“Inside Cyber: How AI, 5G, and Quantum Computing Will Transform Privacy and Our Security” by Chuck Brooks is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand and take advantage of the next wave of technological progress. Brooks is a well-known executive and adviser who breaks down complicated technological trends into easy-to-understand insights. He does this by providing a deep look at how modern technologies will change business and society in the future—just in time for Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
Brooks is one of Executive Mosaic’s esteemed GovCon Experts, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a widely recognized thought leader and a subject matter expert for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Space Systems Critical Infrastructure Working Group. We sat down with Brooks ahead of “Inside Cyber’s” Oct. 15 publication to talk about the impetus behind it and why you should check it out. (“Inside Cyber” is available on Amazon now.)
GovConWire: What was the genesis for “Inside Cyber”?
Chuck Brooks: There were several impetuses. I travel and speak globally at conferences. For the past year, artificial intelligence has permeated almost every discussion at events. It is an early topic of the day. Another factor is my course at Georgetown University in the graduate cybersecurity risk management program. Over five years ago I designed a course called “Disruptive Technologies and Organizational Management.” This past year I reviewed the syllabus and had to completely redo the content as the rate of change in technology and in cybersecurity has become almost exponential. My third reason is that I have come to realize that to adapt to the new challenges facing business and security for both security and privacy, there needs to be a resource people can go to explain things in understandable terms. Hence my book!
GCW: What will readers learn as they read your book?
Brooks: They will get clear, easy-to-understand accounts of cutting-edge technologies like AI, blockchain, quantum computing, 5G and Internet of Things, as well as information on how these technologies will impact business operations, efficiency, and security. The reader will discover the ways that fast technological progress can change traditional industries and create new value by learning how to handle the cybersecurity landscape and protect their businesses and personal digital lives against the threats that come with it. I also include a comprehensive risk management strategy for managing cybersecurity risks in the ‘4th Industrial Era.’
People who work in government contracting can also use my book as a guide to make the most of the recent technologies that are changing the sector. I highlighted some of these technologies in a GovCon Expert article. The topics I highlighted in the article included AI, machine learning, cybersecurity, digital transformation, 5G, IoT, quantum and high-performance computing, cloud and edge computing, augmented reality, big data, virtualization, smart cities, wearables, 3D printing and materials science.
GCW: What is your general perspective in the near future for emerging tech and cybersecurity?
Brooks: Rapid technological progress is what the near future holds. Sharing information more easily and combining physical and digital methods are both helping to speed it up. Health and medical care, transportation, energy, building, finance, commerce, and security are just some of the fields that will be affected by the disruptive technological change. Getting used to the new workplace technology ecosystem is something that both businesses and the government are doing. It is like cyber-flux right now. For better data security and to move away from old systems, many businesses and organizations are switching to cloud, hybrid cloud and edge platforms. As innovative technologies like AI, quantum computing and 5G come out, they change how things work, which means that new safety approaches and rules are needed.
GCW: Thank you! Where can readers obtain your book?
Brooks: Readers can order the book from Amazon now. It will be available at Barnes & Noble, Target and other bookstores starting on Oct. 15.