A sci-fi view of the hackers of the future

Information technology research and advisory firm Gartner has hired a science fiction author to address its upcoming security conference in Sydney.

Information technology research and advisory firm Gartner has hired a science fiction author to address its upcoming security conference in Sydney.

Science-fiction author Jack Dann hopes his keynote speech will help Gartner technology researchers approach technology security in different ways, and imagine what threats may evolve in the future.

“I want to show them how science-fiction writers do it. I’m going to try to give everybody a space to think about the possibilities that are really down the road,” Dann told itnews.com.au. “We need to be open to it as our tools change the way we do things and perceive the world.”

Gartner Australia research director Andrew Walls says while the choice of speaker is unorthodox, he wants people to look at security in a different way.

“[Gartner] tries to help clients develop a capability of anticipating change and anticipating future trends; that’s a lot of what our clients turn to Gartner to do,” Walls says.

“Science fiction writers are people who specialise in doing exactly this sort of thing.”

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