To gain a range of insights into the challenges that 2021 will present to digital technology and the handling of digital data, Digital Journal caught up with three leading experts from the company Telos. Telos is a provider of cyber, cloud and enterprise security solutions.
FANNG May End Up Defanged
According to Ryan Sydlik, Security Engineer, Telos, the major technology providers will continue to be under fire in terms of the way they use social media.
Sydlik says: “We’re already seeing backlash against Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google, and to a lesser extent Apple (FAANG) surrounding their usage and protection of consumer data. This has replaced previous backlash against government spy agencies, but these companies know far more about average citizens than the government ever has.”
In terms of the 2021 trajectory, he adds: “Though these companies form the foundation of our economy, once COVID finally subsides due to a vaccine and the economy recovers, there will be some moves against them. Do they successfully lobby themselves as fundamental pillars of the American economy and as an alternative to your data going to Chinese corporate competitors, or do they end up defanged like AT&T in the 1980s? While my hope is for the latter, my bet is on the former.”
Social Media Will Continue on its Destructive Path
Milica Green, Compliance Subject Matter Expert, Telos considers the challenges around social media and the expectations of providers next year.
According to Green, things are changing: “Social media is not the same as it was 10 years ago. What was meant for a vehicle of good for humans to connect and share their lives is now being used as a destructive weapon to influence people all over the world. We see there are adversaries like China and Russia influencing people how to vote, what to think and what decisions to make. It’s been proven that in the past year there were 10,000 fake Twitter accounts and coordination by China and Russia to influence opinions and this will likely only increase and accelerate in 2021.”
Attackers Will Capitalize on Distance Learning
Gianna Price, Xacta Solutions Architect, Telos sees distance learning as a major area that will be at risk from hackers.
Price notes: “As remote education continues into 2021, we’ll see adversaries take advantage and capitalize on an industry that is ripe for attack. The reality is distance learning technology is not configured to be secure, even in technology-heavy regions like the DMV. With little to no funding, schools will be unable to lock down their technology and attackers will jump on the opportunity to create digital footprints for young children that previously had privacy protections put in place by their parents. This exposure will have lasting implications on the emotional, financial and digital well-being of the next generation.”
