Maybe I've sat through one too many vendor meetings. After a 30-minute monologue, complete with PowerPoint slides showing how this widget mimics the behavior of some unrelated system and the benefits thus derived, the presenter takes a breath and asks: "Any questions?" Invariably my response is, "In English, what is this thing's function?"
Case in point: a recent meeting with TippingPoint Technologies regarding its UnityOne, a network intrusion-prevention device that detects and optionally blocks attacks passing through it. During the briefing, CEO John McHale said the device patches system vulnerabilities. "Patches systems?" I asked. "You mean it installs software on servers?"
"Well, no," McHale replied. "It blocks the vulnerability."
"That isn't patching," I countered.
McHale also said UnityOne blocks all attacks. I clarified that UnityOne blocks only the attacks that pass through it. "No, no," he said. "It blocks all attacks. It sees all traffic."
To realize the benefits of cloud-native software, an application must actually be cloud-native—designed to run in the cloud, interacting with disaggregated cloud services, fully manageable as code—to deliver the expected benefits.
By combining resources and expertise, the AI-Enabled ICT Workforce Consortium will offer a blueprint for how industries can adapt to an AI-dominated future.
IT leaders should heed the guidance of cybersecurity insurance providers who think businesses should prioritize security education, incident preparedness, regular internal audits, and ongoing vulnerability scanning and patching.
