Digital Twins: A Double-Edged Sword of Innovation and Cybersecurity Risks

Digital Twins: A Double-Edged Sword of Innovation and Cybersecurity Risks

Digital Twins: A Double-Edged Sword of Innovation and Cybersecurity Risks

In today's digital world, the use of technology has increased exponentially.

It has triggered significant advances in society, various scientific fields and across all industry verticals.

The larger scale adoption of emerging technologies has outpaced regulatory frameworks triggering novel ethical dilemmas and unprecedented cyberrisks. 

It is now an imperative for businesses to have robust proactive digital ethics and cyber security frameworks that are harmonized with other enterprise strategic priorities to ensure optimal outcomes and prevent breaches. As digital technologies continue to proliferate across all aspects of society, the rise of digital twin technologies has become increasingly prominent. This frontier technology has the potential to revolutionize many industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, and transportation, by enabling businesses to optimize their operations and improve performance through real-time monitoring and predictive analytics.

However, as the adoption of digital twins accelerates, so do the risks associated with their deployment. These cyber-risks are compounded by the interconnected nature of digital twins, which are often integrated with other digital systems and devices, creating a web of vulnerabilities that can be exploited by cybercriminals.

Furthermore, there are numerous ethical concerns that must be carefully considered. Digital twins use and generate vast amounts of data, often collected from a wide range of sources, including sensors, cameras, and other IoT devices. This data can be used to gain insights into human behavior, individual preferences, and other sensitive information. Without proper ethical frameworks, adequate data governance and operational ethics controls in place, this data could be misused, leading to negative impacts on individuals, businesses, and society.

In order to address these concerns, businesses must recognize the need for building a dual ( "twin") culture of ethics and cyber resilience. This requires a hybrid approach that considers both the ethical implications and the cyber risks associated with digital twins. Businesses must establish clear ethical guidelines and protocols for the collection, use, and sharing of data generated by digital twins. This hybrid approach must include cutting-edge technical measures, as well as dedicate resources to the development of a strong organizational culture that values ethical behavior and enhances technology-powered cyber defense mechanisms. This involves providing training and education to employees on the importance of ethical behavior and the risks associated with cyber threats. Employees must be encouraged and feel safe to report any suspicious activity or potential security breaches, and management must be proactive in addressing any issues that arise.

To be successful and sustainable, a dual cyber-ethics approach has to transcend all enterprise departments ( IT, legal, compliance, human resources, risk, marketing, etc.), and the harmonization efforts must occur at all levels, including policies, procedures, human-computer workflows, cyber-ethics metrics, cyber-ethics KPIs, quality assurance and improvement, etc.

While integration of digital ethics and cybersecurity is certainly complex, and many organizations find it challenging, it is an essential strategy for business leaders to mitigate the heightened risks caused by the global geo-political and economic landscape, and adapt to any future regulatory guidelines.

Forward-thinking organizations that wish to protect their brand and foster digital trust with their investors, strategic partners, vendors, employees, and customers might also consider alignment of their cyber-ethics efforts with their ESG and DEI programs. To gain competitive advantage agile boards and C Suites might already embed cyber-ethics in their web 3.0 architecture.

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Dr. Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes

Innovation Expert

Ingrid Vasiliu-Feltes, MD MBA Is a healthcare executive, futurist and globalist who is highly dedicated to digital and ethics advocacy. She is a Forbes Business Council member, digital strategist, passionate educator and entrepreneurship ecosystem builder, known as an expert speaker, board advisor and consultant. Throughout her career she has received several awards for excellence in research, teaching or leadership. She is the recipient of numerous awards most notably: WBAF World Excellence AwardSocial Entrepreneurship 2021, Top 20 Global Leaders in Digital Twins Technologies, Top 50 Global Leaders in Health Tech,Top 50 Global Ecosystem Leaders, Top 100 Visionary In Education Award 2021, Top 100 Global Women in Leadership Award 2021, Top 100 World Women Vision Award, 2021-Innovation & Tech, Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise 2021 (nominee),Top 50 Global Thinkers (Nominee),Nations of Women Change Makers Award(finalist),Top 100 Healthcare Leader 2020 Award, Top 100 Finance Leader 2020 Award, and Top 100 Women in Crypto 2020. Additionally, she serves as an Expert Advisor to the EU Blockchain Observatory Forum, and was appointed to the Board of UN Legal and Economic Empowerment Network. Dr. Vasiliu-Feltes is CEO of Softhread Inc., the Founder and CEO of The Science, Entrepreneurship and Investments Institute, and currently serving as a Country Director for WBAF USA, Senator of WBAF, Faculty Member of the WBAF Business School-Division of Entrepreneurship, and teaching the Executive MBA Business Technology Course at the UM Business School. She is also acting as the Chief Innovation Officer for the Government Blockchain Association. Most recently she served as President of Detect Genomix, Chief Quality and Safety Officer Chief and Innovation Officer for Mednax, Chief Quality and Safety Officer and Chief of Compliance for the University of Miami UHealth System During her academic tenure she taught several courses within the Medical School, as well as the combined MD/PhD and MD/MPH programs. Throughout her career, Dr. Vasiliu-Feltes held several leadership positions and is a member of numerous prestigious professional organizations. She holds several certifications, such as Bioethics from Harvard, Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy from MIT Sloan, Blockchain Technology and Business Innovation from MIT Sloan, Finance from Harvard Business School, Negotiation from Harvard Law School, Innovation and Entrepreneurship from Stanford Graduate School of Business, Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management, Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Patient Safety Officer by the International Board Federation of Safety Managers, Master Black Belt in Lean and Six Sigma Management, Professional in Healthcare Quality by the National Association of Healthcare Quality, Manager for Quality and Organizational Excellence, by the American Society for Quality, and Certified Risk Management Professional by the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management. Additionally, Dr. Vasiliu-Feltes is an Honorary Advisory Board Member of several companies, as well as an Editorial Board Member for several international publications, an author and TV/Media partner.

   
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