The world is digitizing at an unprecedented speed. These days, it’s no longer a matter of choice; those who want to keep up can’t avoid technology. Yet many questions arise about where this digital age is going. Do we envision a 1984 “Big Brother,” where technology exercises control over us, or a future Alan Turing, who creates peace through technology?
The more technology evolves, the greater the need to secure it. However, technology is becoming increasingly complex. It’s becoming a “black box,” as it were, where few know what’s going on inside. And the few who do understand don’t always have the best intentions. Therefore, the demand for security is constantly increasing. But not everyone recognizes the pressing need for it. According to a study by the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO), half of Flemish companies (45.8%) were subject to cyberattacks in 2024. That’s a fivefold increase compared to the previous year.
The most alarming fact is that one-tenth of these cyberattacks were successful, resulting in data loss, loss of personal information, loss of image, ransomware, or even worse: financial bankruptcy. This demonstrates that cybersecurity is still not ubiquitous. The reasons for this vary. A common reason is that companies are often unaware of the dangers or assume they are secure enough. Nearly half of the companies participating in the aforementioned VLAIO study indicated that they haven’t provided sufficient training and/or awareness among their staff. Therefore, it’s important to invest in cybersecurity, but also to educate employees about what they can do.
A good cybersecurity policy rests on three pillars: technology, procedures, and people. The first two should be left to experts, but it’s also a company’s responsibility to raise awareness amongst employees. Employees often receive misleading messages via email, text message, or phone. Ignorance often creates a gateway to hacking a company, injecting viruses, stealing data, or even demanding ransom payments.
At MentalIT, we’re not negative towards technology. On the contrary, we believe in the useful benefits of technology. But it can only be fruitful if it’s reliable. That’s why our mission is to make software as secure and accessible as possible, so that no employee or company needs to worry about using it. Only in this way can we avoid a “Big Brother” dystopia in which technology is used against us.
