Unisys Chief Trust Officer Says Cybersecurity Conversation Should Serve to Benefit Future Society

In the tech sector, there’s a tendency to trust the algorithm, a line of thinking that suggests that any new technology will be beneficial as long as the code is airtight.

Tom Patterson is skeptical of that kind of evangelism. The Unisys Chief Trust Officer believes we we are now at a “technology crossroads,” and that we need to be more considerate with our tech if we want to promote more positive social outcomes.

“We need to get beyond the discussion of any inherent trust in specific technology and focus on how it will actually be used to benefit global society,” said Patterson, who will be delivering a talk at this week’s Cyber Future Dialogue 2019 event in Davos, Switzerland. “Our levels of security and privacy in the years ahead will be dominated by the decisions we make today,” he added.

According to Patterson, the people whose lives will be affected by new technologies need to have a voice in those discussions, and should get the opportunity to determine how tech will be used in finance, healthcare, and other fields that have a direct impact on ordinary citizens. That argument is in keeping with Unisys’s recent backing of the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace, which seeks to establish global security standards for businesses and governments.

Patterson is also a member of Unisys’s Cyber Moonshot Subcommittee. His talk demonstrates the company’s ongoing desire to be a leader in the cybersecurity conversation.