Self-driving cars may be getting all the attention, but the significant impact of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the enterprise is in cybersecurity, and especially in securing data center networks. And given all the threats data centers are facing this year the help is much needed.

According to a recent survey of 400 security professionals by Wakefield Research and Webroot, 99% of US respondents believe AI overall could improve their organizations’ cybersecurity. And 87% report their teams are already using AI as part of their cybersecurity strategy. In fact, 74% of cybersecurity professionals in the US believe that within the next three years their companies will not be able to safeguard digital assets without AI.

AI and machine learning are being used to spot never before seen malware, recognize suspicious user behaviors, and detect anomalous network traffic.

According to the survey, 82% of US respondents said AI could spot threats that would otherwise be missed. But finding problems is just the first brick in the defensive wall. Intelligent systems can also detect indicators that pose the biggest threats, suggest actions such as re-imaging servers or isolating network segments, and even carry out remediation actions automatically.

AI can also:
          • Collect and analyze forensic data
          • Scan code and infrastructure for vulnerabilities, potential weaknesses, and configuration errors
          • Make security tools more powerful and easier to use
          • Learn from experience to adapt quickly to changing conditions.

All that has the potential to improve security and user experience dramatically said David Vergara, head of global product marketing at VASCO Data Security, which provides identity and authentication solutions to more than half of the world's top 100 banks and financial institutions.

Human Security Pros Overwhelmed by Data. There is hype around AI in data centers, Vergara said, but it’s based on real benefits. "It is centered on compelling use cases, ranging from improved situational awareness via trend analyses that drive recommended actions to predicting failures and spotting intrusions through anomalous pattern detection."

One of the biggest strengths of AI and machine learning is its ability to handle large volumes of data very quickly.

"The number of physical and virtual assets in the data center continues to grow," said Manoj Asnani, VP of product and design at Balbix. "Without AI, it is not possible for enterprises to be prepared for continuously evolving attack surfaces."

Humans cannot handle all the information fast enough or react with enough speed to address the risks, he said.

Take, for example, manually changing firewall rules when things change in a data center, said Josh Mayfield, director at cybersecurity vendor FireMon. With virtual machines, micro-segmentation, and on-demand computing, a data center's configuration can shift faster than humans can keep up.

"The Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence capabilities do this on our behalf," he said. "They recognize compliance drifting in the data center, then adjust and write a new firewall rule to pull it back. They pick up a new application that needs to be secured under a set of conditions and automatically write the firewall rule needed to fortify the new app. Something moves from one data center to another – or within the same data center – [and] they write the new firewall rule."

Measuring Server Heat to Spot Trouble. Intelligent systems can also spot behaviors that are too subtle for humans, said Terry Ray, chief product strategist at cybersecurity vendor Imperva.

For example, AI and machine learning can be used to model hardware temperatures and compare them to typical activities or compare individual users' access times to their peers to spot suspicious anomalies.

The largest and most forward-looking companies will invest heavily in AI expertise to get an AI-powered advantage. But even smaller data center operators will benefit because most, if not all, of the top cybersecurity vendors, are adding AI to their products.

"If vendors have not yet adopted some form of machine learning into their offerings, they’re likely behind the curve of their peers," said Ray.
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This is resulting in a rapid spread of embedded AI and machine learning in security technologies used by data centers. "The IT application of AI and machine learning is growing at a much faster rate than what we have seen previously," Ray said.

If the Department of Transportation grants GM's latest Safety Petition, the automaker will be able to deploy its no-steering-wheel, pedal-less autonomous car next year. GM has not only revealed what its level 4 self-driving vehicle would look like but also announced that it filed a Safety Petition to be able to deploy its utterly driverless version of Chevy Bolt called Cruise AV in 2019. The company describes it as "the first production-ready vehicle built from the start to operate safely on its own, with no driver, steering wheel, pedals or manual controls."

The Cruise AV is much different from the self-driving Chevy Bolts GM is testing in California. It has no controls whatsoever, not even buttons you can push. It treats you as a passenger, no matter where you sit. The car can even open and shut doors on its own. Now, autonomous cars like this don't meet the Federal Motor Vehicle's safety standards. Automakers could apply for an exemption, but the government can only exempt 2,500 vehicles every year. GM President Dan Ammann said that the company is not seeking an exemption, though – instead, it wants to "meet that standard differently."

He explained:

"What we can do is put the equivalent of the passenger side airbag on that side as well. So, it’s to meet the standards but meet them in a way that's different than what's exactly prescribed, and that's what the petition seeks to get approval for."

Several automakers and transportation companies banded together last year to call for a change to those rules. "Without changes to these regulations," GM VP Michael Abelson told a subcommittee that time, "it may be years before the promise of today's technology can be realized and thousands of preventable deaths... will happen."
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Automakers will have to see those changes come to light if they want their fully autonomous cars to hit the road. GM might beat them to the punch, but rival companies like Ford, Mercedes, and Waymo all plan to release cars with no steering wheels of their own.

Office workers want their workplace to be flexible, adaptable and free from processes and systems that slow down productivity. But what do they expect for the future of the workplace?

In 2017, enterprise work and project management company Workfront surveyed of over 2000 workers across US companies to determine what the US office will look like in five years’ time.

It wanted to capture how workers felt about the challenges of today and the potential challenges of the future workplace.

Legacy Systems. Antiquated systems such as email get heavily criticized in the report. Over the past few years, poorly used meetings and email topped the list of things that prevent productivity amongst knowledge workers.

US workers say they have an average of 199 unopened emails in their inboxes at any given time. Of the 68 emails received per day by the average knowledge worker, 21 are junk mails, and only 27 demand some answer or action.

Email, although useful, seems to create issues. It is accused of stealing workers' time and preventing them from finding critical project information. For the majority of knowledge workers, the inability to convey or find essential information in email is a significant problem according to the report.

These tools and practices are supposed to improve worker productivity and collaboration. Unfortunately, wasteful meetings and excessive emails top the list of productivity killers, with 15% of the working day spent dealing with email.

20% of respondents answered that email would no longer be used as a primary collaboration tool in the future and 31% believe that collaboration software will eliminate most conference calls. A further 28% think that printers will become obsolete because everything will be available digitally.

The Casual Workplace. Workers are convinced that the way we work will change dramatically over the next five years. Almost half of the respondents (49%) believe that dress codes will become more relaxed and over a quarter (28%) feel certain that fixed desk space will become a thing of the past.

The New World of Work. So, what will the office of the next few years look like? Although 42% of workers do not have the opportunity to work from home, the average worker works from home one day per week.

Almost two-thirds of respondents (61%) said that video conference calls would enable remote working and half think that mobile phones will become the mobile office.

One in ten will not adopt flexible working due to negative perceptions. Almost a third (31%) believe that social media will become a significant work tool.
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Although knowledge workers are optimistic about the future, they felt that technology will release employees to work wherever and whenever they want to. The challenge for enterprises is to find the systems and technology to make this a cost-effective reality.

Charging your mobile device wirelessly is undoubtedly less of a hassle than plugging it in, but still requires the device be in physical contact with its charging station actually to work. That’s about to change now that the Federal Communications Commission has approved the first wireless charger that works from up to three feet away.

San Jose-based startup, Energous, recently announced that it has received the first such FCC certification for power-at-a-distance wireless charging with its WattUp mid-field transmitter. The transmitter converts electricity into radio frequencies, then beams the energy to nearby devices outfitted with a corresponding receiver. This differs from the resonant induction method that the Pi wireless charging system relies upon and offers a greater range than the Belkin and Mophie chargers that require physical contact with the device.

The WattUp can charge multiple devices simultaneously and should work on any number of devices, from phones and tablets to keyboards and earbuds, so long as they're outfitted with the right receiver. What's more, the WattUp ecosystem is manufacturer-agnostic – like Wi-Fi – meaning that you'll still be able to charge your Samsung phone even if the transmitter is made by Sony or Apple.
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While Energous does not have any retail-ready devices available just yet, the company does plan to show off the new technology at CES 2018, which runs January 9th-12th in Las Vegas.