Top 5 stories of the week: Deloitte’s cybersecurity predictions, the true cost of a breach, AI’s new diet

A new report released this week by Perception Point and Osterman Research shows that companies pay an average of $1,197 per employee per year to address cybersecurity incidents — which can add up quickly the larger an organization gets. Against that backdrop, looking ahead to 2023, Deloitte predicts an increase in cybersecurity preparedness for both employees and board members. It also predicts that securing emerging technologies, increasing visibility of connected devices and data-centric security practices will be priorities for teams in 2023. However, Deloitte leaders also noted that talent shortages are likely to persist, as are supply chain issues for security.

This week, Mulesoft, a company owned by Salesforce, also made predictions about what’s in store for the company in 2023. It noted that nearly three years after the pandemic, companies are still moving forward with a focus on accelerated digital transformation giving way to things like automation, composable agility, low-code and no-code tools, data automation and layered cyber defenses to continue growing.

Tech giants such as Google, IBM, Microsoft and Intel were also in the news this week for the progress they are making in the field of quantum computing. The companies continue to develop cloud services and other tools to test the use of quantum algorithms. Sandeep Pattathil, senior analyst at IT consultancy Everest Group, told VentureBeat that a major challenge ahead will be quantum computing’s algorithmic advancements — not speed.

Regarding advancement challenges, experts say that since about 90% of AI and machine learning implementations fail to take off, the industry needs to change what it feeds into AI. Real data can be cumbersome and costly to obtain, label and replicate – and using a constant diet of synthetic data can complement this. Kevin McNamara, CEO and founder of Parallel Domain, a provider of synthetic data platforms, told VentureBeat that without synthetic data, AI could remain stuck in a kind of “stone age.”

Here’s more from our top 5 tech stories of the week:

1. Deloitte unveils 10 strategic cybersecurity predictions for 2023
   In recent months, organizations such as Uber, Cisco, Twilio and Rockstar Games have all fallen victim to data breaches due to cyber attacks. Recently, some of Deloitte’s leading analysts spoke to VentureBeat to share their top strategic cybersecurity forecasts for 2023.

   The analysts revealed a range of predictions, including the importance of cybersecurity and forward-looking preparedness and organizational resilience in helping enterprises better manage their exposure to threat actors going forward.

2. Why AI needs a constant diet of synthetic data
   Artificial intelligence (AI) may be eating the world as we know it, but experts say AI is starving itself — and needs to change its diet. One company says synthetic data is the answer.

   “Data is food for AI, but AI is malnourished and malnourished today,” said Kevin McNamara, CEO and founder of Parallel Domain, a provider of synthetic data platforms, which just raised $30 million in a Series B round led by March Capital. “That’s why it’s growing slowly. But if we can feed that AI better, models will grow faster and in a healthier way. Synthetic data is like food for training AI.”

3. Quantum Progress: How IBM, Microsoft, Google and Intel Relate
   Established business leaders such as IBM, Microsoft, and Google continue to make strides in quantum computing. As a result, quantum computers are getting bigger and gaining advantages over traditional technology in limited circumstances.

   These vendors also develop cloud services that allow companies to test the waters of quantum algorithms using development tools and simulators that run on classical hardware.

4. Top 7 digital transformation trends to drive efficient growth in 2023
   A few years ago, the pandemic caused an urgent acceleration of digital transformation initiatives. It prompted companies (of all sizes) to invest in advanced technologies to survive in the new normal.

   As this trend continues, Salesforce-owned Mulesoft has identified seven aspects of digital transformation that will be critical to overcoming operational pressures and driving efficient and sustainable growth in 2023.

5. Cybersecurity incidents cost organizations $1,197 per employee, per year
   According to a new report from threat prevention provider Perception Point and Osterman Research, organizations pay $1,197 per employee annually to address cyber incidents through email services, cloud collaboration apps or services, and web browsers.

   This means that the average company with 500 employees spends $600,000 annually addressing cybersecurity incidents, without factoring in additional costs such as business losses, compliance penalties, or mitigation costs.