefit from the initial speed of an IDE and then gain even greater speed by reusing the components created.

Eric Carrell, SurfShark

Developers Are Still Needed

A common misconception around low-code development platforms is that developers are no longer needed. Low-code platforms don’t replace developers. They simply can help drive higher productivity from developers by allowing them to deliver more deployments faster, and with less effort.

Before you begin calculating the cost savings of reducing the number of software engineers on staff, understand that low-code platforms aren’t a replacement. They’re just there to support.

Brett Farmiloe, Markitors

Some Basic Coding Skills Are Still Required

Low-code is not the same as no-code. While both provide visual modeling, no-code relies entirely on a visual user interface with no code writing necessary. And while low-code’s drag-and-drop features reduce the steps in the development process, it does involve some basic coding skills.

But with limited training, non-tech employees can build custom software applications to better meet customer demands in a matter of weeks or even days. And with less coding comes fewer issues, enabling non-IT teams to create secure applications that streamline business operations.

Shahzil Amin, WellBefore

Double-Check Effects on Page Speed

The low-code page builder I use for my website has enabled me to build out my site a lot over the last year, but my page speed and performance are not as high as they could be. An important thing to keep in mind is if a low-code solution will get you the results you need over time.

Wesley Jacobs, Apollo Medical Travel

The post 7 Things to Know About Low-Code Development Platforms appeared first on CIO Insight.

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What is Enterprise Security Management?

Posted in: cyber-threats, enterprise security management, ESM, IT security, Security, software failure - Aug 03, 2021

With enterprises moving towards new technologies to minimize costs and optimize resources, they face increased security risks as cybercriminals adopt new techniques to target BYOD devices, corporate networks, backend servers, and more. As a result, it has become crucial for stakeholders to understand how to balance the security management landscape with enterprise operations.

Organizations need to place more focus on enterprise security management (ESM) to create a security management framework so that they can establish and sustain security for their critical infrastructure. Enterprise security management is a holistic approach to integrating guidelines, policies, and proactive measures for various threats.

A Closer Look at ESM in the Enterprise

Understanding Enterprise Security Management

ESM pertains to all risks that may affect the core business of an organization. It includes failed software processes, inadvertent or deliberate mistakes committed by staff members, internal security threats, and external security threats. The concept also takes into account the following factors related to the security architecture framework.

Enterprise-Wide Compliance

The number of regulatory requirements can affect the end product/service delivery. The ESM framework aims to resolve conflicting business objectives, as well as fulfill regulatory and internal compliance requirements.

Business-Focused Outcome

In a standard ESM framework, security risks and company objectives drive the selection of security implementations. As it is a top-down architecture, it ensures the identification and control of all policies.

Clarity at Data-Infrastructure Level

The key challenge for the enterprise is to gain clarity and resolve conflicts pertaining to data privacy requirements, vulnerability vectors, and company objectives. The ESM approach to clarity enables the enterprise to gain transparency around the aforementioned, both at the infrastructure and data security level.

Transformation of Security at All Levels

ESM adopts the approach called “architecting a security framework at all levels” of an organization. It defines security capabilities from the governance level all the way through architecture, and involves planning to build, monitor, and deliver security within all organizational units, processes, and business functions.

Deploying an ESM Framework

All stakeholders will look to the CISO, CSO, or CIO to deploy and manage ESM frameworks, as well as the steps the organization is taking to reduce risk to the enterprise. How does a CIO integrate the ESM framework and cultivate a security culture that finds long-term success throughout the organization?

The answer lies in adopting a strategic approach towards enterprise security management. The following steps should be taken:

Patch Management

Software vulnerabilities are one of the leading issues in the enterprise environment. Patches are additional code to replace flaws in software. Patch management is part of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and can occur in any primary process of SDLC.

The importance of implementing patch management as a part of ESM is gaining value, especially due to a plethora of exfiltration and data breaches around the globe. Scanning and updating patches to prevent and mitigate undiscovered vulnerabilities is important and requires security management at all phases: QA, development, staging, and maintaining strict policies to avoid any unexpected events.

Threat Modeling

Who might attack the enterprise? Is it only cybercriminals, or nation-states as well? What about company insiders? Start thinking about the list of possible adversaries and get detailed, without ruling out outlandish ideas your team may come up with. Threat modeling requires the following steps:

Identification of security objectives
Company-wide survey
Decomposition
Identification of threats
Identification of vulnerabilities

Typically, a threat model takes longer to construct, but a sample structured list can be followed. Usually, the model is based on the following assumptions:

Data validation may enable SQL injection.
Authorization may fail, so authorization checks are required.
SSL should be used as the risk of eavesdropping is high.
Anti-caching directives should be implemented in HTTP headers, as the browser cache may contain man-in-the-middle vulnerabilities.

Architecture Principles

ESM never assumes that developing a threat model can provide sufficient risk mitigation for specific threats. It aims to deploy multiple controls in order to prevent and minimize damage while an enterprise responds. Architecture principles in ESM include the following:

Security Resiliency

Ensure security defenses throughout the organization by strengthening the resiliency of software, applications, networks, servers, and systems to recover from unforeseen circumstances.

Segregation

Security initiatives should be categorized into functional blocks, and organizational units will have distinct roles within each block to facilitate management and secure the critical infrastructure.

Regulatory Compliance and Efficiency

Industry best practices should be followed to achieve regulatory compliance. Efficient configuration throughout the infrastructure lifecycle and increased visibility will allow for faster troubleshooting, incident response, and auditing.

More on security auditing: Creating a Network Audit Checklist

Systemwide Confidentiality and Collaboration

Security controls need to include accepted levels of confidentiality, and effective infrastructure security will require correlation, collaboration, and sharing of information from all systemwide sources.

Risk Management

The compromise of R&D intelligence, customer data, and company secrets leads to the loss of millions of dollars in terms of trust, confidence, and monetary value. As such, enterprises must employ a risk management approach against targeted attacks.

Because conventional security implementations are no longer sufficient against techniques such as hacking, DDoS, botnet, state-sponsored espionage, and others, the latest ESM model includes the adoption of behavior detection and network virtualization to avoid becoming victims. It would be based on a custom defense strategy that utilizes a specific intelligence adapted to each enterprise and its potential attacker.

Additionally, risk management enforces stronger adoption of intelligence-based security solutions that are backed by reliable threat information sources. This will help enterprises to thwart attempts to vulnerabilities before patches are updated.

Combating DDoS and other attacks: Top Zero Trust Networking Solutions for 2021

MDM and Mobile Safety

With the inception of BYOD, many issues pertaining to data protection and control arise when an enterprise defines the lines between personal and corporate data. Other threats, such as data breaches through staff-owned devices and physical theft, are also an issue.

As a result, enterprise security management must address mobile device management (MDM) to protect enterprise data, devices, and apps. Administrators in the IT department should be able to centrally manage all device users from a centralized console, enabling visibility and increased mobile use safety.

SDN and IoT

In ESM, the security control layer needs to be centralized for different parts of the critical infrastructure. That is where software defined storage (SDS) and software defined networking (SDN) comes into play.

These two software strategies have been separated in the enterprise environment over the years, but need to come together in the future to deal with cyberthreats. Increased unity can reduce the damage across enterprise operational networks and industrial complexes.

Also, whatever air gaps and network segmentation methods an enterprise may have employed, there will be instances where the Internet of Things (IoT) intersects the enterprise network, and these touchpoints will be vulnerable to cyberattacks.

In fact, IoT can exacerbate the problem to a point where it gets messy to control internal and external networks and devices, especially when users are using all kinds of devices to access enterprise data stored in the cloud, BYOD applications, networks, and other places.

This means a hacker can get into a web-enabled device, and because of its connectivity with a corporate network, they can create a bridge to transfer malicious traffic back and forth.

These threats present an opportunity for enterprises to step in and implement security as a service in ESM for safeguarding those checkpoints and interactions, so the organization can continue to focus on gleaning security and corporate data.

Upgrading Your Security

The ESM market continues to change and grow, with a recent Markets and Markets study predicting a security and vulnerability management global market size of $15.5 billion by 2025. Companies will need to start investing to upgrade their security beyond checkbox implementations to achieve compliance-level protection. Enterprises keep IT security lean, in an attempt to cut operational costs.

ESM is a time-intensive exercise, and to keep every aspect of their company secure, organizations can’t afford to take any shortcuts. CIOs can use this information to make sure their organizations are adapting to the latest threats.

The post What is Enterprise Security Management? appeared first on CIO Insight.

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Is Biometric Technology Worth the Cost?

Posted in: biometric authentication, biometric data, biometric ID, biometric logins, biometric user authentication, biometrics, biometrics security, Infrastructure, IT Management, Security - Jul 30, 2021

The biometric technology market is estimated to grow to $68.6 billion by 2025, according to MarketsandMarkets. This growth can be attributed to the technology’s convenience, security, and scalability. But in spite of these benefits, this security technology can be costly.

What Is Biometric Technology?

Businesses often implement biometric technology for single-factor or multi-factor authentication purposes to ensure safe and secure access to networks and applications, among other things. Common biometric security implementations include fingerprinting, hand scanning, iris scanning, retina scanning, facial recognition, or voice recognition hardware and software.

How Much Does Biometric Security Cost?

A basic USB fingerprint scanner can cost as little as $20 per device. However, enterprises are more likely to need more sophisticated entry point security. “Prices for biometric access control systems range from a total of $2,500 to $10,000 per door when you factor in the biometric scanner, electronic locking system, software integration, and installation, according to VIZpin.

Higher adoption rates of biometric technology in general mean prices are likely to fall. In fact, they already have fallen. Ramped-up production due to increasing adoption during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the price of many biometric access control systems.

Higher adoption rates mean prices are likely to fall.

Iris scanning, retina scanning, and facial recognition are the most expensive types to implement, followed by finger vein and voice recognition. Fingerprint recognition is the least expensive option in this space.

Each permutation of this technology comes with its own level of security, however. For instance, though iris scanning and voice recognition are among the most expensive types of biometric technology, they only offer low to medium security. Retina scanning is the most secure.

Conversely, fingerprint and voice recognition, though more cost efficient, offer relatively low security. Finger vein scanning devices are midrange in price, but offer high security. As such, finger vein scanning appears to be the current best bet, considering the cost-to-security ratio.

Pros & Cons of Biometric Technology

Weigh the following factors as you consider implementing biometric technology into your business:

Pros	Cons
Convenient and fast to use	Hygiene concerns for touched surfaces
More secure than ID cards or passwords	Potential for data breaches
Technology is constantly evolving	Invasiveness and privacy concerns
Falling prices	Currently costly to implement

Biometric security is convenient, as humans often forget passwords and lose access cards. By removing the need for passwords, badges, or keys, biometrics is a more secure option for ensuring sensitive areas and information are only available to authorized users.

Because of the popularity of this technology, biometric security is consistently improving. Also, that popularity is steadily decreasing prices.

Despite these advantages, there are drawbacks to biometrics. Though prices have been sinking, biometric security is still not a cheap investment. Prices vary wildly by device, as each has a different type of sensor.

Investment in a more secure method of measurement is generally worth it.

Additionally, users’ unique biological features are sensitive information. Privacy and secure storage is therefore of utmost importance. Though the technology is relatively secure, there is always the potential for data breaches. Investment in a more secure method of measurement is generally worth it.

Lastly, some of these devices require frequent contact, which raises questions of hygiene. “Long-established solutions like touch-based fingerprint recognition represent a risk in the context of infection spreading,” read a recent Biometrics Institute report addressing industry concerns around COVID-19. Therefore, contactless biometric solutions should be considered.

Depending on your business’ size and operation, some biometrics devices may be more feasible than others. Take the above factors into consideration when deciding whether you should implement biometric security.

Biometric Technology Trends

Here are some trends to watch out for as biometrics continues to evolve:

Ethical Concerns

As devices capture and store our physiological and behavioral data, questions of privacy and ethics will become increasingly important. Recent studies have exposed training biases in the AI used for voice and facial recognition software. Currently, the bio identifiers of many BIPOC, transgender, and nonbinary individuals are not reliably recognized by this software.

Read more: AI Software Trends for 2021

Behavioral Biometrics

Where traditional biometrics measures physical attributes, behavioral biometrics “identifies people according to how they interact with online applications and devices,” according to AI Business. Advances in machine learning, AI, and deep learning are allowing businesses to continually authenticate users using existing device sensors — such as accelerometers, gyroscopes, and touchscreens.

Going forward, organizations and government agencies that work with sensitive information may find it useful to employ physical biometric security at access points, as well as behavioral biometrics on company devices.

Biometrics-as-a-Service

Cloud solutions in biometrics, or Biometrics-as-a-Service (BaaS), will make this technology even more affordable and convenient for businesses to adopt. It will also make this technology more scalable.

According to a MarketsandMarkets report, BaaS “delivers biometric onboarding and authentication capabilities on the cloud platform and eliminates the cost associated with the database, network, and storage components. The only hardware component required is the biometric capture device to capture the individual biometric input, which makes it easier for these solutions to be deployed.”

The third-party software market that supports biometric technology is expected to grow exponentially, as well. It will become increasingly imperative to make this technology compatible across different devices and operating systems.

Biometric Technology Is Here to Stay

Not only is biometric technology is here to stay, but it’s worth investing in. As more entities opt for biometric security, and as technology continues to improve, this is the way forward for both enterprise and consumer products.

There are many implementation options available, and they may be layered to offer multi-factor authentication. Finger vein scanning seems to offer the best cost-to-security ratio currently, but this industry is growing.

The post Is Biometric Technology Worth the Cost? appeared first on CIO Insight.

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