Every year, the Consumer Electronics Show displays present and future of technology, and CES 2017 is no different.
As new gadgets hit the airwaves, dropping jaws and stirring commotion in every form of media, one can't help but see that in a world striving for faster technological adaption, the Proton T-4 degausser looks like a likely contender to remain on top of its field for years to come.
One constant in a sea of change
CES is all about the future, but perhaps a rather frightening part of that theory is the "future" is just a few years away. All of the technologies being presented are in working order. Remember when virtual reality was a pipe dream? Now, everyone with a gaming console or personal computer can get lost in a digital realm.
For example, Wired.com reported Sevenhugs developed a smart remote that makes the idea of "smart homes" look like a sure thing.
"The gadget wirelessly connects to sensors placed throughout a room, allowing its position to be triangulated. This means whatever app shows up on its touchscreen will change depending on what you're pointing at," Wired staff wrote. "Aim the remote at a lamp and Hue's interface will pop up. Point it at your Nest thermometer and you can change the temperature of the room. Even cooler yet: pointing it at the door will let you call an Uber straight from your remote."
Technology is advancing fast, and the speed with which it's doing so is understandably frightening to a consumer. Why buy a phone that came out just one year ago, when you can wait another year and get the newest one? Thoughts like this make companies stall on large expenses as well, especially when it comes to cybersecurity.
With so many new ways for hackers to both physically and digitally attack data, enterprises timidly browse security solutions, knowing that they'll likely need to upgrade in a year or two if they want to stay secure.
Future-proofing is a term gaining a lot of momentum when it comes to technology, and it's easy to see why. Large purchases should have a long shelf-life, and not have to be thrown away when a new patch, update, gizmo or gadget hits the market—otherwise known as, just another year at CES.
Proton T-4 degausser ahead of its time
There are a few different ways technologies are future-proofed, according to Forbes:
- A device is in a class of its own, and won't be replicated or advanced for some time.
- Gadget is flexible and can accommodate add-on's or plug-in's.
- Warranty covers exchanges for new item.
Then, there's technology like the T-4 degausser, that's so powerful it's essentially future-proofed.
Degaussing is a National Security Agency certified method of erasing data from a hard disk drive. In industries where Federal regulations dictate data security compliance, like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act for health care, companies must have an IT asset disposition plan in place. Since hard drives magnetically store information, software wipes won't effectively remove the data, and leave the business vulnerable to a data breach and regulatory fines.
"The T-4 degausser is future-ready."
Sometimes, enterprises opt not to go with a degausser because the decision-makers don't know what the future holds. Specifically, they're worried that future hard disk drives will need a stronger degausser than the one they bought. Instead, they believe crushing the device without erasing the data, a software wipe or outsourcing IT asset disposition is enough to get the job done. All of these methods have been proven to leave a company susceptible to a data breach.
The T-4 is unique in that it deploys a patented reverse polarity field, that produces a 20,000 Gauss positive field and 20,000 Gauss negative field to demagnetize hard disk drives—other degaussers only deploy one or the other.
Because the T-4 is so strong, the NSA has given it clearance to be the only instrument that has to be used to degauss a personal computer—similar systems require extra devices to ensure the degausser is strong enough. This is a strong recommendation coming from one of the foremost Federal agencies tasked with information security.
CES 2017 has shown that there's a lot to be excited about the future of technology, but consumers should be anxious about its advancement. Latching onto future-proofed instruments will ultimately help enterprises navigate what promises to be a hectic, but exhilarating, few years to come.
