Disruptive tech trends that will change everything

At the opening keynote for the 43rd annual ISACA North America Computer Audit, Control and Security (CACS) Conference, New York Times personal-technology columnist David Pogue predicted the two disruptive tech megatrends that will change everything—the escalating land grab by mobile phones for the performance of distinctly non-phone functions and the increasing popularity of Web 2.0 sites, where the audience provides the content.

“Calling these things ‘phones’ is increasingly silly,” Pogue says. “We’re using them for Internet, for photography, for music, as computers…talking is an afterthought. And when this kind of always-with-you communicator meets Web 2.0, suddenly people who have never ever heard of each other can make instant connections to serve extremely specific mutual interests.”

Pogue also analyzed the impact these megatrends have on a generation of young adults, who have never known a world without the Internet and expect the instant delivery of everything.

“Now that every day is “Take Your Smartphone to Work Day,’ organizations are more challenged than ever to protect against data leakage and advanced persistent threats,” said Ramsés Gallegos, international vice president of ISACA and security strategist and evangelist at Dell. “Educating a generation of employees, who grew up on the Internet and have vastly different standards for online privacy, only adds to the difficulty.”

ISACA advises that the universal shift to mobility means that employee awareness, training, sharing of risk and an understanding of issues such as corporate reputation and intellectual property theft should be on every C-level agenda—but education must be geared to the reality of today’s nothing-but-net generation.

In addition to his role as the weekly personal-technology columnist for the New York Times, Pogue is a monthly columnist for Scientific American, an Emmy Award-winning technology correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning and the host of NOVA ScienceNow. With more than 3 million books in print, Pogue is also one of the world’s best-selling how-to authors.

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