T7 – The Trend of Trends

The seven best trend articles in 2015 . . .

But these seven are worth the read!
Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . .

My favorite holiday is New Year’s Eve.  Not because I’m a party-person or because I revel in countdowns, but because I’m into resolutions, goal-setting, and making those commitments to my commitments!

And leading up to New Year’s Eve, we must “analyze” the trends!  From an awareness training perspective, one thing Information Security Officers should remain aware of is the latest “trends” . . . . both in Information Security, but also in Bank Technology, and in Technology in general.

In the past the big trick in reading trend articles was to determine “are these CURRENT trends or predictions?”  Both are valid, but I’m more inclined to plan based on current trends, and strategize based on predictions.

But lately, like almost anything else, to catch up on the trends will require you to “fight the noise.”  I’ve noticed almost everybody has a trend article.  I know I do.  And because I do write a “top trends” article every year, I know what makes a good one.  Here are my favorite trend articles from 2015:

1. Jimmy Sawyers:  Jimmy still hasn’t posted his 2015 update, but you can see by the link to his 2014 trends why I respect him and await his next.
2. The Ponemon Institute publishes an annual “Cost of Data Breach Study.”  It comes out every May, and if you follow our blog closely, you have been reading various articles that we’ve reviewed, pointing to it.  Note that our link does not take you directly to the last study . . . . it is hosted by somebody other than Ponemon, so we linked you to their announcement of the latest study.  If you don’t want to read their summary, the link to the actual study is at the bottom of the announcement.  We just wanted Ponemon’s web page to get the hit count it deserves.
3. I like the annual article by Jim Marous.  It is NOT about technology; it is about banking in general.  But it does help bring me up on “the other side of the business” and, how that side of the business views technology.  (The ten point list often has technological trends in it.)   Jim also writes for BAI, and he did have a trend article on their site this year.
4. Accounting Firm Articles:  Believe it or not, two of my favorite trend articles come from accounting firms.  Deloitte:  Though I generally make fun of Deloitte (and E&Y for that matter), because . . . . well, let’s just not say . . . . they do have an ability to produce great trend articles, about almost anything “banking!”  Meanwhile, though a competitor of ours, the annual Plant Moran “Innovations Survey” is a document I look forward to every year.
5. Level 3 (the data center people) had a great trend article in 2014, so I went looking for their 2015 encore.  Instead of running with their original format, they tried to look “beyond 2015.”  I still liked their article a lot!
6. When I was preparing a “trend talk” for the 2010 Indiana Bankers’ Association MegaConference, I found a trend article by Kaspersky and have been following it every year since then.  It’s more of a “threat trend article” but, as a Managed Security Service Provider, I find it a must-read.  Any Information Security Officer would benefit from reading it though.   Update:  Recently Kaspersky has been writing an article at the CES show that I would consider a trend article as well (or at least a run down of the implications of future “possible trends.”  Very similar to one of my articles, it’s called “Scary Tech Trends.” It’s a fun read, but unless you think “The Internet Of Things” is something that you need to be on guard about (and I surely don’t) then this is not a “must-read.”  (And I don’t even think the internet of things is a trend . . . it’s a buzzword.)
7. The Magnificent Seven!  This is an article that I write every year.  Back to the “current trends” versus “future predictions” notion, this is really a blend of both, but what makes this article unique is that it is focused on what Information Security Officers should consider RIGHT NOW as they plan and strategize for the next year.I hope you enjoy it!

Original article by Dan Hadaway CRISC CISA CISM. Founder and Managing Partner, infotex

“Dan’s New Leaf” is a “fun blog to inspire thought in the area of IT Governance.”