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When the pandemic struck and teaching went online worldwide, universities had to make pressing decisions that balanced cybersecurity against other factors, including health and safety, usability, and cost. One such challenge Indiana University (IU) faced was how to accommodate the secure telecommunications needs of 130,000 faculty, staff, and students who would now be teaching, learning, doing research, and working from home. Some universities reflexively promoted virtual private network (VPN) use for all activities. Such an approach would have been unsustainable at IU, however, owing both to the licenses and resources needed for the sheer number of users and to the high-throughput applications on which they rely. Perhaps even worse, it would have increased the chances that the VPN would be unavailable during a critical incident or other situation in which secure communications must be guaranteed. Instead, IU launched an awareness campaign demonstrating exactly when VPN use is and isn't needed. In addition, network staff employed a VPN feature called split tunneling to reduce the load. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this approach and how IU made the decision to balance both sides of the risk equation to ensure the continued advancement of its mission throughout the pandemic.

Misleading information is an emerging cyber risk. It includes misinformation, disinformation, and fake news. Digital transformation and COVID-19 have exacerbated it. While there has been much discussion about the effects of misinformation, disinformation, and fake news on the political process, the consequences of misleading information on businesses have been far less and, it can be argued, insufficiently examined. The article offers a primer on misleading information and cyber risks aimed at business executives and leaders across an array of industries, organizations, and nations. Misleading information can have a profound effect on business. I analyze different misleading information types and identify associated cyber risks to help businesses think about these emerging threats. I examine in general the cyber risk posed by misleading information on business, and I explore in more detail the impact on healthcare, media, financial markets, and elections and geopolitical risks. Finally, I offer a set of practical recommendations for organizations to respond to these new challenges and to manage risks.

Global institutions face costly infrastructure disruption from cyberthreats such as ransomware attacks. The global threat of ransomware attacks has continued to increase over time. Although it is important to conduct a cost benefit evaluation and to weigh the risks prior to engaging, a new emerging option of dealing with ransomware attacks should be considered. I outline an interdisciplinary approach to cybernegotiation combining features of online dispute resolution and terrorist hostage theory. In this novel cyber-based dispute system design, the Wade and seek method is the application of traditional hostage negotiation theory used to help businesses mitigate the costs of ransomware attacks.

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) technology remains in early stages of adoption, but advancements and breakthroughs are quickly moving this process forward. There is a critical need for cybersecurity to be a priority in the development of these new tools, alongside design and utility. Given the rapid pace and potential magnitude of the coming advancements in IoMT, if privacy and security risks are neglected, a significant crisis could emerge in the form of more frequent cybersecurity breaches. This article examines the market opportunities and risks associated with IoMT and outlines a plan for proactively mitigating concerns and providing a platform to foster growth, to modify attitudes and behaviors, and to continue to build consumer confidence in the overall health system without sacrificing security.

Rick Klau left Google to become California's chief technology innovation officer in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. In this installment of MIT Sloan Management Review's Leading With Impact series, Klau discusses transitioning from the private sector to the public sector, using OKRs to set and meet organizational goals, and embracing an experimental mindset to rapidly launch a digital vaccine record system for the most populous state in the country.

Innovating under time pressure can be extremely difficult. Traditional brainstorming to generate ideas often leads teams to curtail open ideation and narrow their focus to a single design approach too quickly. The authors report on a study in which teams that used rapid prototyping tools to explore diverse possibilities during the ideation phase completed a design challenge more successfully than teams using the conventional approach.

George Kurtz founded CrowdStrike in 2011 to bring next-generation cybersecurity products to the marketplace. CrowdStrike used artificial intelligence to train its detection agent on evolving threats. This approach was revolutionary in an industry that had previously been fighting against previously detected and catalogued threats. CrowdStrike grew quickly, with impressive financial metrics. The company went public in 2019, and continued to evolve its suite of product offerings. CrowdStrike also found itself in the middle of a few high-profile breaches, first at the Democratic National Committee, and in the Solar Winds hack. The severity of those attacks underscored CrowdStrike's thesis: cybersecurity would impact every person at every company in every industry. To be able to reach its aspirations, CrowdStrike needed to build a company that could service customers and make it turnkey to use its services. Kurtz saw the opportunity in the industry, and he was eager to continue to capture his share of it.

Consumers are evolving from "owners" to "users" as they increasingly purchase access to goods rather than owning them outright. That may result in a reduced sense of psychological ownership of individual goods and likely will change how, and for what, consumers feel ownership. The author explains what businesses should understand about this evolution and its future consequences.

The case explores Google's accelerator programs and its efforts to support underrepresented start-ups that are ready to scale. Students will understand Google's approach to (1) building accelerator programs, (2) selecting which startups to participate, and (3) leveraging the resources of Google and its parent, Alphabet. The case also provides an overview of the specific accelerator programs, curriculum, and benefits, which are helpful for students and future entrepreneurs who may be considering accelerators as a path to scale.

Four new books examine the challenges associated with Big Tech's dominance: "The Every," by Dave Eggers; "The Exponential Age," by Azeem Azhar; "The Raging 2020s," by Alec Ross; and "System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot," by Rob Reich, Mehran Sahami, and Jeremy M. Weinstein. Meanwhile, the podcasts "Sway," featuring the tech journalist Kara Swisher, and Pivot, which she cohosts with New York University professor Scott Galloway--tackle the widening gap between digital age haves and have-nots.

Analysts have often compared Digital Transformation to an iceberg and a company embarking on it to a ship trying to manoeuvre the iceberg. Some facets of the transformation are easily visible, while others are under the water and difficult to identify and manage. Douglas Chia, Managing Director of g&m Insurance, was well aware of this theory when he embarked on his firm's digital transformation journey. Chia had implemented small digital initiatives in his organisation in 2019, and was able to see significant revenue growth of 30% in 2020, despite a sluggish market because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Chia wanted to continue driving his firm's growth and positive revenue trend, specifically with digital solutions that targeted the evolving insurance market. He set goals to embark further on the digital transformation journey, by introducing an online portal providing online insurance products and an aggregator platform by the end of 2021. The above goals were in tandem with the developments in the insurance industry, as more and more firms were introducing online insurance products and offering them directly to consumers, thus eliminating the need for an intermediary agent or broker. Amidst such changing market conditions, brokerage firms like g&m had no option but to transform their business models to compete in the market. Chia wanted to continue using his agent based business model for existing customers, and introduce online solutions to target new market segments. What strategies could Chia implement to further g&m's digital transformation journey to expand his business?

It's often difficult to access the real-world data needed to train models or gain insights, due to privacy and security concerns or simply process issues. However, new AI techniques for generating look-alike data sets can help data scientists develop machine learning models more quickly and at greater scale. This article explains the concept of synthetic data and outlines the benefits and concerns that executives should consider.

Managers of remote teams who improve their delegation skills can help solve the biggest impediment to their success virtual distance by closing physical, operational, and affinity gaps. New research has identified a number of habits to help managers build the crucial skill of delegation.

Many leaders of remote teams feel overwhelmed and isolated. One solution is to adopt an empowering leadership style, which involves delegating to team members, developing them so they can contribute more, and soliciting their input to solve problems. But leaders often resist this approach when managing remotely. They worry about ceding control and taking new risks in an environment where they can't observe people directly. Here's how to help leaders reap the benefits of sharing power.

Individuals' unique decision-making styles inform the choices they make when working with AI-based inputs. The authors explain how organizations can optimize AI and overcome flaws in human judgment by identifying and understanding the three types of decision maker: skeptics, interactors, and delegators. They also offer three strategies for integrating AI into organizational decision-making processes.

For AI deployments to succeed, the systems must be trusted and accepted by those who use their input and those who are affected by the decisions these systems make or support. That means being accountable for the use and outputs of AI technologies, and transparently communicating both the benefits and drawbacks to all stakeholders. The authors describe the three sources of stakeholders' trust in artificial intelligence and suggest four steps companies can take to earn that trust.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a promising and increasingly available technology for managerial decision-making. With the adoption of AI-enabled software, organizations can leverage various benefits of the technology, but they also have to consider the intended and unintended consequences of using the technology for managerial roles. It is still unclear whether managers will benefit from enhancing their abilities with AI-enabled software or become powerless puppets that do more than announce AI-enabled software results. Our research has revealed distinct ways in which organizations can use AI-enabled decision-making solutions: as tools or novelties, for decision augmentation or automation, and as either a voluntary or a mandatory option. In this article, we discuss the implications of each of these combinations on the relevant managers. We consider outcomes related to managerial job design and derive practical advice for organizational designers and managers who work with AI. Our outcomes provide guidance on how to deal with the conflict-riddled relationship between managers and technology with regard to capabilities, responsibilities, and acceptance of AI-enabled software.

Designed as a coffee chain enabled by a digital platform, Luckin Coffee Inc. leveraged extensive customer behavior data gathered from its application (app), information systems, and technologies to offer innovative customer experience and high operational efficiency. Merging online with offline channels, this digital start-up quickly grew into a formidable competitor for Starbucks Corporation in China and became a star in the technology industry. Luckin was listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market in 2019, bringing additional capital to fuel its ambitious growth. However, in 2020, a report revealed a deep scandal, showing falsified financial and operational figures. The scandal could have a profound and far-reaching impact and offers lessons for the business world and beyond.

The Economist opened 2021 with a cover story headlined "Why Retailers Everywhere Should Look to China." It's not hard to see why. China is both a large and a fast-growing retail market--worth about $5 trillion in 2020--and highly digitized. And the pandemic has made digital every retailer's strategic priority. The authors draw from their research on Chinese retailers to explain five lessons that Western companies can learn from China as they develop their own digital market offerings: 1) Create single entry points where customers can access all their potential purchases. 2) Embed digital evaluation in the customer journey. 3) Don't think of sales as isolated events. 4) Rethink the logistical fundamentals. 5) Always stay close to the customer.

For years public concern about technological risk has focused on the misuse of personal data. But as firms embed more and more artificial intelligence in products and processes, attention is shifting to the potential for bad or biased decisions by algorithms--particularly the complex, evolving kind that diagnose cancers, drive cars, or approve loans. Inevitably, many governments will feel regulation is essential to protect consumers from that risk. This article explains the moves regulators are most likely to make and the three main challenges businesses need to consider as they adopt and integrate AI. The first is ensuring fairness. That requires evaluating the impact of AI outcomes on people's lives, whether decisions are mechanical or subjective, and how equitably the AI operates across varying markets. The second is transparency. Regulators are very likely to require firms to explain how the software makes decisions, but that often isn't easy to unwind. The third is figuring out how to manage algorithms that learn and adapt; while they may be more accurate, they also can evolve in a dangerous or discriminatory way. Though AI offers businesses great value, it also increases their strategic risk. Companies need to take an active role in writing the rulebook for algorithms.