Opinion articles offer readers a rare opportunity to learn directly from experts. Over the past three years, a variety of professionals, including our own reporters, have contributed columns to The Readable, covering topics from quantum security to deepfake crimes. Some articles take a deep dive into technical challenges, while others examine the broader societal implications of cybersecurity vulnerabilities and the latest technological advancements. I’ve selected a handful of pieces that remain particularly relevant today, and I hope you find their insights valuable. The Readable also welcomes contributions from readers, particularly those with expertise in cybersecurity. If you’re interested in writing for us, feel free to contact us via email for more details.
1. Understanding quantum security
Recently, the view that quantum technology will revolutionize the future has been garnering increased attention. This burgeoning interest has been amplified as three pioneering physicists, lauded for their ground-breaking verification of quantum entanglement, were bestowed with the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics. The surge of anticipation within the information security industry towards quantum technology stems from its potential to decrypt certain cryptographic algorithms using quantum computers, posing new challenges and avenues in cybersecurity.
The conversation around the security implications of quantum computers can be traced back to a pivotal paper by Dr. Peter Shor in 1994. Titled “Algorithms for quantum computation: discrete logarithms and factoring,” it was presented at the 35th IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science. Then a computer scientist at Bell Lab, Dr. Shor introduced an algorithm, now known as Shor’s algorithm, which pertains to prime factorization. What’s groundbreaking about his proposition is that it showcased an exponential increase in speed in breaking down large numbers into primes compared to traditional digital computers. This revelation is particularly significant because the RSA algorithm, a cornerstone in encryption and digital signatures across devices like computers and smartphones, relies heavily on the difficulty of factoring large composite numbers. As a result, Shor’s algorithm, with its capability to tackle this factoring challenge using quantum computers, emerges as a formidable threat to the foundation of RSA encryption. READ MORE
2. Why security awareness training is mostly pointless
As a cybersecurity professional who has conducted numerous risk assessments and penetration tests, I have seen firsthand how vulnerable organizations and individuals remain despite investments in security awareness training. During social engineering assessments, employees at all levels routinely provide account access, sensitive data, and system credentials that enable attackers to bypass controls. These real-world experiences, combined with an understanding of human psychology and the fallibility of technology, have led me to conclude that traditional security awareness training provides little more than a false sense of security for most.
For example, in 2019, sophisticated phishing emails were used to steal over $4 million from a manufacturing company, bypassing their annual security awareness training. Municipal governments, hospitals, and schools have also been victims of phishing that led to ransomware infections and theft of personally identifiable information, with awareness programs failing to prevent these incidents. A well-known anecdote from Kevin Mitnick’s book “The Art of Deception” describes how he obtained passwords and access to an organization during a social engineering audit despite the awareness efforts of the organization being tested beforehand. READ MORE
3. When our cyber defenses bleed and supply chains fail
I remember the blood drives organized at our school. As students, many of us were excited to donate blood for the free sugary snacks we would receive afterward—and, of course, missing 3rd period history class. Back then, our biggest technological concerns were whether our flip phones had enough battery to last the day and if we had enough minutes left to call our friends.
Fast forward to today, and the contrast is stark and alarming. Hospitals in London are now urgently appealing for blood donations following a critical cyberattack. One hospital even circulated an internal memo asking staff with type O blood to donate. London, one of the most advanced cities in the world, is now appealing to its own hospital staff for blood donations due to the severity of a cyberattack. This underscores the heightened dependence on technology defining modern life.
The stark shift from past school days to the present highlights how our vulnerabilities have evolved with technology. Now, I didn’t intend for this to be such a grim observation, but it is just a simple fact: when our cyber defenses fail, we all suffer. This could be a hit to our wallets, a threat to the security of our identity, or, in the case of healthcare, a battle for life against death. READ MORE
4. Toward trustworthy spatial computing
With the release of its first spatial computing device, the Vision Pro, Apple is reshaping the metaverse industry, which was previously focused on virtual reality (VR). The company envisions a next-generation computing experience where digital content seamlessly blends with the real world. Meanwhile, Meta, a leader in the VR headset market, has introduced full color passthrough in its latest Meta Quest headsets. This feature offers a high-fidelity, real-time representation of the physical world. Additionally, Meta recently unveiled its first augmented reality (AR) glasses, named Orion, designed to provide a more comfortable and integrated user experience.
Before this shift in the metaverse industry, popular VR applications like VRChat aimed to offer a surreal and immersive experience distinctly separate from users’ real-world surroundings. Ironically, this separation acted as a safety boundary for users, as virtual worlds were not easily confused with reality, and events in these virtual spaces rarely impacted real life. However, as spatial computing applications increasingly integrate with the physical world, trustworthiness has emerged as a critical consideration. This raises an important question: What are the essential ingredients for trustworthy spatial computing? READ MORE
5. Deepfake crimes are an ongoing social issue
In July, I reported on deepfake crimes and emerging forms of cyberbullying in schools. That article highlighted data from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, which revealed that 63.1% of school violence cases involved cybercrime. These included incidents where deepfake technology was used to create and distribute fake images and videos.
Content abuse has been a serious problem in schools since my high school days. I was deeply shocked, and I struggled to come to terms with acts of voyeurism and the manipulation of photos—splicing someone’s image with nude pictures—for that purpose. Back then, it was done using Photoshop for simple edits and splicing, rather than the advanced creation of deepfakes.
Today, artificial intelligence has become a highly sophisticated and easily accessible tool. While it offers convenience in work, learning, and many other areas of life, it also heightens the risk of criminal misuse. Teenagers are particularly vulnerable, as their familiarity with smartphones makes them potential targets for exploitation. READ MORE
