Cybersecurity
In 2018, the world experienced several large-scale data breaches including the Mariott Hotel's guest information being copied and stolen, affecting 500 million people and Google+ exposing the personal profile data of 52.5 million users. With the introduction of GDPR in May, 2019 will see more severe consequences for companies who do not handle their data in the appropriate manner.
It is predicted that malware, phishing and other attacks will steadily increase and become more sophisticated and harder to track in 2019. New threats are also emerging including ransomware attacks on cloud providers and threats that may compromise Internet of Things devices.
However, our technology use and dependency continue to increase disproportionately to our efforts to secure it. This is in accordance with a report by Gartner who stated that security breaches will have no lasting consumer impact and the benefits of using technology will outweigh security and privacy concerns.
AI
By the end of 2018, the AI industry is set to produce a total of $1.2 trillion in business value, according to Gartner. In 2019, AI is predicted to go mainstream, moving from the business backend to the client-facing realm, with the advantage of improving relations with customers.
The three areas predicted to benefit the most in the next five years from AI are business, industry and communications. In business, AI will be used in automating processes, increasing security and customer service. In industry, advanced AI techniques applied to robots will help to produce more goods at a faster rate and in communications, AI will enable a higher quality of service (audio/video).
Gartner believes that artificial intelligence could decrease the number of emergency visits to hospitals over the next five years. It predicts that by 2023, emergency department visits in the US alone will be reduced by 20 million due to the enrolment of AI-enhanced virtual care for chronically ill patients. By 2023, Gartner also suggests that there will be an 80% reduction in missing people in the UK and Ireland, due to AI facial recognition.
The transportation sector will see more AI, with cars having more sensors including proximity, night vision and autonomy (self-driving cars). IoT will also make it easier for cars to share and receive important data. For example, vehicles will be able to collect data about engine conditions, tire pressure, atmospheric characteristics and roads. IoT will also enable the integration of services like Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana. However, this will mean that cars will be more susceptible to hackers.
Tech Jobs
Cybersecurity skills and talent in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) will dominate IT hires in 2019, with one in three organisations across North America and Europe planning to hire IT staff next year. However, the non-profit group ISACA predicts that a cybersecurity skills shortage will reach two million open positions by 2019. Analysts have also stated that there is an AI talent shortage, but the extent of this shortage is difficult to quantify.
If you are interested in securing a job in cybersecurity or AI in Ireland, check out our jobs page or give our contact our team.
Written by Michelle Corry