{"id":109270,"date":"2023-08-08T06:46:54","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T06:46:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alj.com\/?post_type=perspective&p=109270"},"modified":"2024-03-26T10:15:30","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T10:15:30","slug":"reducing-risk-in-a-digital-future","status":"publish","type":"perspective","link":"https:\/\/alj.com\/en\/perspective\/reducing-risk-in-a-digital-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing risk in a digital future"},"content":{"rendered":"

The vision of a fully connected, digitized world \u2013 an interlinked ubernet<\/em> of everything spanning business, governance and leisure \u2013 comes laden with promises of innumerable societal benefits. \u00a0It doesn\u2019t matter who you are, we are told: A faster, more productive and more satisfying way of living is on the way.<\/p>\n

And hopefully that is indeed the case. \u00a0If you run a business, just as we do here at Abdul Latif Jameel<\/a>, you can personalize products and services to target customers with unprecedented precision. \u00a0If you manage a public service, you can respond to live user data and assign resources accordingly for seamless operation. \u00a0If you are a patient, you can have your health monitored remotely and treatments prescribed instantly, like some of the healthtech innovations discussed in this Abdul Latif Jameel Health<\/a> article. \u00a0And if you are, well, almost anyone, you can manage your shopping online and have goods appear on your doorstep with uncanny timeliness \u2013 almost as if the store had read your mind.<\/p>\n

Except, maybe the store had<\/em> read your mind. \u00a0In a way. \u00a0Maybe it had trawled the web for your consumption habits, followed the telltale footprints of your data trail, and drawn conclusions about you even before you had arrived at them yourself.<\/p>\n

In which case, let\u2019s take the scenario further.<\/p>\n

What if one day the store\u2019s suffered a data breach and the knowledge they hold about you fell into the hands of less scrupulous parties?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s take the scenario further still.<\/p>\n

You might expect \u2018the system\u2019 to come to your aid \u2013 banks, lawmakers, justice departments \u2013 but what if those systems have themselves been routinely weakened by cyber-attacks and rendered toothless?<\/p>\n

For some, the dream of a digital transition might suddenly be starting to sound a little eerie. \u00a0That eerie feeling is, perhaps, the sound of millions of people simultaneously awakening to the idea that our transformation into a digital society is not without danger. \u00a0Research shows the digital transition of our work, home and governance comes laden with risks and the potential for exploitation.<\/p>\n

Such anxiety seems unlikely to halt the transition. \u00a0The 2023 Digital Business Study, which quizzed almost 1,000 IT leaders in North America, APAC and EMEA, showed 93% of decisionmakers were now pursuing a digital-first business strategy.[1]<\/a> \u00a0Moreover, they were actively investing in enabling technologies such as cloud-native platforms, cybersecurity mesh, decision intelligence and generative AI (artificial intelligence) to do so.<\/p>\n

If we wish to reap the extraordinary rewards of the digital journey on which we are embarking, we must identify the pitfalls ahead of time and, where possible, lay the groundwork for neutralizing risk. \u00a0Because the threat is real. \u00a0Some 85% of organizations reported falling victim to at least one successful cyberattack in 2021, with the average cost of a data breach reaching US$ 4.24 million.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Foresight can help ensure the coming digital transformation is democratic, safe, and for the benefit of the many rather than the few. \u00a0Only then can we enjoy the efficiencies of our new plugged-in, switched-on, joined-up reality.<\/p>\n

Quantifying the risk matrix<\/h2>\n

No journey towards digitalization should be embarked upon without a thorough understanding of associated risks, along with strategies to minimize their impacts.<\/p>\n

Global business advisory firm Deloitte has identified a series of key risk areas that organizations are destined to encounter on the digital transformation.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n