A large passenger ship navigates past the iceberg. The skye is dark. The captain doesn't think it is necessary to take measure to these dangerous peaks in the water, because this ship is the best of the best. The rest of the story is known: the Titanic, this is the passenger ship we're talking about, sank in 1912. Many passengers didn't survive. If we don't take precautions, we will go down like the Titanic, is the warning Brenno de Winter gives us in his book "Digitale stormvloed" (Digital Storm Surge). This is the review I wrote (in Dutch) about this book for Managementboek.nl.
In short chapters, De Winter describes technological developement that are happening right now. Take the sea of data that can be used with smart technology (artificial intelligence) to solve complex issues. More and more, devices are connected to the internet. Your home security camera at the front door, for example, that shows you who's ringing the bell. Very convenient, but how safe is this connection? Who knows who's looking with you... And, as another example, have you thought what driverless cars will do with the job market?
We live in a vertical society, especially regarding trust. We in general trust the layer above us, like governace. Blockchain is a technology that allows for horizontal control and trust. All transactions between individuals and organization will get stored in a large public ledger that can be studied by anybody. Sharing platform like Airbnb and Marktplaats (Dutch online market place) show that we move to a horizontal society. A good development, although De Winter gives a warning too: we now see more drivers without license and complete occupational areas in which professionals are forced to become independent contractor or freelancer.
When talking about security, or lack of security, De Winter comes to full steam. We have far too much a "wait-and-see" attitude. Yes, Cybersecurityraad (Cyber security advisory board) has given advice. This advice is however not enough, just the minimum, according to De Winter. The real measures will come when the ship went down, as happened with the Titanic. The world-wide Wannacry ransonware attack show how vunrable we are, this could affect many of us. Companies often consider themselves victims of such attacks, but the real victims are their customers, of whom the personal information has become public.
Is "Digital Stormvloed" a book of doom and is Brenno de Winter a pessimist? He is not, but if you feel warned after reading his book, his mission is complete.
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