Ukraine – 2024/06/27: In this photo illustration, the CDK Global Inc. logo is displayed on a smartphone… [+] Screen. (Photo illustration: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Here are five things that happened in tech this week and how they might affect your business. Did you miss anything?
1 – Cyberattack that crippled car dealership ends with $25 million ransom.
CDK Global, a software provider for car dealerships, paid a $25 million ransom to end a cyberattack that began on June 19 and cost customers an estimated $1 billion. Associated with the BlackSuit ransomware group, the attack reportedly disrupted operations at 15,000 dealerships, resulting in a total loss of 56,200 car sales. CDK paid the hackers 387 Bitcoin ($25 million) and the system was restored about a week later. The incident highlights the vulnerability of automated, centralized systems, which can lead to catastrophic security breaches. (Source: Newser)
Why this matters to your business:
This is not a happy ending. No one enjoys seeing a company succumb to criminals and pay such a huge ransom, but it’s clear that CDK Global had little other choice. This story got some media attention, but think about all the other stories that didn’t get the same kind of attention. This happens all the time. Ransomware attacks can be devastating, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Are you sure you’re protected?
2 – Test a video presentation created by Google with Gemini AI.
On Monday, Google announced that its video creation app has adopted Gemini. In this testing phase, users can try out Google Vids by giving instructions to the AI assistant, Gemini, on how they want their video to look and sound. It also includes a voiceover option. Once complete, users will have access to royalty-free stock images and the ability to modify the features. The video creation tool is available to Google Workspace members. (Source: The Verge)
Why this matters to your business:
From my experience with AI apps from Google, Microsoft, and others, I can say with certainty that this video creation tool will be completely useless to you, me, or any other company looking to create AI-generated videos. So don’t get your hopes up just yet, because I’m confident that within a couple of years these tools will actually become useful and super powerful for us. Enjoy, but don’t expect it anytime soon.
3 – Microsoft’s new AI system, SpreadsheetLLM, extracts insights from spreadsheets to improve business productivity.
Microsoft has announced SpreadsheetLLM, a new AI system designed to extract insights from spreadsheets and boost enterprise productivity. The tool leverages large-scale language models to analyze data, automate tasks, and generate summaries, making it easier for users to gain actionable insights from their data. SpreadsheetLLM aims to improve data interpretation from complex documents such as spreadsheets. The researchers who developed the system highlighted the need for it, noting that “existing language models struggle to understand and reason about the content of spreadsheets.” (Source: VentureBeat)
Why this matters to your business:
This is a new AI tool that analysts at large companies with too much time on their hands can try out. Given the poor performance of Microsoft’s Copilot, I’m not too excited about how useful this tool will be at the moment, but as I said above, it won’t be long before this tool becomes better and more productive.
4 – Claude chatbot from Anthropic is now an Android app.
Anthropic’s Claude chatbot is now available as a free Android app. First released for iOS in May, the Android app supports both free and paid plans (Pro and Team) and allows for seamless conversations across devices, including the web version. The latest version, Claude 3, is reported to outperform OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in certain benchmarks. The app release is part of Anthropic’s efforts to expand access to its AI tools. (Source: Engadget)
Why this matters to your business:
This is an AI app worth downloading. Why? Claude is very competitive with Gemini and ChatGPT and it’s nice to have another AI assistant to use when doing research. I plan to download this app and use it alongside my other AI tools.
5 – The German Navy still uses 8-inch floppy disks and is working on emulating a replacement.
The German Navy is still working to catch up with current technology. They use 8-inch floppy disks to operate some of their critical systems. To modernize, they are developing an emulation solution to replace these old disks without completely overhauling their legacy systems. This transition aims to update to more reliable and secure technology while maintaining operational capabilities. (Source: Ars Technica)
Why this matters to your business:
Sometimes the old-fashioned ways do the job, but I’m not sure I want those old-fashioned ways to be used in our national defense. I’m sure the Germans feel the same way.