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Thursday 30 November 2017
Immerse Yourself in Cybersecurity With These Tools and eLearning Bundles
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IoT for small business: Effects, opportunities & platforms
The Internet of Things is poised to change how we live and work as more devices across the glove become connected.
BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, expects that there will be more than 24 billion connected devices on Earth by 2020 — approximately four IoT devices for every human being on the planet.
And as the IoT expands, it will have a particularly profound effect on businesses, especially small businesses. Several IoT business opportunities will be created in the coming years as we head into an increasingly connected world.
Below, we’ve compiled a detailed rundown of new IoT business platforms and the potential those platforms will create in the near future.
Effects of IoT on Small Businesses
Businesses will be the top adopter of IoT solutions in the next few years. And this will create tremendous benefits for the businesses that choose to wholeheartedly embrace this growing trend, as there are three ways the IoT can improve their bottom line: 1) reduce operating costs; 2) increasing productivity; and 3) expanding to new markets or developing of new product offerings.
BI Intelligence expects that from 2015 to 2020, business investments in the IoT will grow from $215 billion to $832 billion. This is just one slice of the overall pie, as compounded, we project more than $6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions between 2015 and 2020 among businesses, consumers, and governments.
Business Opportunities in IoT
The Internet of Things might seem like it only benefits large corporations with massive budgets, but the IoT has already started to bear fruit for small businesses, too.
In fact, approximately 57% of small business think the IoT will have a significant effect on their bottom line, according to an AVG survey.
Take, for example, Bigbelly, founded in 2003 by two college students. The company manufactures solar-powered devices that, on the surface, look like regular garbage cans. But inside rests a sophisticated trash compactor with sensors that monitor how full the cans are and sends notifications to the appropriate officials through the cloud when the cans need to be full.
This enhances efficiency and reduce costs because trash collectors can adjust their routes to avoid cans that do not need to be emptied.
“New York City sometimes collects trash three times per day; that’s how fast the [garbage cans] fill up,” Leila Dillon, vice president of global marketing and North American distribution at Bigbelly, told Forbes. “With our stations, you can reduce that because of our compact technology and better capacity.”
As a result, New York City has reduced its trash collection frequency in some locations from three times a day, seven days a week to just twice a week.
Article Credit: Business Insider
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7 Ways The Internet Of Things Will Change Businesses In 2017
Okay, marketers and technology enthusiasts have been talking about the coming of the Internet of Things (IoT) for years. But with products like Google Home and Amazon Echo emerging and gaining popularity, it’s reasonable to suspect that 2017 is the year that IoT finally starts taking off.
Even though original estimates held that we’d see 50 billion “connected” devices by 2020, revised estimates are still targeting nearly 30 billion, representing an industry worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the near future.
So here’s the question—is your business ready for the IoT? Even if you don’t deal directly with technology, IoT devices are going to have a massive impact on how you do business.
Here’s how.
1. Data, Data, Data
Marketers and entrepreneurs love data, and with IoT devices connecting consumers in new ways with more interactions, they’ll have greater access to that data than ever before. Smart devices will be able to track and record patterns of consumer behavior, and possibly even learn from them, making intelligent product recommendations and customizing searches in new, innovative ways.
Companies can start taking advantage of this by using these data-based insights to come up with more effective advertising, and get to know their target demographics on a more specific, qualitative level. Chances are, you’ll have more data at every stage of the consumer buying cycle, from research to purchase and implementation.
2. Inventory Tracking and Management
Next up, IoT will likely revolutionize how companies track and manage their inventory. If you’re a business that relies on warehousing, manufacturing, or storage, you probably use remote scanners and similarly high-tech devices to help your workers keep track of inventory item by item. In the near future, smart devices should be able to keep tabs on inventory changes completely automatically, freeing up your workers for more important, cognitively demanding tasks. It’s not just about the “smart home” anymore—it’s also about the “smart office” and “smart warehouse.”
3. Remote Work
On the other hand, if your business doesn’t directly deal with any physical inventory, the IoT could open up a world of new possibilities for remote work. With multiple devices all wired into the same network, your remote working employees will be more connected than ever before, and may be able to accomplish new types of tasks from remote locations by tapping into devices in your office or factory floor. Remote workers tend to be happier and more productive, so the arrangement could also help improve your bottom line.
4. Speed and Accessibility
Since consumers will have access to new forms of research and purchasing, the buying cycle will likely diminish in length. Consumers will, with a handful of spoken phrases, be able to find and order exactly the product they’re looking for, and they’ll demand delivery of the product sooner (since all our technological advances tend to emphasize instant gratification). Fortunately, your partners, suppliers, and logistics providers will all have similarly advanced technology at their disposal, meaning you’ll be able to serve your customers faster.
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Roadmap To Successfully Evaluate & Select ERP Software
There are thousands of so-called ERP experts out there. But the truth is no one understands your business like you do. You may be one of the few that has reviewed and evaluated ERP programs extensively before. But, odds are that it’s probably been a few years, and the ERP landscape is rapidly changing. For over 15 years we’ve been helping thousands of companies properly find fitting ERP software solutions. We work with over 4,000 accounting and ERP products. It’s impossible to stay on top of the constantly changing landscape of the ERP software industry, and that’s something we’ve experienced first-hand. The good news is we’ve created a roadmap to help you choose the ERP program that makes the best financial sense for your organization.
ERP Danger
We’ve heard numerous horror stories from failed ERP selections and implementations. We suggest doing some online research on some of the implementation failures. Get a feel for the wasted time and money that some companies have experienced by trying to take shortcuts and not properly identifying the right ERP program. You can quickly gain a sense of the importance of properly assessing your business, evaluating, and selecting the right ERP software. There are thousands of knowledgeable ERP consultants and providers out there. But trying to find one without a hidden agenda can be very difficult. Most ERP consultants have an invested interest in certain solutions. Many ERP consultants are limited to vertical industry exposure with a limited range in experience with company size.
It’s important that you take an unbiased approach into your software search. Don’t waste valuable time and money researching and evaluating ERP software that misses the target. If you’re considering an ERP system for your business or looking to replace an existing accounting/ERP system, keep in mind that the evaluation and selection is an important process that can lead to long term efficiencies for your organization. To help guide you through the ERP evaluation and selection process, we’ve summarized over 15 years of insight on the methods we’ve seen work the best.
Step 1: Assess Your Business Processes
What’s being done well and what can be improved? This is a long term strategic decision for your company. Whether you’ll be implementing your first ERP solution or upgrading to a state-of-the-art industry-specific ERP solution, these questions can help you determine if purchasing an ERP solution will be beneficial. These questions will also help you to better identify current obstacles and gaps in your business processes. You may want to form an evaluation committee to involve each department to gain enterprise wide visibility and acceptance.
The business process questions you should ask include:
- Do you have industry-specific requirements beyond the ability of your current system?
- Is slow report writing or a lack of available reports preventing your company from making timely decisions?
- Is the productivity of your employees subdued by your current system(s)? Can you identify a direct cost benefit in making those employees more productive?
- Are your employees, partners, and vendors able to access company data over the web and via mobile devices? Is this something you could benefit from?
- Does lack of flexibility hurt your company’s ability to keep up with new and more complex business processes?
- Can you use your system to automate job costing, sales orders, supply chain management, and/or other industry-specific requirements?
Article Credit: Software Connect
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Gartner Survey Shows Growth in Marketing Budgets Stalled in 2017
Two-Thirds of CMOs Plan to Increase Digital Adverting Investment, Despite Spending Cuts
Growth in marketing budgets has stalled after continued increases over recent years, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. The survey found that marketing budgets hit a plateau in 2017 after three years of growth, with budgets falling from 12.1 percent of company revenue in 2016 to 11.3 percent in 2017, representing a return to 2015 levels.
Chief marketing officers (CMOs) have modest expectations in 2018. Only 15 percent say they expect a significant increase in the budget; 52 percent expect a slight increase. One-third expect their budgets will be cut or frozen.
Gartner’s 2017-2018 CMO Spend Survey was conducted from June through August 2017 among 353 marketing executives in North America and the U.K. at companies with more than $250 million in annual revenue.
“While the descent is not yet steep, it still poses difficult questions for chief marketing officers,” said Ewan McIntyre, research director at Gartner. “Previous budget increases have come with weighty expectations, some of which have yet to be met. The time has come for marketing to show its financial management credentials, proving it can deal with financial constraints, assume accountability for business performance, build budgets based on future returns rather than past assumptions, and grow the business while making hard choices.”
2017 has been a year of significant macroenvironmental upheaval, in terms of both global politics and natural disasters — North Korea, Brexit and hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, for example. Marketing is not immune to the business impact that stems from such incidents. There is also evidence that CMOs may have become distracted — either by a heavy focus on operational and tactical measures of performance or by large, cross-functional initiatives such as customer experience (CX) programs that have yet to provide hard economic benefits.
“The risk is that CMOs are either being too nearsighted to be strategic or too visionary to deliver against marketing‘s objectives,” said Mr McIntyre. “The result is a lack of focus on the metrics that matter to CMOs and the business — how marketing activities deliver a return on investment and profitability to the organization.”
Not all organizations have felt the impact to the same extent. Extra-large businesses have been shielded from cuts thus far, and cuts have varied across industries, with retail and manufacturing hit hardest. While Gartner predicted these cuts, they will come as a surprise to many CMOs. Only 14 percent of respondents surveyed in last year’s CMO Spend Survey anticipated cuts in 2017, meaning many CMOs will be ill-prepared for change. CMOs need to think and act fast, ensuring they continue to meet the growing business expectations or further cuts will be ahead.
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Gartner Survey Highlights the Developing Role of the Chief Information Officer in India
Acumatica Partner Program – Campaign Factory: Learn More at Acumatica Summit 2018
Our Acumatica Partner Program offers our valued Acumatica VARs the tools they can use to make their businesses succeed. One essential component for business success is clearly communicating the value they provide to their customers – also known as marketing. If this isn’t your strong suit, our Campaign Factory Program may be the answer, and you can learn more details at Acumatica Summit 2018. At Acumatica, our goal is to…
Source: Acumatica
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The Manufacturer’s Stress-Free Guide to Choosing an ERP
Manufacturers often struggle to find exactly the right ERP system for their needs. As Aberdeen Group’s Nick Castellina recently wrote: “Finding a needle in a haystack is hard, but the task pales in comparison to finding a specific needle in a pile of needles.”
In other words, having so many seemingly similar options available to you actually makes your job tougher.
Because ERP systems touch so many areas of the business, it’s crucial to get this decision right. And because ERP systems are generally expensive, you probably won’t be able to rip yours out and replace it any time soon if it ends up disappointing you.
If you’re not sure where to begin your search, here’s a suggestion: Take a cue from some of your leading peers.
Three Top Criteria for Your ERP System
Seeking to eliminate the mystery from the ERP selection process, Aberdeen Group recently surveyed 130 manufacturers to find out what they looked for in an ERP solution. Participants could select more than one response. Three selection criteria far outpaced the rest: Ease of use (50%), Functionality (46%), and Total cost of ownership (43%).
It may be mildly surprising to see “ease of use” top the list—but it’s also quite encouraging. Manufacturers realize that all the functionality in the world isn’t going to help you if your end users are struggling to navigate the interface and complete business processes in a new environment.
Let’s face it: People are resistant to change, and people who work at manufacturing organizations are no exception. You may still have some business processes that revolve around spreadsheets and email—processes that require too many steps and are far too error-prone. But they’re the processes people know—and if your employees are put off by the interface and workflow of your new ERP software, they’ll cling to the tried-and-true-and-inefficient rather than embrace your new solution.
Of course, functionality is still important—very important, as the respondents confirmed. But it has to be presented in a way that users will appreciate.
As for total cost of ownership, it’s not surprising to see it listed as participants’ third-leading criterion. What’s interesting, though, is that they had the option of choosing “Software costs” as a criterion, and yet only 21% of respondents did. Today’s manufacturers have obviously wised up to the fact that it’s not all about the initial sticker price of an ERP system—it’s about what it’s going to cost to run that platform over the next 10 years or more.
Some manufacturers, of course, will choose cloud ERP largely as a way of avoiding major capital expenditures on software licenses and system hardware. Others may prefer to pay once up front for their software, and will install an on-premises system because they’re unaware that some vendors let you purchase cloud ERP for a one-time fee. In any case, manufacturers should look beyond the initial license fee or subscription agreement to determine how customizations, maintenance, and support could affect their total price tag over the lifespan of the software.
ERP’s Role in the Modern Manufacturer: Supporting the Needs of Industry 4.0
Is your manufacturing operation looking at the latest Industry 4.0 technology? Here’s how to make sure you’re really ready – download free whitepaper.
The Bottom Line
In the end,
- User-friendly interface.
- Strong functionality.
- Reasonable cost of ownership.
Let these serve as your “big three” criteria as you research and evaluate ERP systems for your manufacturing organization.
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Keeping Up with the Joneses: Why Integration Matters to SMBs
I’ve seen it happen so many times. A growing small or midsized business (SMB) realizes that it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with the competition. More specifically, they determine that they’re struggling to maintain consistent revenue growth because it’s so challenging to keep existing customers and attract new ones.
So, they do what any serious corporation would do: They begin looking for their first bona fide CRM system.
As they evaluate solutions, they’re often floored by the sheer amount of functionality that’s now available. “Wow,” they think to themselves, “these solutions would give us enough whistles and bells for the next 20 years.”
They’re equally floored by the sticker prices of these solutions. And while everyone knows the importance of good CRM, many of these SMBs find it hard to believe that taking on a major capital expense in the form of software licenses will result in a worthwhile ROI.
“But this is the price of success, and the cost of doing business as you grow,” they remind themselves—and they take the plunge. They implement a major standalone CRM platform, and mark it as a milestone in the maturity of their company.
They then spend the next several years watching their sales and marketing teams use only a small fraction of the CRM features available to them. User adoption is underwhelming, and overall usage of the platform eventually tapers off.
The project delivers a disappointing ROI—and executives are left scratching their heads. “We chose one of the best platforms in the industry,” they remind each other. “So, why didn’t it take us to a new level?”
It’s because they went about their search all wrong. Rather than trying to solve customer challenges with a CRM system, they should have looked at them as business challenges and addressed them with an integrated cloud ERP system.
The Case for ERP-CRM Integration
Why look for ERP-CRM integration rather than just a standalone CRM solution for your growing business? SMB Group laid out some compelling arguments in a recent report.
In a nutshell, SMB Group believes that as SMBs try to do more with less—and stave off larger, better-funded competitors—they absolutely must have an integrated view of each customer, as well as a single view of the business as a whole.
If you implement a standalone CRM system, centralized views will be harder to achieve. Sure, you can install integrations for many systems these days. But here’s the thing: With so many business applications moving to the cloud—and with integration between clouds often becoming a major stumbling block to productivity—why risk ending up with a fragmented view of your business and your customer base?
The safer play is to implement an integrated cloud ERP system that provides enough CRM functionality for growing SMBs. You’ll then be assured of running your customer-facing and financial management processes off the same database.
Increase Your Chances of Revenue Growth by 29-40%?
SMB Group’s comments on the importance of integrating CRM with ERP aren’t just based on gut feelings. They’re backed up by a recent study. SMB Group found that:
“SMBs that have fully integrated business solutions are 29% more likely to expect revenue growth than those that have only partially integrated these solutions, and they are 40% more likely than those that have not done any integration.”
The benefits of an integrated ERP-CRM system is significant and can greatly increase user adoption…and your bottom line!
Why SMBs Feel Like Goldilocks
Do all the available CRM systems feel “too big” or “too small”? This SMB Group will guide you to a system that’s “just right” for business growth. Download free report.
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3 Clear Signs It’s Time to Replace Your ERP Financial Reporting System
Good financial reporting isn’t just a “nice to have.” It’s one of the most important functions in the entire accounting process—if not the most important.
Think about it: Unless your system can produce accurate, timely, and useful reports, you’ll have no way of assessing the financial health of your business. Even worse, you won’t be able to spot potential issues before they become major problems.
Of course, it’s not easy to define “accurate, timely, and useful.” It can mean different things to different companies. But many finance professionals have the nagging feeling that although their current ERP financial reporting system does offer useful information, it’s not doing everything it could for their business.
So, how do you know when it’s time to consider making a switch? Here are three common signs you need to replace your ERP financial reporting system.
Top of Form
1.You’re doing too much manual work.
One sure sign that your reporting system isn’t giving you everything you need is that you’re still creating workarounds in good old Microsoft Excel. This approach may seem to work smoothly for you….until you have to make a small change to one report and realize that this will require making changes to a host of other reports, too.
For example, you might change an account code in one report and then spend hours dealing with the “ripple effect” in dozens of other reports. Or, one of your business managers may ask you to display negative numbers with black parenthesis instead of red text. Your staff will then have to waste hours propagating this change through hundreds of spreadsheets. It’s not a difficult task—but it certainly doesn’t add any value to your business.
Now, if it’s this much of a hassle to perform simple changes in your financial reporting system, imagine how difficult things will be when you decide to add new line items, new departments, or even new acquisitions. The ideal reporting system would allow you to make a change once and see it reflected in every report you produce from that point on.
2.You’re sending the right information to the wrong people.
Ever worked up hundreds of reports for a financial close period, attached them to an email, clicked Send….and then realized that you copied at least one person who wasn’t supposed to see all of these reports?
This isn’t just a matter of cluttering up people’s inboxes with information that doesn’t pertain to them. There’s a real risk of putting confidential corporate data at risk—and perhaps getting fired as a result.
It shouldn’t be this hard to send the right reports to the right people—and with a good ERP financial reporting system, it isn’t. You can configure even the most complex distribution lists right in the software so that there’s no chance of disclosing sensitive information to the wrong people.
3.Your biggest questions are going unanswered.
Even if you’re delivering all the right reports to all the right people, your stakeholders are going to want to know the “Why?” behind the data. Why did travel expenses only increase for one of your five business divisions in Q3? Why did inventory decrease in all but one warehouse?
Stakeholders who want the story behind the numbers shouldn’t have to pick up the phone and ask the finance team for help. They should be able to log on, open an interactive report, drill down into any line item, and see every transaction that contributed to that number—right down to the journal entry level.
Look for a financial reporting system that lets users conduct their own research rather than relying on Finance to do it for them. You’ll reduce data bottlenecks and empower everyone to make better-informed decisions.
So, what’s next?
Transitioning to the right ERP financial reporting system doesn’t have to be painful. Many of today’s best reporting systems are designed to integrate seamlessly with cloud ERP systems to give you the reporting functionality you need without disrupting your business operations.
Need help evaluating your options? We’d love to lend a hand. Contact Acumatica to learn more about ERP financial reporting systems.
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Wednesday 29 November 2017
METTLER TOLEDO Safeline develops new fully integrated conveyorised metal detection system
Industrial metal detectors can bring important benefits to the production line for food, non-food and pharmaceutical applications.
They allow manufacturers to fulfil their regulatory requirements by providing a fully tested and reliable product inspection program. They also increase consumer safety and quality assurance, by ensuring manufacturers are producing the highest quality and safest products.
Having a stable, reliable and highly sensitive metal detector within a production line is important. However, having an integrated conveyorised metal detection system provides far greater benefits. Supplementing that system with electronic data collection software takes it one step further to ensure manufacturers have a fully integrated process solution that enhances compliance and increases production efficiency.
METTLER TOLEDO Safeline has developed a series of conveyors which can be seamlessly integrated into a production line to improve the effectiveness of a manufacturer’s metal detection program. Each system comes with a number of key features:
Tailored solutions for specific applications
Each system is tailored to suit specific production needs, from light (9kg) to heavy (50kg) food, to non-food applications such as packaging, and can be integrated with Safeline’s extensive range of metal detectors which have a longstanding reputation for reliability and stability. Manufacturers can choose from compact solutions for small spaces with the Series 30 conveyor, right through to the Series 200 conveyor which is engineered for bulk product inspection. The newest addition to the portfolio is the Series 90 – a wide retracting band system designed specifically for inspecting light to medium weight, multi-lane or randomly presented bakery and confectionery products and packs. A design service is also available to develop bespoke solutions tailored to more demanding applications.
Enhanced features to increase productivity
Safeline’s metal detector systems have a number of enhanced features to provide flexible solutions suited to the application on the production line. Each system uses a reject device from a wide range of available options – from simple ‘stop-on-detection’ systems through to fully-automated detect-and-reject systems. Pushers and air blast devices are suitable for light to medium-weight products, with overhead sweep and diverter arms for heavier products.
To improve security and ensure contaminated products are effectively removed from the production line, failsafe system options and other due diligence features are available to make sure the metal detectors continue to operate reliably and efficiently. A choice of finishes and sealing standards are also available to suit the working environment.
Robust design and safe operation
To protect operators during production and support safe maintenance practices, attention is paid to every detail of the conveyorized system design. These include guards manufactured from clear, shatter-proof material without sharp edges, a safety valve fitted as standard on all pneumatics and guarded in-feed and out-feed rollers which minimizes the risk of finger traps.
Safeline’s conveyor systems are designed to worker health and safety standards including the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, are built to robust construction standards, and are manufactured to the European Hygienic Engineering and Design Group (EHEDG) principles. Systems can be supplied with a detailed risk assessment to ensure manufacturers fully comply with these safety standards.
Electronic data collection
All Safeline metal detection systems are compatible with Mettler-Toledo’s ProdX data management software, making processes more streamlined, more accessible and more efficient. Innovative ProdX software automatically collects critical inspection process data in one convenient location, significantly reducing the need to interact directly with critical control points (CCPs). ProdX also facilitates faster set-up between production batches and is able to convey advance warnings generated by product inspection devices of adverse trends that may lead to downtime and threaten the efficiency of the production line.
A conveyorized metal detection system is much more than a modified transport conveyor. The design of both the conveyor and the auto-reject device will have a major impact on the effectiveness of a production line. Purchasing an integrated metal detection solution from one supplier enables equipment performance to be maximized. With Mettler-Toledo’s global service team delivering local support, manufacturers can ensure their product inspection equipment is operating efficiently over its lifetime to maximize the return on investment.
Jon Denis, Product Manager at Mettler-Toledo Safeline says: “Having an integrated metal detection system provides many benefits to the production line. Whichever conveyor system you choose, integration with the metal detector should enhance the effectiveness of your critical control points and failsafe functionality. Reject mechanisms and due diligence features optimize your metal detection program and support compliance with food safety standards and industry regulations.”
Conveyorized metal detection systems provide flexible, integrated handling solutions capable of operating in almost any working environment. Whether the product is wet or dry, chilled or frozen, loose or packed, an integrated metal detection conveyor system allows manufacturers to resolve any metal contamination related inspection challenge.
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Who will win the Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality Device Race?
Theorem’s recently launched Visualization Experience app for use on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality devices (forming part of their Digital Realities product family) has been specifically designed and developed from the ground up to be device agnostic. Whether it is a holographic display, tablet, or a VR device, the same application will run on any.
When considering Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality, all three technologies have their unique features and benefits.
The type of ‘reality’ (i.e. Virtual, Augmented or Mixed) ultimately dictates the types of devices that will be available to you. These technologies and devices have not been developed with Engineering and Manufacturing in mind and the underlying software is not based upon CAD or PLM technologies.
Nobody really knows who is going to win the device race. Which are the best devices? Which are the devices that over time will win out? It’s too early to know and it will be a few years before it settles down. We don’t believe that there will be a single winner. In addition, the different technologies deliver different experiences which means that there is not a ‘one size fits all’.
The graphics and the devices are coming from a very different group of companies. They are coming from the gaming and social media industries, from Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Sony, and Samsung etc.
“What we’ve seen in the past 12 months is that new devices are appearing all the time, and we know that before this year is out, there will be additional devices on the market,” observes Stuart Thurlby, CEO of Theorem, “These new devices are significantly cheaper than VR Caves and Power walls, and this low price point is democratising the technologies and making them accessible to a larger audience.”
In addition, for Theorem’s Visualization Experience, the data you prepare is created once and it can be used on any of the devices. It doesn’t need to be created specifically for Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality or Mixed Reality.
“One of the things that Theorem recognise is that each device has different capabilities and capacities, and so some devices require the data to be optimised more than others.” Stuart explains “We have ensured that data and device neutrality is there, which will protect your initial investments even as the technologies and devices develop and change.”
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Lexmark introduces Supply Chain Document Optimization for Manufacturing
Paper-based supply chain workflows limit access to important data contained in shipping and receiving documents such as forms, invoices, bills of lading, delivery receipts and packing lists. The Lexmark Supply Chain Document Optimization solution streamlines the manual, paper-based tasks that can disrupt shipping and receiving operations.
“Manufacturing and supply chain processes often rely on paper, making them slow and inefficient,” said John Linton, Lexmark manufacturing industry director. “It’s also difficult to have real-time visibility into shipment status, which can impact customer service. And when a pre-printed document, label or tag is out of stock, it can shut down a production line and further delay shipments. We developed Lexmark Supply Chain Document Optimization to help manufacturers overcome these challenges.”
Lexmark Supply Chain Document Optimization solution allows manufacturers to:
- Improve customer service: Shipping and receiving documents are produced and captured at the point of transaction so order and delivery information can instantly be shared with customers.
- Reduce expenses: Multipart forms and dot matrix printers are replaced with advanced, efficient laser technology that prints on demand using standard copier paper.
- Drive productivity: Electronic forms provide instant visibility to supply chain documents and eliminate delays caused by out-of-stock supplies and pre-printed forms.
- Support compliance: Information for audits and compliance requirements is immediately accessible.
Lexmark manufacturing customers, including 70% of the top 50 manufacturers around the world, rely on the rugged, industrial design of Lexmark devices that are used in a wide range of environments and extreme conditions. The Lexmark capture platform creates a cohesive system across devices and solutions that can be deployed even in challenging environments.
“Supply Chain Document Optimization for Manufacturing is the latest Lexmark solution designed to help manufacturers solve their information challenges,” said Allen Waugerman, Lexmark senior vice president and chief technology officer. “This solution leverages our 25 years of experience helping manufacturers streamline their day-to-day operations by automating data entry and making information stored outside enterprise applications readily available.”
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Countering the threats of social engineering
By Andrew Avanessian, COO at Avecto.
The manufacturing industry is a cornerstone of the world’s economy, contributing trillions of pounds every year. The powerhouses of China, the USA and the UK alone account for over $3 trillion.
These three giants are just the tip of the iceberg too, underlining how vast and valuable the industry is. But with value comes risk, and one of the fasting growing risk areas is cyber crime. The recent WannaCry ransomware attack, which halted production lines in several Renault factories in France and one UK Nissan factory, highlights that the industry still has a way to go when it comes to protecting itself against cyber attacks.
The FBI has estimated that $400bn of intellectual property is leaving the US each year because of cyber attacks, and a report from IBM-X-Force has stated that cyber attacks targeting manufacturing companies are on the rise. It’s the value that manufacturers hold, both in money and intellectual property, that make them such a target. On top of this, their vast supply chains offer many routes into the business for the savvy hacker.
It’s fair to say – compared to some other industries – that the manufacturing sector has been slow to react to the increasing threat. A recent report from Deloitte found that only 52% of manufacturing executives surveyed are confident that their organisation was protected from external cyber threats. The uncertainty highlights a sentiment felt in the majority of businesses – would we be resilient to a targeted cyber attack?
The problem is, cyber criminals are evolving their methods at an incredible pace. This is certainly true in the social engineering space – a category of attack that involves deceiving employees to convince them to divulge sensitive information or grant access to the corporate network.
Most people will have experienced social engineering in the form a mass phishing emails. One of the most well-known examples is the Nigerian prince asking for asking for a large sum of money to be transferred to his bank account. But they are becoming increasingly difficult to spot as criminals spend longer researching their targets and crafting incredibly convincing communications.
This targeted approach is known as spear phishing. A spear phishing email might look exactly the same as a typical note from a colleague or supplier. The email address might look the same and the content could have idiosyncrasies that you’d expect. It can catch out everyone, from the most junior of staff to the CEO. A single click can subsequently compromise a company’s entire network.
A targeted approach is becoming simpler because of the amount of personal and corporate information that is now freely available online – as well as (often) illegally obtained material that resides on the dark web, such as leaked usernames and passwords. Such data enables social engineers to credibly assume the identity of a high-ranking member of staff, or even a close friend or colleague.
Most high-profile hacks begin with some form of social engineering. The email leaks during the American election last year started with a simple phishing attack. This year, DSV Global Transport and Logistics in South Africa were hit with a ransomware attack, finding all its files encrypted with the attackers wanting money to release unencrypt them. Other manufacturers in the country were hit too. It’s believed all of these attacks started with a simple phishing email.
Although all industries are at risk of social engineering, manufacturers will always be a prime target. A campaign dubbed ‘Operation Ghoul’ discovered in 2016 saw a criminal group aggressively targeting manufacturing and engineering companies in the Middle East with financial motives. The initial attack method? Spear phishing emails.
Social engineering attacks can have devastating consequences and yet the mode of attack is often simple. The good news is, it is simple defences that can protect manufacturers.
The key is to get the foundations of cyber security right and not rely on ‘next generation’ solutions that often come at the expense of the basics. These basics include:
- Remove administrative rights from all employees. On a practical level, this means staff only have access to the software and information that they need carry out their job. This means that if an employee falls victim to an attack, the infection can only spread so far due to the controlled access.
- Educating staff. Some spear phishing emails are almost impossible to spot, but 99% can be identified if you know what to look for. Put time and resource aside to train your staff about social engineering and the consequences.
- Application control. Don’t allow unknown software to execute. This is often where malware is housed. Approve safe apps, restrict the rest.
- Patch your software. Software vendors release updates when vulnerabilities are found in their apps. Update as soon as you feasibly can to close the door to hackers.
If there’s anything that we can learn from recent events, in particular the WannaCry ransomware attack that affected a huge number of businesses across the world, is that businesses big or small, regional or global, and in every sector, will be vulnerable if they don’t have the right security measures in place. But if manufacturers get the foundations right and they will be in a much better position to deal with the social engineer.
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source http://news.statii.co.uk/countering-the-threats-of-social-engineering/
Amazon Inc. founder Jeff Bezos now worth $100 billion
First billionaire to build a 12-figure net worth since Bill Gates, which raises the question of when and if Bezos will turn to philanthropy the way Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have.
Jeff Bezos is the world’s newest $100-billion mogul.
The Amazon.com Inc. founder’s fortune is up $2.4 billion (U.S.) to $100.3 billion, as the online retailer’s shares jumped more than 2 percent on optimism for Black Friday sales. Online purchases for the day are up 18.4 percent over last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics, and investors are betting the company will take an outsized share of online spending over the gifting season.
The $100 billion milestone makes Bezos, 53, the first billionaire to build a 12-figure net worth since 1999 when Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates hit the mark.
Bezos’s fortune rose $32.6 billion this year through Thursday, the largest increase of anyone on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s 500 richest people. Amazon has climbed 5 percent this week alone.
As Bezos’s wealth flirts with new heights, there’s likely to be more questions about what he intends to do with it. Unlike Gates, who was the world’s richest person until Bezos passed him in October, or U.S. investor Warren Buffett, the world’s third-richest person with $78.9 billion, Bezos has given relatively little of his fortune to charity.
Bezos is only just starting to focus on philanthropy, and in June tweeted a request for ideas on how to help people. Since 2002, Bezos has given away Amazon shares worth about $500 million at current prices, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Form 4 filings. The billionaire said in April that he sells $1 billion of Amazon stock every year to fund his space business Blue Origin LLC.
Gates, 62, who has a net worth of $86.8 billion according to the Bloomberg index, would be worth more than $150 billion if he hadn’t given away almost 700 million Microsoft Corp. shares and $2.9 billion of cash and other assets to charity, according to an analysis of his publicly disclosed giving since 1996. The index numbers are based on the close of trading in New York Wednesday. Bezos’s fortune and Amazon share data reflect Friday’s closing trading prices in New York.
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Amazon Sumerian lets you build VR scenes with no training
Amazon’s new web service gives you the tools to create VR, AR and 3D scenes without specialized training in 3D graphics.
Amazon’s newest Web Service aims to make it easy for anyone to build their own virtual reality.
Amazon Sumerian lets you create VR, AR and 3D experiences using a simple point-and-click interface.
Sumerian launched Monday morning and allows developers to easily create scenes using pre-existing templates. Sumerian will even let you upload your own 3D assets into the database, so you can make the augmented or virtual reality of your choosing. Once you have your 3D assets in place, you can just drag and drop a house, a person or any other object into place on Sumerian’s blank canvas to get started on your scene.
Amazon announced Sumerian in a blog post and promised you could use the tool to easily create scenes without training in 3D graphics or programming. Scenes you create with Sumerian can work across a wide variety of platforms including Oculus, HTC Vive and iOS devices with support for Android coming soon. You can sign up for the preview of Sumerian now or check out sample scenes on the company’s product page.
Tech-Enabled: CNET chronicles tech’s role in providing new kinds of accessibility.
Technically Literate: Original works of short fiction with unique perspectives on tech, exclusively on CNET.
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Govt IT projects ‘lacking common sense’: DHHS CIO
Public sector IT projects have typically lacked common sense and need to evolve in order to survive a change of government and leader.
This is the view of Dr Steve Hodgkinson, CIO at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), who believes that public sector agencies are “littered with the wreckage created by CIOs” who have a grand vision but an inability to create meaningful and sustainable change through people.
Hodgkinson – who clinched the No 7 spot in this year’s CIO50 – joined a panel IT chiefs in the final list, along with judging panel member and Gartner research director Jenny Beresford, to discuss their projects. Other CIO50 finalists joining the panel included Hilda Clune, CIO at PwC, and Kerry Holling, chief information and digital officer at Western Sydney University.
Government CIOs need to focus first on doing no harm and then doing things that are sustainable and have common sense, Hodgkinson told the audience.
“It actually sounds stupid to say that, but so many things that have been attempted with regards to ICT have been inherently unsustainable because they were very fragile. They depend on a particular set of circumstances and people and motivations to work.”
But the keys to success come down to valuing people, Hodgkinson said, explaining the future of the industry involves “empowering people to exercise their common sense to make good and practical choices” and to just do things.
“Disruption comes and disruption goes. In the public sector, I’ve always had the view that there’s a whole cadre of people that keep the public sector operating from one day to the next, from one week to the next, from one month to the next – and those are the people, that as a CIO, we need to connect with and empower because they know what to do,” he says. “There are changes in the industry and we need to work out a way to bring those changes to them in order to succeed.”
Hodgkinson said he’s particularly proud of the work he’s done with the deployment of a family violence referral and triage system that automates the flow of referrals from Victoria Police to the DHHS and agencies in the social services sector.
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AI might give you a personal assistant instead of taking your job
With the advent of artificial intelligence, assistants should no longer be a luxury confined to executives. We already have AI helpers in our personal lives, such as Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, but now is the time to take this to the workplace.
Despite advancements in technology that promise to help us leave the office closer to 5 pm, we’ve arguably never been busier—and more in need of some assistance. While hiring a human personal assistant for every staff member would be a logistical and financial nightmare, everyone could have their own personal AI assistant. With the ability to automate time-consuming tasks and focus more on revenue-raising work, the productivity benefits could significantly change how we operate and how businesses scale.
The trick though will be how to build an assistant that works for you rather than you working for it. There’s no one-size-fits-all in the workplace, and any company that claims to have built an AI to complete multiple types of tasks will ultimately be useless at all of them. Instead, there are a lot of single-purpose products built to help people get through their workdays: x.ai can schedule your meetings, Lucy can help you with market research, and Restless Bandit automates the candidate-screening process and even reaches out to qualified people for vacant positions.
But having so many different AIs assistants helping us with different tasks could become unwieldy. As these helpers become more commonplace, businesses need to think about not only how to breed these digital cattle but herd them. Will we soon have to create an org chart for robots?
The products developed to assist with specific activities are indeed useful, but there’s potential to go a step further to deliver a truly personal AI assistant. The only effective way to deliver and a helper that truly assists is to have your own, configured to your role with unique abilities that are specific to how you operate.
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Five Visionary CEOs Share How AI And Digital Will Shape Our Future
Reid Hoffman, the founding CEO of LinkedIn, once told me, “Your ideal timing for innovation is two years because you want to get the runway going.” As digital and artificial intelligence transform most industries, I thought it would be interesting to explore how some of the today’s transformative CEOs envision the future. Below are insights from five CEOs – who are transforming healthcare, smartphones, entertainment, corporate culture and the internet – about their technology breakthrough, and how they see technology changing the world over the next five years.
• Jim Barnett, Co-founder, CEO & Chairman, Glint
• Lixin Cheng, CEO, ZTE Mobile Devices
• Graham Gardner MD, Co-founder & CEO, Kyruus
• Andy Ory, Co-founder & CEO, 128 Technology
• Rich Riley, CEO, Shazam
Robert Reiss: Describe your breakthrough in technology?
Lixin Cheng: The foldable ZTE Axon M is the first real innovation to hit the smartphone market in the last 10 years. Its two identical 5.2-inch screens enable consumers to take advantage of true multitasking capabilities and much more through four different modes. Dual screen functionality allows a consumer to use two different apps on two different screens all at the same time. When unfolded, the Axon M can use both screens as one, providing a full 6.75-inch screen for a tablet-like experience. There are many more use cases and modes the ZTE Axon M can deliver, and we believe this new foldable smartphone category ZTE created represents a meaningful innovation that will transform the industry’s approach to smartphone design.
Dr Graham Gardner: While healthcare is a field known for scientific breakthroughs that can transform patients’ lives, it often lags behind other industries when it comes to the adoption of workflow best practices. To make matters worse, even though the healthcare industry has been a tremendous producer of data (in the form of information like medical record notes and claims data), it has historically been a poor utilizer of that data – only recently beginning to incorporate individual and population health analytics into care coordination efforts. Cumbersome processes and information challenge too often hamper the very mission of healthcare.
Several years ago, we saw the convergence of several trends that inspired us to leverage an analytical framework from the world of sports to improve care delivery. Just as Moneyball helped baseball teams understand players’ relative strengths and taught managers how to use statistics to inform optimal team composition, we saw an opportunity to use data to help health systems determine how to match providers with patients in a way that benefits the patient, provider, and health system alike. Multiple factors facilitated this opportunity in healthcare: the increasing liquidity of data about providers; the emergence of Big Data and the ability to process information at scale; and the passage of Obamacare, which created urgency to understand and manage provider networks oriented around value-based care. Today, Kyruus’ platform houses tens of millions of data points on over 100,000 providers and helps health systems across the country make precise patient-provider matches based on clinical expertise, insurance, demographics, availability, and more.
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source http://news.statii.co.uk/five-visionary-ceos-share-how-ai-and-digital-will-shape-our-future/
AI Is No Longer A Diamond In The Rough For Small Businesses
AI is certainly changing the business of commerce. Most recognizable to the average consumer, of course, are all the voice-activated assistants that are coming into our lives care of Apple, Google, Microsoft and other technology giants. AI is impacting every business sector at every level. For small businesses, an effective AI strategy can make all the difference between success and failure.
Walk through the Diamond District of New York and you’ll find more than 2,600 small businesses, nearly all of them dedicated to selling diamond jewellery. Glittering gems fight for the attention of every passing glance. For a shopper looking for the perfect engagement ring, just a few feet of window shopping can be a daunting — not to mention blinding — experience.
Taking the search online isn’t any easier. RockHer, a luxury jeweller in Los Angeles that we’ve worked with before, recently launched an artificial intelligence-enhanced e-commerce site to give consumers a better option. The brand created a virtual gemologist, Rosi, that uses AI to scour the global diamond marketplace. After a user details their budget and preferences, Rosi crunches more than a million data points to deliver her selections in seconds. No matter how connected and tech-savvy the best diamond seller may be, they would be hard-pressed to provide the same breadth of research and at that speed of service.
The technology gives the consumer access to inventory they would never have the opportunity to consider in a retail store or even another online jewellery site, as it pulls its data from a wholesale database of currently available GIA-certified diamonds. And while a human gemologist couldn’t match Rosi, it is the human intelligence in the company founders’ decades of experience in the diamond industry that programmed her to consider more than 30 different variables for a diamond, far beyond the typical 4Cs that consumers have come to expect.
It is a competitive advantage that only AI can bring a small business.
It is predicted that by 2020, up to 85% of customer interactions will be managed by machines. So the brands that manage to do so by making the customer experience effortless and delightful stand to win. Challenger brands especially have the opportunity to better compete by leveraging AI to out-innovate their rivals.
Once the sole domain of the Silicon Valley elite, AI technology is fast and furiously being deployed to the masses. Technology giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and IBM are open-sourcing their technology, making it freely available to developers or at a lower cost than previously available to advance the technology forward.
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Human pilot beats AI in drone race
Anything you can do, AI can do better. Eventually.
On October 12, NASA put on its own demonstration, pitting an AI-piloted racing drone against world-renowned drone pilot Ken Loo.
Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who have spent the last two years working on drone autonomy (which was funded by Google), built three custom drones equipped with cameras for vision and algorithms that would help them fly at high speeds while still avoiding obstacles.
The drones, named Batman, Joker, and Nightwing, used algorithms that were integrated with Google’s Tango technology, which helps AI map out 3D spaces.
These drones could fly up to 80mph in a straight line, but on this particularly cramped course, were only able to hit 40mph.
In a press release, NASA explained the pros and cons of both the autonomous drones and the human pilot. While the AI-powered drones were able to fly more consistently, they were also more cautious and, at times, ran into problems with motion blur at higher speeds. On the other hand, Loo was able to learn the course after a few laps and fly with much more agility than the autonomous drones but is susceptible to fatigue.
“This is definitely the densest track I’ve ever flown,” Loo said in the release. “One of my faults as a pilot is I get tired easily. When I get mentally fatigued, I start to get lost, even if I’ve flown the course 10 times.”
Long story short, the AI and the human started out with similar lap times, but Loo eventually won out and ended up with a faster average lap time than the AI.
The implications here are big: autonomous drones may eventually be used for surveillance, emergency response, or inventory in warehouses.
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Tuesday 28 November 2017
The Best AI Companies To Work For In 2018 Based on Glassdoor
- Facebook, NVIDIA, Adobe, Microsoft, Uber, and Accenture are the five best AI companies to work for in 2018 based on Glassdoor Research and % of employees who would recommend this company to a friend as today. These five companies together have 96 open AI positions today or 18.7% of all open AI jobs on Glassdoor.
- The average annual base pay for an AI job listed on Glassdoor is $111,118 per year.
- There are 512 AI jobs on Glassdoor today, with AI Software Engineer, AI Data Scientist, AI Software Development Engineer and AI Research Scientist having a combined total of 118 open positions.
- 67% of all AI jobs listed on Glassdoor are located in San Jose, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York City.
These and other many insights are from Glassdoor Research study Who’s Hiring AI Talent in America? by Dr Andrew Chamberlain, Chief Economist at Glassdoor. Forbes readers most often ask for recommendations regarding the best Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies to work for. The recent study from Glassdoor Research is insightful and serves as a useful framework for readers planning a job move in 2018 into the AI field. Please see the study for a description of the methodology Dr Chamberlain used for completing this report.
Key takeaways from the study include the following:
- Facebook, NVIDIA, Adobe, Microsoft, Uber, and Accenture are the five best AI companies to work for in 2018 based on Glassdoor Research findings combined with % of employees who would recommend this company to a friend as today. Taken together these five companies have 96 open AI positions as of October 20th or 18.7% of all open AI jobs on Glassdoor as well.
- The average annual base pay for an AI professional is $111,118 per year based on Glassdoor’s research. The study found that the annual salary for AI jobs is roughly bell-shaped with a peak between $100,000 and $120,000 per year. Glassdoor found the lowest-paying jobs have an estimated base pay of between $20,000 and $40,000 per year, while the highest paying AI roles earning an estimated $240,000 to $260,000 per year in base pay. Even without accounting for bonuses and stock-related compensation, the highest-paying AI jobs in the Glassdoor sample rank among the top-earning jobs in America today. The following is the distribution of base pay for open AI jobs on Glassdoor and a comparison of the top paying AI jobs available. The highest paying job is a Director of AI located in San Francisco with a median base salary of approximately $257,269 per year. Please click on the image to expand it for easier viewing.
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source http://news.statii.co.uk/the-best-ai-companies-to-work-for-in-2018-based-on-glassdoor/
World’s first AI politician developed
Scientists have developed the world’s first artificial intelligence politician that can answer a person’s queries regarding local issues such as policies around housing, education and immigration.
The virtual politician, called SAM, was created by Nick Gerritsen, a 49-year-old entrepreneur in New Zealand.
The AI politician is constantly learning to respond to people through Facebook Messenger as well as a survey on its homepage.
While the system is not perfect, it may still help bridge the growing political and cultural divide in many countries, Tech In Asia reported. Mr Gerritsen believes SAM will be advanced enough to run as a candidate by 2020.
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High-speed data encryption could be the solution to future cyber security threats
QU launches Cyber Security Week
A Cyber Security Week was launched yesterday by the Kindi Centre for Computing Research at Qatar University College of Engineering (QU-CENG) to gather experts and researchers to exchange their expertise and ideas and provide solutions to the current challenges in the area.
The opening session was themed ‘Cybersecurity and the Blockade: Opportunities and Threats’. The week covers various activities including a training session titled ‘Introduction to Secure Software Development’ and training cybersecurity series on ‘Introduction to Web-Hacking’, ‘Web-Hacking Contest’ and ‘Anti-Blockade Hackathon’.
The opening was attended by QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham, vice president for Research and Graduate Studies Prof Mariam al-Maadeed, CENG dean Dr Khalifa al-Khalifa, Qatar Armed Forces Commander of Signal and Information Brig Abdul Aziz Falah al-Dosari, Ministry of Transport and Communications assistant undersecretary Khalid Sadiq al-Hashmi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Technology director Dr Saif Mohammed al-Kuwari, Qatar National Research Fund Information and Communication Technology Programme director Dr Munir Tag, Thales Critical Information Systems and Cyber Security specialist Baptiste Cazagou, and Tubitak representative Dr Devrim Unal, as well as CENG faculty, staff and students. Dr al-Derham said, “Through this week, QU is supporting the vision of the National Cyber Security Strategy, which represents a roadmap to raise awareness of the importance of cybersecurity, and contributes to the preservation of the fundamental rights and values of Qatari society.”
Kindi Centre for Computing Research director Dr Noora Fetais said, “Although there is an evolution in the systems of some institutions, they are not immune to cyber-attacks because of the development of mechanisms and methods of electronic hackers, and hence all institutions need to develop a plan for the development of their infrastructure to enhance cybersecurity.”
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source http://news.statii.co.uk/qu-launches-cyber-security-week/
Cyber Security Expert Offers a Few Tips for Online Shoppers this Holiday Season
60 Cybersecurity Predictions For 2018
Like death and taxes, there are only two safe predictions about cybersecurity in 2018: There will be more spectacular data breaches and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will go into effect on May 25. But as the continuing digital transformation of our lives entails the ongoing digital transformation of crime, vandalism and warfare, 2018 could also bring a lot of new takes on old vulnerabilities, some completely new types of cyber attacks, and successful new defences.
The following list of 60 predictions starts with three general observations and moves to a wide range of cybersecurity topics: Attacks on the US government and critical infrastructure, determining authenticity in the age of fake news, consumer privacy and the GDPR, the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a new tool in the hands of both attackers and defenders, cryptocurrencies and biometrics, the deployment of enterprise IT and cybersecurity, and the persistent cybersecurity skills shortage.
IoT vulnerabilities will get more critical and more dangerous. Despite this, there will be no real changes in US law to regulate these devices. This isn’t a very risky prediction; Congress is currently incapable of passing even uncontroversial laws, and any IoT regulation faces powerful industry lobbies that are fundamentally opposed to government involvement. More interesting is what’s happening in Europe. GDPR takes effect next year, and European regulators will begin to enforce it. The regulation has provisions on security as well as privacy, but it remains to be seen how they will be enforced. If Europe starts enforcing Internet security regulations with penalties that make a difference, we might start seeing IoT security improve. If not, the risks will continue to increase—Bruce Schneier, Schneier on Security
Sophisticated adversaries will leverage the granular metadata stolen from breaches like Equifax, OPM, and Anthem, in precision targeted attacks that rely on demographic and psychographic Big Data algorithms powered by machine-learning and artificial intelligence. Attackers will deploy armies of bots to propagate the false narratives used to weaponize malicious fake news, inflate partisan debates, and undermine democratic institutions; meanwhile, they will launch multi-vector DDoS, ransomware, and malware campaigns to impede critical infrastructure cybersecurity and national security. The demographic and psychographic metadata will enable advanced spear-phishing operations against privileged critical infrastructure executives and pervasive Influence Operations against populations—James Scott, Senior Fellow, Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology
We’re going to see more attacks that attempt to subvert two-factor authentication, as sophisticated attackers set their sights on two factor authentication-protected accounts and use flaws in SS7 to redirect SMS text messages. In addition, software supply chain attacks like the Medocs compromise with NotPetya will be more prominent—Paul Roberts, The Security Ledger
A nation-state sponsored group will commence a 5-day long DDoS attack against a critical US government (non-DoD) agency, shutting it down in order to show their strength—The Cyber Avengers
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source http://news.statii.co.uk/60-cybersecurity-predictions-for-2018/
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