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Daily Tech Digest - September 02, 2024

Daily Tech Digest - September 02, 2024

AI Demands More Than Just Technical Skills From Developers

Unlike in the past, when developers took instructions from a team lead and executed tasks as individual contributors, now they’re outsourcing problem-solving and code generation to AI tools and models. By partnering with GenAI to solve complex problems, developers who were once individual contributors are now becoming team leads in their own right. This new workflow requires developers to elevate their critical-thinking skills and empathy for end-users. No longer can they afford to operate with a superficial understanding of the task at hand. Now, it’s paramount that developers understand the why that is driving their initiative so that they can lead their AI counterparts to the most desirable outcomes. ... Developers are now co-creating IP. Who owns the IP? Does the prompt engineer? Does the GenAI tool? If developers write code with a certain Tool, do they own that code? In an industry where tool sets are moving so quickly, it varies based on what tool you’re using, what version of the tool, and what different tools within certain vendors even have different rules. Intellectual property rights are evolving.


Embracing Neurodiversity in IT Workplace to Bridge Talent Gaps

To accommodate neurodiversity effectively, organizations must adopt a multifaceted approach. This includes providing tailored support and resources to neurodiverse employees, such as flexible work arrangements, assistive technologies, and specialized training programs. Additionally, fostering open communication and creating a supportive network of colleagues and mentors can help neurodiverse individuals feel valued and empowered to contribute their unique insights and perspectives. ... The first step, according to Leantime CEO and co-founder Gloria Folaron, is to create a cultural expectation of self-awareness — from leadership to human resources. "The self-awareness can extend across any biases you might have, relationships, or negative experiences or reactions that exist inside. It's a self-checking mechanism," she said. The second benefit of this is that, for many neurodivergent individuals, they have not been well-supported in the past — they've been forced to create their own systems to fit into more traditional work environments. By promoting even employee-level self-awareness, they become empowered to start thinking about their own needs.


Ransomware recovery: 8 steps to successfully restore from backup

Use either physical write-once-read-many (WORM) technology or virtual equivalents that allow data to be written but not changed. This does increase the cost of backups since it requires substantially more storage. Some Backup technologies only save changed and updated files or use other deduplication technology to keep from having multiple copies of the same thing in the archive. ... In addition to keeping the backup files themselves safe from attackers, companies should also ensure that their data catalogs are safe. “Most of the sophisticated ransomware attacks target the backup catalog and not the actual backup media, the backup tapes or disks, as most people think,” says Amr Ahmed, EY America’s infrastructure and service resiliency leader. This catalog contains all the metadata for the backups, the index, the bar codes of the tapes, the full paths to data content on disks, and so on. “Your backup media will be unusable without the catalog,” Ahmed says. Restoring without one would be extremely hard or impractical. Enterprises need to ensure that they have in place a backup solution that includes protections for the backup catalog, such as an air gap.


Complying with PCI DSS requirements by 2025

Perhaps one of the most significant changes in terms of preventing e-commerce fraud is the requirement to deploy change-and-tamper-detection mechanisms to alert for unauthorized modifications to the HTTP headers and the contents of payment pages as received by the consumer browser (11.6.1). Most e-commerce-related cardholder data (CHD) theft comes from the abuse of JavaScript used within online stores (otherwise known as web-based skimming). Recent research has shown that most website payment pages have 100 different scripts, some of which come from the merchant itself and some from third parties, and any one of these scripts can potentially be altered to harvest cardholder data. Equally, this could be the payment page of a payment service provider (PSP) which a merchant redirects to, or uses a PSP generated inline frame (iframe), making this an issue that is also relevant to PSPs. The ideal scenario is to reduce this risk by knowing what is in use, what is authorized and has not been altered, which is the principle aim of requirement 6.4.3. This mandates the inventory of scripts, their authorization, evidence that they are necessary and have been validated.


Inside CISA's Unprecedented Election Security Mission

Despite ongoing efforts by foreign adversaries to influence U.S. elections, attempts to subvert the vote have been largely unsuccessful in past elections. CISA's continued expansion of advanced threat detection and response strategies in 2016 and 2020 played a significant role in thwarting attempts by Russia and others to compromise the integrity of the electoral process. The agency has recently issued warnings about "increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this Election cycle," including reported activities to compromise former President Donald Trump's campaign. The Department of Homeland Security designated election infrastructure as a subset of the government facilities sector in 2017, further recognizing the vast networks of voter registration databases, information technology systems, polling places and voting systems as critical infrastructure. ... The agency over the last six years has rolled out a wide range of no-cost voluntary services and resources aimed at reducing risks to election infrastructure, including vulnerability scanning, physical security assessments and supporting the nationwide adoption of .gov domains, which experts say enhance trust by ensuring that election information is verified and comes from official, credible sources.


The Gen Z Guide to Getting Ahead at Work

As a young person entering the workplace with new ideas and fresh eyes and perspectives, you have unique value, experts said. Don't be shy to share your thoughts. You might know something others don't. That could look like sharing tools or shortcuts you know within apps, ideas or stories about how you've solved problems in the past, Paaras said. You might have valuable experience related to a particular topic or insight into how other people your age see things. Or you might be able to spot the inefficiency or error of how things are regularly done. "You're seeing things for the first time, and you can highlight that," Abrahams said. "Focus on the value you bring." ... Set time aside for chatting, by video or in person, with your colleagues and supervisor. Building good relationships can help foster people's trust and willingness to collaborate with you. It also could be a differentiator in your career advancement. "Your presence needs to be felt by others," Wilk said. Seek out one-on-one meetings and casual conversations. Be ready with thoughts, questions and goals for the conversation, Wilk said. When in doubt, remember people love to talk about themselves, she added. Ask them about their career or experience on the job.


Unified Data: The Missing Piece to the AI Puzzle

“A unified data strategy can significantly reduce the time data scientists spend on accessing, re-formatting, or creating data, thereby improving their effectiveness in developing AI models,” Francis says. Yaad Oren, managing director of SAP Labs US and global head of SAP BTP innovation, explains that incorporating AI across an organization is not possible without trusted and governed data. “A unified data strategy simplifies the data landscape, maintains data context and ensures accurate training of AI models,” he says. This leads to more effective AI deployments and allows customers to harness data to drive deeper insights, faster growth, and more efficiency. “A unified date architecture is crucial for creating a holistic view of business operations and avoiding the ramifications of flawed AI,” he adds. By bringing together disparate data from across the business, a data architecture ensures data context is kept intact, providing a picture of how the data was generated, where it resides, when it was created, and who it relates to. “A strategy that incorporates a data architecture empowers users to access and use data in real time, creating a single source of truth for decision making, and automating data management processes,” Oren explains.


The Next Business Differentiator: 3 Trends Defining The GenAI Market

Different industries have distinct needs and like with cloud, standardized or general GenAI models and services can’t support the specialized requirements of specific industries. This is especially true for regulated industries that have stringent governance, risk and compliance standards — industry or domain-specific GenAI models will help organizations comply with regulations and compliance standards, ensuring data security and ethical considerations are adhered to. ... The main reason for prioritizing responsible AI is to mitigate bias. Mitigating bias is fundamental in delivering GenAI solutions that have true market applicability and relevance. Ultimately, bias comes from three areas; algorithms, data and humans. Bias from AI algorithms has plummeted exponentially in the last decade. Today, algorithms are mostly trustworthy and the biggest source of bias in AI comes from data and humans. When it comes to data, bias exists because of a lack of quality and variety, as well as often incomplete datasets used to train the algorithm. With humans, there is an inherent lack of trust when it comes to AI, whether because of reported threats to people’s livelihoods or due to AI hallucinating certain information.


Miniaturized brain-machine interface processes neural signals in real time

The MiBMI's small size and low power are key features, making the system suitable for implantable applications. Its minimal invasiveness ensures safety and practicality for use in clinical and real-life settings. It is also a fully integrated system, meaning that the recording and processing are done on two extremely small chips with a total area of 8mm2. This is the latest in a new class of low-power BMI devices developed at Mahsa Shoaran's Integrated Neurotechnologies Laboratory (INL) at EPFL's IEM and Neuro X institutes. "MiBMI allows us to convert intricate neural activity into readable text with high accuracy and low power consumption. This advancement brings us closer to practical, implantable solutions that can significantly enhance communication abilities for individuals with severe motor impairments," says Shoaran. Brain-to-text conversion involves decoding neural signals generated when a person imagines writing letters or words. In this process, electrodes implanted in the brain record neural activity associated with the motor actions of handwriting. The MiBMI chipset then processes these signals in real time, translating the brain's intended hand movements into corresponding digital text. 


From Transparency to the Perils of Oversharing

While openness fosters collaboration and trust, oversharing can inadvertently lead to micromanagement, misinterpretation, and a loss of trust, undermining the foundations of a healthy team dynamic. ... Transparency without trust can create a blame culture where team members feel exposed to criticism for every minor mistake. This effect can result in individuals trying to cover their tracks or avoid taking risks, undermining the very principles of Agile. Decision paralysis: When too much transparency leads to stakeholders or managers second-guessing every team decision, it can create decision paralysis. The team may feel that every move is under a microscope, leading them to slow down or become overly cautious, eroding the trust that they can make decisions independently. ... It’s not just the team that needs to manage transparency effectively; stakeholders also need guidance on interpreting the information they receive. Educating stakeholders on Agile practices and the purpose of various metrics can prevent misinterpretation and unnecessary interference. In other words, run workshops for stakeholders on interpreting data and information from your team.



Quote for the day:

"Success is the progressive realization of predetermined, worthwhile, personal goals." -- Paul J. Meyer



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Daily Tech Digest - September 02, 2024

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