I open the news this morning see these three headlines in succession:
Vast Dragnet Targets Theft of Biomedical Secrets for China
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/health/china-nih-scientists.html
Former Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia
https://www.engadget.com/2019/11/06/former-twitter-employees-charged-saudi-arabia-spying/
Trend Micro Discloses Insider Threat Impacting Some of its Consumer Customers
https://blog.trendmicro.com/trend-micro-discloses-insider-threat-impacting-some-of-its-consumer-customers/
Last month, speaking to two former colleagues in the Bay Area, I claimed that the only secure way for engineers to handle customer data, is for them to work entirely in the cloud. Data should simply not be allowed to reach the engineer's personal computing device. Having worked on desktop virtualisation and thin clients for twenty five years, I come with a certain bias. But I fail to see any other way for people to protect their information assets, and the safety of their customers.
As a student, I was initially surprised to know that developed countries allow most of their research, even defence funded strategic research, to be published openly. I later realised that it is very hard to replicate research based purely on published results. Authors weren't too forthcoming with their simulation scripts or raw data when I would email them in the course of my own research. What developing countries now seem to be doing is penetrating research institutions and stealing the data and tools required to replicate and propogate research.
America is a high trust society with a culture of openness within the corporate or academic boundary. I suppose the goal in the coming few years will be to maintain trust on individuals and not change culture, while protecting assets. Cloud based desktop virtualisation gives organisations the ability to capture everything an employee does, providing a complete trail if law enforcement needs to kick in.
Data is the new oil. Can the relationship between America and data be an different from its relationship with oil?
Vast Dragnet Targets Theft of Biomedical Secrets for China
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/04/health/china-nih-scientists.html
Former Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia
https://www.engadget.com/2019/11/06/former-twitter-employees-charged-saudi-arabia-spying/
Trend Micro Discloses Insider Threat Impacting Some of its Consumer Customers
https://blog.trendmicro.com/trend-micro-discloses-insider-threat-impacting-some-of-its-consumer-customers/
Last month, speaking to two former colleagues in the Bay Area, I claimed that the only secure way for engineers to handle customer data, is for them to work entirely in the cloud. Data should simply not be allowed to reach the engineer's personal computing device. Having worked on desktop virtualisation and thin clients for twenty five years, I come with a certain bias. But I fail to see any other way for people to protect their information assets, and the safety of their customers.
As a student, I was initially surprised to know that developed countries allow most of their research, even defence funded strategic research, to be published openly. I later realised that it is very hard to replicate research based purely on published results. Authors weren't too forthcoming with their simulation scripts or raw data when I would email them in the course of my own research. What developing countries now seem to be doing is penetrating research institutions and stealing the data and tools required to replicate and propogate research.
America is a high trust society with a culture of openness within the corporate or academic boundary. I suppose the goal in the coming few years will be to maintain trust on individuals and not change culture, while protecting assets. Cloud based desktop virtualisation gives organisations the ability to capture everything an employee does, providing a complete trail if law enforcement needs to kick in.
Data is the new oil. Can the relationship between America and data be an different from its relationship with oil?