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Academia and journalism are intertwined. Both create and question knowledge, both demand a critical engagement with society, and both have a distinct interface with the public.

What is more, journalism and academia routinely draw from and contribute to the other. In a conversation carried by The Wire (Watch | The State of Indias Academic Freedom, March 25), reference was made to the elements that constitute academic freedom. Beyond freedom of inquiry and research and freedom of teaching within the classroom, there is such a thing as freedom of extramural pursuits. Engaging with issues of public concern through journalism would constitute an important aspect of extramural pursuits and it is a form of giving back to the community some of the insights gained through scholarship. In much the same way, journalists gain rare insights, critical and interpretative skills by dwelling upon scholastic work.

Both academicians and journalists are in the business of asking the right questions in order to arrive at substantive assessments of social, political and economic realities. In her edited book, The Public Intellectual in India, Romila Thapar briefly revisited the intellectual legacy of the legendary journalist, Nikhil Chakravartty, who instituted the journal, Mainstream: Nikhil and others like him were concerned about what was happening around themthey respected intellectual and academic opinion about public matters

It is through the prism of the public intellectual who straddles the thought world of academia and journalism that one could interpret the treatment accorded to Pratap Bhanu Mehta, an academic and newspaper columnist and understand the decline of Ashoka University. Let us make no mistake, Ashokas shabby handling of these developments does represent a serious decline in academic standards despite attempts by those associated with it to whitewash the institution.

As a courageous piece carried in these columns by an intellectual who teaches at Ashoka argues, this is why this crisis feels like a betrayalunlike their counterparts in public universities who were deliberately appointed to push the ruling regimes agenda, Ashokas founders and leaders folded of their own accord. They failed to appreciate that the institution they started had acquired a life larger than their fears (Ashoka and After: The Universities We Believe In, March 25).

But fears need to be unpacked and understood. It is through the remorseless and endless cultivation of trepidations, anxieties and panic that the Narendra Modi government has been successful in hollowing out institutions within the academia and media universe. Its record speaks for itself.

Unsurprisingly, among the first significant moves to control the nodes of knowledge production was its onslaught on institutions of higher learning within the realm of the public university. Campus after campus saw a determined Centre unleash University Grants Commission (UGC) directives, pliant vice-chancellors and armed police on recalcitrant students, whether it was at the Film and Television Institute of India, at JNU, at the Hyderabad Central University after the suicide of Rohith Vemula or during the suppression of student dissent at the Tata Institute of Social Studies.

The approach adopted to control private universities was generally more nuanced, less frontal. Backroom manoeuvres, intimidation through boardrooms and the arm-twisting of donors, as well as the general code of omerta, is the chosen pathway, as the recent developments at Ashoka University demonstrated. But either way, governmental will invariably prevailed, even as the autonomy of the institutions got steadily compromised.

Meanwhile, there was the parallel pacification of the media. The toolkit adopted for the media may have differed somewhat from that used for academia corporate capture, the unleashing of the CBI on media entities, the systematic leaning on managements to get independent-minded editors and correspondents fired, the creation of government-friendly news agencies were all part of the mix. Here, too, it was the governments diktat that triumphed, even as television channels, newspapers and some online portals came to faithfully reflect the government narrative.

Courageous individuals who stood up and spoke out felt the full force of a vengeful state machinery. If we are to consider the Bhima Koregaon arrests, four of the 16 people put behind bars were formally attached to universities. Anand Teltumbe, a former IIT professor, was a management professor at the Goa Institute of Management; Shoma Sen, the head of the English Literature department, Nagpur University; Sudha Bharadwaj, was visiting professor at the National Law School, Delhi; Hany Babu, was professor of language and linguistics at Delhi University. The fifth was a journalist: Gautam Navalakha.

Mediapersons have been dragged to jail merely for doing their job. In Kashmir, such incarceration acquired a certain normalcy. Aasif Sultan, a journalist with Kashmir Narrator, has remained jailed since the Kashmir clampdown of August 2018 (Clooney Foundation Bats for Jailed Kashmiri Journalist, Will Monitor Trial, February 28). Elsewhere in the country, too, there have been hugely unjust detentions. Someone like Siddique Kappan has been under arrest for over 150 days for the Hathras gang rape that he never got around to reporting on. Then there are those bright young people, Umar Khalid, Meeran Haider, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Gulfisha Fatima, Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita many in the midst of their graduate, post-graduate and doctoral studies who are today borne down by foisted charges under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Illustration: The Wire

This targeted silencing of the trinity of Thinker, Student, Reporter is rapidly resulting in a kingdom presided over by fathomless ignorance, raging prejudice and cultivated hatred. The writer of the piece, Why Pratap Bhanu Mehtas Voice Will Endure, but Ashoka Universitys Halo May Not, March 25), poses an ironic question: what is the need for a Pratap Bhanu Mehta when the chief minister of a BJP-ruled state can claim that India had been colonised by America for 200 years? Yes, indeed, or for that matter, an Anand Teltumbde, Shoma Sen, Sudha Bharadwaj or Hany Babu?

One wonders, for instance, what really constituted the education of Ajay Shankar Tiwari, the ABVP activist who happened to share a train journey with two nuns and two postulants. Tiwari, perceiving the robes of the nuns, concluded immediately that they were on a mission of religious conversion. He then contacted a member of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, who complained, in turn, to the railway police at Jhansi. The police, instead of registering it as a case of harassment of innocents and booking the complainant, promptly de-boarded the women at Jhansi.

The VHP functionary later claimed he had scolded Tiwari for his wrong surmise. He should not have done this. After all, young Tiwari was a shining example of the endemic annihilation of rational thought that an education driven by the RSS and its affiliates imparts on the minds of our emerging generation.

Polls through photographs

Using images to tell the story may seem anachronistic in this day and age suffused with visual excess. One recalls the manner the magazines and Sunday newspapers of an earlier era used grainy, black and white photographs to tell stories on simple, even innocent, themes like the arrival of the first blooms of summer or pavement life in a metro. Today, when we have videos, can a bunch of static images possibly tell a news story? The Wire feature, In Photos: The Story of Assams 2021 Assembly Election, seems to indicate that it can. What I found striking about it is that, when coupled with a short text, photographs do indeed bring out dimensions often lost in detailed reportage or sophisticated video content. The main conclusion that the election in Assam this time has been low-key in contrast to that of 2016 emerges quite effectively. The photographer takes care to document the political posters she comes across in her travels across Assam to decode the strategies of the major parties in the fray. This is slow journalism, giving us pause as we get transported briefly to electioneering taking place very far from home.

News freeze next door

This column has noted how the Kashmir template of media control is now being used across India (Backstory: The Kashmir Model to Discipline Indian Media, February 13). The recent developments in Myanmar seem to indicate that the military there have also benefitted from the Kashmir example going by the patterns of media repression now playing out there. These include internet shutdowns, intimidation, detention and arrests under draconian laws of journalists, raiding media offices to confiscate communications infrastructure, censoring content, the banning of news media outlets, and cancellation of licences to operate.

As in Kashmir, a concession here or there is made Aung Thura of the BBC was released from jail and now AP correspondent, Thein Zaw, has been freed but what is always evident is the continued and unremitting use of the iron fist to ensure that only the state narrative prevails, one that is faithfully communicated through the state-run Myanmar Radio and the Myawaddy TV, controlled by the military. Many media establishments have been cowed down. Some like the Myanmar Times, which had agreed to followed orders including desisting from using the word coup, invited sharp dissent from their staff and chose to suspend operations. Others like Mizzima and Democratic Voice of Burma, have displayed exemplary courage to carry on in whatever form, and from wherever they can operate.

Riot police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest against the military coup in Yangon, Myanmar, March 19, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Stringer

The Indian government could have used its moral authority to emerge as a beacon for journalistic rights in South Asia but has instead preferred to keep silent, or play along with repressive regimes. The abstaining vote it cast vis--vis Sri Lanka (India Abstains From Voting on UNHRC Resolution Critical of Sri Lanka, March 23) speaks volumes for Indias cynical positions regarding the neighbourhood.

There is rich irony in the fact that in the 2020 media freedom index of the Reporters Sans Frontieres,, Myanmar was rated higher at the 139th position than India at the 142nd. But the arrogance of the Indian ruling class is infinite. It is now hard at work creating its own index to counter the so-called western bias (Official Panel Sees Western Bias in Indias Low Press Freedom Rank But Wants Defamation Decriminalised, March 14). The specially constituted Index Monitoring Cell (IMC), set up by the government, had the good sense to invite P. Sainath to be part of it. His trenchant critique of the IMCs final report needs to be read carefully by anyone interested in media freedom in India. It is his opinion, incidentally, that a fair and honest ranking would see India plumbing the depths below 142.

Shorn of credibility, India can only watch silently as the military junta crushes media freedom in Myanmar.

Mail from readers

The choices before us, the voters

A student, Sachu Satheesan of the Government Law College Ernakulam, weighs in on the election scene in Kerala:

How will you answer a question when you dont know the answer for it? Most leaders answer through insults and verbal abuse, and both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Keralas chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan have done this. Congress leaders, in contrast, lack in answering skills, although there are also exceptions like K. Sudhakaran and Mullappally R.

Kerala goes to the polls on April 6, and the question arises how do we, in Kerala, make the right choice? Corruption cant be the basis for comparison, since no one emerges unscathed from such scrutiny. The NDA is the best in executing corruption without the public coming to know of it, followed by the LDF. If you look at the offences each party commits, most Congress politicians could get some credit. The LDF, while claiming to be working for the poor, keeps on helping the capitalists. The NDA shines in this category because it is good at all offences. Coming to the art of optimising opportunities, the Congress fares the worst. They had enough and more opportunities to put the governments both at the state and central levels on the mat, but have failed to do so. One aspect that all parties have tried to excel in is to wield the Hindutva card. The BJP may be the pioneer in this, but the Congress is trying hard to catch up.

Finally, the choice is left to us, the voters. We need to think carefully about whom we want to rule over us or rather exploit us for the next five years.

Left to Right: LDF campaign led by Pinarayi Vijayan; UDF campaign led by Ramesh Chennithala; and BJP campaign led by K Surendran. Photo: Official Twitter pages.

Sell, sell, sell

Surjeet Singh writes in: For a while now I have been agitated by the question: What is the role of government?The present government has privatised education, health, electricity, roads, ports, airlines, airports. It is selling steel companies, oil companies, not to mention banks. Justice is being dispensed by lynch mobs and through police encounters. Policing is outsourced to the Sanghs affiliates like the Bajrang Dal and Hindu Yuva Vahini. Intelligence is provided by cyber vigilantes. It gifts land to its cronies. Land is given to bodies which have changed their constitution from societies to companies for reasons better known to themselves. Narendra Modi does not trust the government to own the Motera stadium and has handed it over to a private body headed by a trusted aide. Further, adding insult to injury, he has added his name to a facility bearing the names of Adani and Ambani, and eclipsing none other than Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. This is happening when farmers, whom the prime minister terms as parasites, are agitating against laws designed to expedite the corporatisation of farming.

Brickbats and bouquets

A reader, Pranav Manishankar, doesnt mince his words: You guys are the worst news outlet ever, yourlevels of bias and propaganda are staggering. Shame on you guys for engaging in such activities. You should be shut down at the earliest. I pray to god this happens!

Rohan Singh Sethi, meanwhile, has this to say: I would like to say thank The Wire and the writer of the piece, With Shringi Yadavs Bail, Is UP Heading Towards Normalising Hindutva Violence? (March 19). This is a very critical time for our country with the media corrupted and the value of truth having lost its meaning. When I read this article I was able to understand that there are still people like you who want to highlight the truth and who are not afraid of these bad elements in our society. I pledge to make a small contribution every month from my earnings to The Wire so that I can support an organisation that is doing truthful journalism and not putting out paid stuff.

Incomplete analysis

Ashwin Thomaswrites in: This is with regard to the piece, Why Christo-Racist Nationalism and Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Are Gaining Ground in Kerala (February 26). I dont think its research is complete or completely thought-through. It is easy to be critical but I believe the way the writer judges all Syrian Christians alike is going a little too far. Different regions of the state think differently, but to conclude that all Syrian Christians think in a certain way is unfair. I have always considered The Wire to be passionate, fearless and determined. But this article betrays its partiality for extreme journalism. As the saying goes,you will never truly understand until it happens to you.

Vexatious vax

Finally, a query from Prasun Deb: Ever since word came out about blood clots being associated withCovishield, I have noted a certain trend and am curious about it. Why have all the bigwigs, from the president and prime minister to the finance minister and health minister, opted for the Covaxinvaccination? Is it possible that the government was aware of the problem of blood clotting associated with Covishield before the rest of us received this information?

Write to publiceditor@thewire.in.

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Backstory: The Targeted Silencing of the Trinity of Thinker, Student, Reporter - The Wire

DALLAS, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ --BBG, a leading national commercial valuation and assessment real estate services firm, today announced that it has expanded the role of Paul E. Ping, MAI, to include national oversight of the company's Quality Control and Quality Assurance initiatives.

A highly regarded industry leader, Mr. Ping is also a Senior Managing Director responsible for directing the growth of BBG Evaluation, a USPAP-compliant small loan valuation service for banks and other financial institutions. He is a member of the firm's Senior Leadership Team.

In his new role, Mr. Ping will ensure the firm delivers a high-quality product with consistency across its national multi-service platform. His areas of focus include template development, usage, and compliance; corporate policies regarding quality control; and engagement letter and licensing compliance.

He will also discuss BBG's product quality with current and prospective clients and bring that feedback to the team. In addition, Mr. Ping will work with named reviewers and create an audit program to ensure company-wide consistency across the country.

Mr. Ping's experience is well-suited for this role. Before joining BBG last year, he served on the national Quality Control Quality Assurance Committee at Cushman Wakefield and was responsible for similar duties as Chief Appraiser at Huntington Bank and PNC Bank. He has also held various senior-level management and appraiser roles at a national real estate brokerage firm, commercial banks and accounting firms during an accomplished career spanning more than 35 years.

BBG CEO Chris Roach commented: "Paul is the perfect choice to lead our quality control and assurance initiatives, which are vital to our sustained growth in key markets. Paul's unique knowledge in this area, extensive industry expertise, and proven leadership skills will further enhance our reputation in providing best-in-class services to our clients."

About BBG

BBG offers comprehensive due diligence services including valuation, advisory, assessment, desktop evaluation, energy services, cost segregation, zoning, and ALTA surveys. Headquartered in Dallas, the firm has 38 offices in key US markets and more than 2,700 clients. As one of the Big Five national commercial real estate valuation firms, BBG has achieved a reputation for personal attention, on-time delivery and deep expertise in multi-family, office, retail and industrial sectors. For more information about BBG, please visit http://www.bbgres.com.

Media Contact

Marc Weinstein

Ascent Communications

(908) 967-9958

ascent1957@gmail.com

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BBG Senior Managing Director Paul E. Ping to Lead Firm's Quality Control and Assurance Initiatives - Star Local Media

Social media influencers carry more weight than government ministers in persuading customers about travel, according to the boss of Hays Travel.

Speaking at Travel Weeklys Future of Travel Spring Forum, chair Dame Irene Hays said travel had become much more fashionable and fast-moving.

People watch what is current, and whats trending and what the influencers are highlighting at a given time, she said. Then you see a flurry of enquiries.

Hays Travel having its own tour operation made it easier to react to trends, she said. When you can control that within the business and because were a very flat structure in Hays Travel we dont have any hierarchy really you can see where that demand is, you can respond much more quickly, said Hays.

She said various comments by government ministers about whether its legal to book holidays influences consumer sentiment and behaviour to an extent, but added: I dont think it has as much of an impact as the social influencers do, or what has most recently been shown on television.

What were seeing is a vastly more fast-moving market around appetite than we ever have before. Travel is becoming a fashionable product, and must-have its influenced by which celebrity is seen where, or what is popular.

Hays said the days the brochure being relevant were long-gone. Now, the time frame around responding to customer appetite is vastly faster than it has ever been before, she said.

Ministers might have some influence. I do not think they are the most influential. But clearly, in terms of regulation and prevention they are. But its a mixed picture. So we sometimes see some surprising spikes, and then you realise why.

As well as making Hays Travel more fleet of foot, Hays said the in-house tour operation also allowed it to look after customers better.

When we introduced the peace of mind guarantee, the rationale behind was so we could take control and make sure that our customers were looked after properly. And if they wanted to cancel, or they wanted to amend, that we would make arrangements with our suppliers for that to happen without all of the problems we experienced during 2020, she said.

Revealing that the tour operation was still relatively small compared to the groups overall business, but growing slowly, Hays said future scope of the division would depend on market demand.

Were absolutely delighted with the arrangements which weve put in place with colleagues whove joined us [from Travel2] and our existing colleagues. Its the depth and the quality of the product and [going forward] its a case of watching what the market wants, said Hays.

This is a community-moderated forum.All post are the individual views of the respective commenter and are not the expressed views of Travel Weekly.By posting your comments you agree to accept our Terms & Conditions.

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Social media stars 'more influential than government ministers' on travel - Travel Weekly UK

Ever since The Circle returned for series three, its been keeping us uentertained with all the crazy twists and the incredible contestants in The Circle 2021 line-up.

So far weve seen multiple catfish, one clone, and contestants playing slightly different versions of themselves, as they all aim to win the 100k cash prize.

The Circle works by contestants communicating solely through a social media app, and they never get to meet one another until a blocking takes place, with each contestant living in a separate apartment in the Salford block of flats.

From time to time, we see contestants move around the apartment block, whether that be to visit the gym or the roof top jacuzzi. And this year, the shows host Emma Willis was given her own room to deliver messages to the contestants.

So, how does it all work? And how do the contestants never hear each other?!

Its not unusual for contestants to get quite excited in their apartments when alerts are made, so how comes none of the other contestants hear them? In The Circle this could be a HUGE giveaway!

RadioTimes.com spoke to the shows executive producer Toni Ireland, and creative director Tim Harcourt who filled us in on what happens behind the scenes, from how they stop the contestants from bumping into one another when they leave their apartments, to how the social media app works. (Spoiler alert: Its not actually voice activated.)

Read on to discover the secrets of The Circle.

The show is located in a block of flats in Salford, however, Channel 4 only has access to 10 apartments, plus some extra rooms.

Toni explained: So we have a apartment block in Salford and a few months before, we start to rig it with cameras and sound and we have our art director who goes in and designs all of the apartments so that theyre all looking amazing each year and brand new. That takes a few months to set up and then our players enter and we start the show.

She added: We have 10 apartments which are decorated for the players to go and live in and we have them on rotation, so if a player gets blocked, well go in and do a refresh and then another player might move. We have the extra spaces like the yoga room, the gym and the roof terrace, and then this year, Emma had her room where she could go in and create some mischief.

To capture all the madness, over 100 cameras are used, says Toni.

Weve got about 115 cameras throughout the apartment block. I could also probably tell you how much cabling we use theres a lot! So, thats in each apartment and covering our extra spaces as well which is their sort of the chill out area. We call them hotheads, so theyre all sort of remote cameras which are controlled by our gallery, she explained.

On the show, we only ever really see the contestants in their apartments and occasionally in the gym, or on the roof terrace enjoying a soak in the jacuzzi. But thats as far as they can go. Players cant leave the building completely until after theyre blocked.

Jodi continued: Once theyre in The Circle, they are part of The Circle. The biggest challenge in this show is not giving anyones identity away so we could never risk them leaving the building or overhearing production. That might give away the magic of the show so we have to be super careful on that.

The Circle Channel 4

One of the things that has had us confused when watching The Circle is how the show manages to keep the contestants from hearing one another when theyre in their apartments.

Believe it or not, we think these apartments must have pretty thick walls because they just dont hear each other, Toni explained.

In Series one, when Freddie used to scream, we were like, How can you not hear Freddie? but they didnt. When were moving the players around the building, we make sure theyre extra careful so they have ear defenders when theyre moving from their apartments.

She continued: All our players are offered gym time and outdoor space each day and its like mission controlled in the gallery. We can see all our players on the cameras and we have a floor team as well in the apartment building who are there to move the players around. So the gallery will know whos in the gym, and then well move them back to their apartments and then the coast is clear to send the next person to the gym. So thats how we ensure that the players dont bump into each other.

Contestants are, however, given a day off filming to do whatever they like (except leave the building.)

For this day, filming stops completely and they dont have to interact with any of the other contestants.

There normally is one day a week that we call a down day, Tim revealed.

Sometimes theres a few late nights where theyre up recording till like one in the morning, playing games so we make sure they get a day where theyre not on camera. The game just stops, like half time in a football match and most of them spend the day eating takeaway, watching Netflix or having a nap. We dont let them watch the outside world like the news or anything. Thats the closest it sort of gets to normal life in there on that down day.

Natalya The Circle 2021 contestant Channel 4

Despite being allowed a day off, contestants must still abide by the rules of the game and arent allowed contact with the outside world, which means they cant use their mobile phones.

I think this is the hardest thing for players that go in there. Theyre like, What do I do with myself? Im normally on my phone during my downtime. This is why I suppose you see the players doing jigsaws or playing Jenga. Theyre not addicted to their phones like theyd usually be. We couldnt risk anything like that when we were making it, Toni said.

On series three, we watched Billy struggle with how to work the oven. He did eventually get it to work, and you might be surprised to hear that despite his lack of ability, he did have to fend for himself and cook his meals on the show as there are no cooks or cleaners in the building.

Its down to them, Toni said.

This is the interesting thing for me. I love watching what each player cooks and what they order. We take a food order before they join The Circle and make sure their fridge is stocked. I always remember Dan from series one used to make the most amazing meals. He was like hollowing out pineapples and then other players are sat there with a pot noodle. I love this sort of window into peoples lives. Some do a roast dinner on a Sunday, and then you had Billy this year who couldnt even turn on the oven.

So, do the contestants get any help?

We dont let them starve, Toni laughed. We can give them a nudge like with how to work things.

The Circles Yolanda has cloned Tally, and has become Orange Tally Channel 4

On The Circle, we see contestants reading out their messages, which instantly appear in the chat on the social media app, however, it isnt actually voice activated. In reality, each player actually has a producer who writes their messages down after theyre dictated.

I think its no secret that its not actually voice activated, Tim said. We did look into that right at the beginning but I think theres a reason why that doesnt work that well because its really hard. So, the contestants dictate their message and we read it back because we dont want people saying anything wrong or offensive and then it goes through the system.

Everyone has their own individual producer who dictates what theyre saying. Theyre sat in the gallery, which is almost like air traffic control so theres a desk and a producer for each of the players and they have a relationship with them. They help them type up the messages theyre going to send and they get to know them quite well.

As its not actually a super-fast, voice-activated network, things actually take a lot longer than it appears on the one hour episode.

Toni explained: Things take longer than you would imagine. A player constructs a message, they dictate it, it appears on the screen, we make sure theyre happy with it, they send it, the other player receives it and theyre constantly telling us how they feel about things as well. So its not as quick as your WhatsApp.

Its like WhatsApping your nan. It can take a while, Tim added.

The Circle series three contestants Channel 4

While we only ever see about 10 players on the show, there are actually about 12 more in lockdown ready to go in once a contestant is blocked, but they dont all get used for the series.

We have a pool of contestants who are potentially going into the series and theyre sort of on lockdown and are waiting to be pooled and asked to go in, Toni said.

Speaking of the need to keep The Circle diverse, Tim explained why they dont always get used.

He said: Theres a pool because you wouldnt want it to be all men. We want diversity. We have a good pool of about 10/12 extra people.

The Circle continues Sunday-Friday, 10pm on Channel 4 and All4. To apply to take part in a potential future series of The Circle visithttps://www.thecirclecasting.com or email: thecircle@studiolambert.comCheck out the rest of our Entertainmentcoverage or visit ourTV Guide to see whats on tonight.

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All the behind-the-scenes facts from The Circle 2021 - from the number of cameras to how the social media app works - RadioTimes

Artificial Intelligence

One of the initial hesitations in many enterprise organizations moving into the cloud in the last decade was the question of security. Significant amounts of money had been put into corporate firewalls, and now technology companies were suggesting corporate data reside outside that security barrier. Early questions were addressed, and information began to move into the cloud. However, nothing stands still, and the extra volume of data and networking intersects with the increased complexity of attacks, and artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to keep things safe.

The initial hesitation for enterprise organizations to move to the cloud was met by data centers improving hardware and networking security, while the cloud software providers, both cloud hosts and application providers, increased software security past what was initially offered in the cloud. Much of that was taking knowledge from on-premises security and scaling it to the larger systems in the cloud. However, theres also more flexibility for attacks in the cloud, so new techniques had to be added. In addition, most organizations are in a hybrid ecosystem, so the on-premises and cloud security must coordinate.

This means an opportunity for AI to provide enhanced security. As mentioned with other machine solutions, security is a mix different AI and non-AI techniques to fit the problem. For instance, theres deep learning. Supervised learning can be used for known attacks, while unsupervised learning can be used to detect anomalous events in a sparse dataset. Reinforcement learning classification can even be done with statistical analysis in time series, and not always require AI. That can provide faster performance in appropriate cases.

On a quick tangent, lets talk about supervised learning and reinforcement learning. Some folks present them as different; I think of the latter as an extension of the former. Classic supervised learning is when input is labeled and the labels are important for the AI system, as they are used to understand and organize the data. When there are errors, humans add more annotations and labels to existing data, or they add more data. In reinforcement learning, feedback for the neural network is given as to how far the results of an iteration are from a set goal. That feedback can be put back into the system by programmers changing weights or, in more advanced systems, by the AI software doing the comparison and adapting on its own. That is a type of supervision, but Ill admit its a philosophical argument.

Back on track, lets add another complexity. In the early days of the cloud, applications were larger but still followed a similar pattern of scale-up and scale-out. Now theres something changing both environments: containers. Simply put, a container is a piece of software that wraps around an application, it has basic services and even a virtual operating system. That allows containers to run on multiple operating systems regardless of internal application code. It also allows cloud platforms and servers to more finely control services to their clients in order to meet service level agreements (SLAs) that provide quality performance to the end customer.

As more applications migrate to a container architecture, its important for security to keep up, said Tanuj Gulati, CTO, Securonix. Light weight collectors can run within application containers, such as with Docker, collecting and sending relevant event logs to the more robust security monitoringapplications running separately. This provides strong security in the new environments without significant burden being added to application performance.

In my discussion with Tanuj Gulati, he explained that they first worked in the virtual machine (VM) environment in local data centers. That provided both an understand that helped extend security to Docker, but also in integrating security between on-premises and cloud systems in a hybrid environment.

Artificial intelligence is focused on detection, but a complete system must also address the response to a perceived threat. The basic system can detect attacks, and based on known problems rules can then determine responses. Unknown problems have unknown responses. Humans must be flagged to handle those questionable transactions, then feedback can be given to reinforce the system. Depending on how complex a system is created, those new rules can be incorporated into the neural network or added to a rules set.

The state of the industry, both in technology and human comfort levels, shows that there will continue to be human oversight before responses to new attacks as the predominant method in the next few years. Advances will push the security industry into more system action and then reporting, review, and adjustment by humans, but that will happen slowly. What will help is that better explainability will be required, as the deep learning black box will have to become more transparent.

Cloud computing and artificial intelligence are growing in parallel. The complexity of the cloud is driving the need for AI, but the complexity of AI is also creating the need for it to work better in the cloud environment with efficiency, transparency and control.

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Security In The Cloud Is Enhanced By Artificial Intelligence - Forbes