Cyber Threats
Future Imperfect
All the way back in 2012, Trend Micro was lucky enough to be asked to participate in a very exciting research project initiated under the auspices of the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA) on which I worked alongside experts from Europol’s European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3) led by Dr. Victoria Baines.
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All the way back in 2012, Trend Micro was lucky enough to be asked to participate in a very exciting research project initiated under the auspices of the International Cyber Security Protection Alliance (ICSPA) on which I worked alongside experts from Europol’s European Cyber Crime Centre (EC3) led by Dr. Victoria Baines.
The aim of the project was to create a white paper that imagined the technological advances of the coming 8 years, the societal and behavioural changes they may precipitate and of course the opportunities for malfeasance they could present. Building on a baseline synthesis of contemporary technologies, threats and 1-year predictions; the complex interrelationships and impacts of emerging technologies were extrapolated in scenario narratives for governments, businesses, and citizens. The project envisaged a near to mid-term future in which technological developments created both new possibilities and new threats.
Once the first draft of the white paper was ready for review, we were so excited by the world described within its pages that we knew we had to do something unprecedented in order to expose it to a wider audience than usual. Technology in general and cybersecurity in particular is very often a subject area where we spend much our time “preaching to the choir” or within our own professional bubble of already interested parties. In order to truly make a difference to the security of any future world we do create it is imperative to elicit not only the attention, but the interest of not only the businesses of tomorrow, but also the consumers and the legislators.
With this in mind, Trend Micro decided to commission and co-create a web series of nine five-minute episodes set in the world described by the document. This Blade Runner-esque whodunnit attempted no only to contextualise and bring to life the predictions made in the white paper “Project 2020: Scenarios for the future of cybercrime” but critically to expose its content to a much wider audience who may never have been tempted to read the original academic document. Garnering coverage in mainstream media, including USA Today, and winning nominations and even gold at several major media festivals including the Shorty Awards and the World Media Festival, it’s safe to say that the project, at the time, was a success.
As we enter the 2020s, we now have the opportunity objectively to review the project against a number of success factors. What did we get “right” in terms of technological developments and implications for cybersecurity and what did we miss?
If you missed it the first time around or if, like us, you are simply curious to find out how we did, head on over to the 2020 website. There you can check out the web series and download not only the original white paper, but also a thorough analysis, “The Benefit of Foresight Project 2020 in Review,” and watch out for a sneak peak of what may be coming next!