The E-waste Dilemma, Web3 Security Risks and More in this Week’s Top Reads

On World Earth Day, we look at why it’s essential to handle electronic waste responsibly, the growing significance of low-code platforms in UX improvement and the top SSL certificate providers. Meanwhile, The Media Trust CEO Chris Olson provides an unfiltered take on web3, minus the fluff. 

Celebrating World Earth Day: Tackling E-waste

Devices have a notoriously short lifespan. In an age when today’s tech can easily be replaced by the next latest and greatest, end-users are eager to discard unwanted devices and upgrade to the next-generation. But are they paying as much attention as they should to the responsible disposal of end-of-life electronic hardware? In honor of World Earth Day, Brad Rudisail chronicles how the e-waste problem has reached global proportions. According to the World Economic ForumOpens a new window , 50 million tonnes of e-waste are produced each year, and if left unchecked, this could more than double to 120 million tonnes by 2050. 

In this article, Rudisail looks at the human tragedy of e-waste and how understanding the true cost of addiction to electronic devices can help stem the tide of this waste stream. Additionally, organizations must make concerted efforts to lessen their environmental impact and increase the sustainability of their businesses.

He’s got a clear message: Be mindful of what you throw in the trash and start taking micro-steps today to reduce e-waste. 

Learn why e-waste must be curtailed.  

Low-code: Bringing IT and business teams together

While low-code,a term coined by a Forrester analyst in 2014, got its start with programming languagesOpens a new window , it is now transforming a broad swathe of categories in the enterprise software space. Thanks to low-code tools, applications can be developed faster, often without a single line of code. Organizations across the board can hugely benefit from the independence of low-code apps, achieve improved efficiencies and accelerate business outcomes for IT teams.  And not surprisingly, we are seeing a rush of vendors to satisfy this market need, led by the likes of Appian, QuickBase, Zoho and ServiceNow among others.  

In this article, Ananth Avva, president and COO at Pipefy, looks at the future of low-code through the UX lens and outlines how enterprises can harness the full power of low-code platforms to improve user experience and business and IT alignment. Avva cites valuable proof points to make a strong business case for low-code platforms for UX optimization and showcase how organizations can react to market change faster.  

Check out how low-code standardizes business requests and brings IT and business teams together. 

The security dangers that lurk in Web3

It’s a technology with immense transformative potential but is shrouded in a slew of questions. We are talking about Web3 – the dominant buzzword of 2022 and its broad spectrum of technologies like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptocurrency and the metaverse. Some serious efforts are underway to make the buzz real and convert the hype into a real impact. For instance, NFTs – based on blockchain technology that reinforces the ownership of the digital asset and is widely associated with digital art, videos, images, audio, tweets and even memes have around 360,000 NFT owners, data from ChainalysisOpens a new window reveals. Coinbase recently launched the NFT marketplace to rival OpenSea. Similarly, the metaverse – a new digital universe represents a $1T marketOpens a new window , research from CB Insights indicates. 

While the underlying use cases are still maturing, Chris Olson, CEO and co-founder of The Media Trust and a leading cybersecurity expert, dispels the buzz and sheen surrounding decentralized technology. Olson examines the overhyped tech from the perspective of cybersecurity and argues how a broad array of cyber threats and attacks can derail innovation in Web3. 

In this must-read post, Olson warns there are foundational problems to solve and “the architects and early adopters of Web3 should agree to minimal digital safety standards before it’s too late.” 

SSL certificates: Upping the ante on security

A long list of cyber threats such as Log4Shell and Sunburst have kept security and IT teams busy throughout 2021. Not having the right cybersecurity defense in place can prove too costly. In this article, Brad Rudisail explains how one can proactively protect applications, sites and critical network infrastructure with SSL certificates – a cryptographic protocol introduced by Netscape in 1995 to secure the connection between a client device and a web server. Rudisail outlines that digital certificates aren’t just for public websites and online applications and can also help safeguard enterprise networks. And to help save you time on getting started with SSL certificates, he has put together a list of the top five digital certificate providers. 

Don’t miss this overview on SSL, top providers and how you can effectively use the digital certificates to improve security arrangements. 

How to prevent damaging credential stuffing and account takeover attacks

Before you leave, dive into how digital platforms – which hold a chunk of the user’s identity have opened the door to online fraud. A 2022 PwC Global Economic Crime and Fraud SurveyOpens a new window reveals 46% of surveyed organizations reported experiencing fraud, corruption or other economic crimes in the last 24 months. By hiding behind the stolen identity, hackers can skim personal and financial information and carry out account takeover attacks (ATO). In this article, Derek Brink,  vice president of Aberdeen Strategy and ResearchOpens a new window , provides a detailed analysis of how successful these attacks have been in the past and the real-world financial consequences of these attacks on financial sector organizations. 

Check out fraud protection best practices. 

As always, we invite you to explore our expansive coverage of the latest in the tech industry on Toolbox.com.   

Share your thoughts on  LinkedInOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , or FacebookOpens a new window . We would love to hear from you!