Smart tech in public and national security

Technology has played a critical role in upholding public and national security and safety for decades. Scanners, CCTV, detectors and other resources are prominent tools used by authorities and companies to monitor for, prevent and resolve security concerns.

While these technologies will continue to evolve, their real impact on citizens will only become quantifiable once analytics enable them to be qualified in real time, simultaneously and with some help from artificial intelligence.

For example, CCTV footage showing someone withdrawing funds from an ATM may appear innocent enough because, on its own, the camera’s interpretation is restricted to the visual context. But what if that person was withdrawing the maximum amount from all their accounts or using bank cards belonging to several different names?

This is where analytics and artificial intelligence comes into play. What if analytics could confirm the individual has outstanding infractions or unpaid loans, or is a known thief? What if the system were instantly able to collate, assess and push this information to the police; inform them of the location of the individual; enable tracking through their mobile device using GPS; override settings from the service provider’s network; and automatically update or create a record for documenting movements?

This is one of the many ways in which technologies converge with analytics and intelligence — oft times artificial intelligence — to produce a qualitative outcome rather than serving up various pieces of disparate data that are difficult to correlate.

These benefits are available in the digital world, too. As connectedness — spurred by the continued rise of the Internet of Things — continues to ingrain itself into day-to-day life, the role of cybersecurity becomes even more crucial.

Every time you connect to a network, you face potential threats. This is not something to panic about, but rather a reality for which you need to be prepared. Think about all the ways in which you are connected right now: from mobile devices, to PCs, to building access badges. The greater the number of potential access points, the higher the security risk.

While being ‘safe’ isn’t easy — the assumption is that cybercriminals are always a few steps ahead — the key for citizens and businesses is to take measured steps to reduce surface exposure. This means removing any statically accessible services (functions that are rarely used or unnecessary) and implementing a minimum of three authentication factors before extending services to a human being or machine.

To complement these measures, vendors and organisations should then explore artificial intelligence to provide an escalated level of protection that proactively tracks and identifies potential attacks before they occur.

As consumers, we see various iterations of this at play each day. For example, many banks require you to report travel intentions ahead of a trip to organise special access permissions. Should your account be accessed without notice, or used in two different cities in a short period of time, smart systems will lock the account to prevent theft.

Similarly, companies such as Apple and Google use ‘track and alert’ systems to advise you of your account’s access patterns, urging you to report unknown activities.

Even video game powerhouse Blizzard Entertainment has an authentication app that periodically generates one-time codes which must be used to log in on PCs.

Whether it’s physical or digital security, there’s still a lot of work to be done to truly capitalise on the full extent of the benefits smart technology and analytics can deliver to citizens on a daily basis. With the Internet of Things gaining more traction each day, security can be improved in a myriad of ways to contribute to more positive experiences for Australians.

For instance, why don’t all smartphones have a one-tap function to contact emergency services? And why don’t governments enforce the automated provision of location information in the case of an emergency?

In the transportation industry, why do we let drivers head down Sydney’s Western Distributor when we know there is an accident causing extensive delays? Rather than hope they are listening to the radio for these reports, instant mobile voice alerts should notify people of a critical situation.

Real change needs to be enforced in these and many more areas. Governments and organisations hold the right cards, but must begin to take full advantage of the technologies available to them. Without such investment, consumers will be left with smart functions in a dumb world.