revolution, cybersecurity will remain an important investment area in ensuring the security of technology systems and related data. There are various forms of cybersecurity threats which have continued to impact organisations within South Africa, both within the public and private sector. TransUnion is an example of one of the large organisations in South Africa which was impacted by a ransomware cyberattack in 2022 where the attackers demanded $15-million threatening to expose the customer data which it had access to. There were many similar such experiences in 2023 and 2024. The cyber threat landscape has been further complicated by the rise of AI-powered attacks, cloud vulnerabilities, third-party exposures and insider threats. All of these potentially criminal interventions demand increased vigilance and proactive security measures, and as enterprises integrate AI into various processes so does the growth of AIpowered attacks. Cybercriminals are increasingly using AI to enhance their attacks, making them more difficult to detect and defend against. AI models themselves may be vulnerable to attacks like data poisoning, model stealing and adversarial examples. Economic sectors such as finance and telcos are predicted to strengthen investments significantly in this area as they seek to counter the risk of cyber threats identified globally. Furthermore, we will see a rise of investment in technologies that address disinformation and deepfakes. Quantum computing It was in the early 1980s when the tech world first glimpsed a few of the theoretical concepts representing the breakthrough of quantum computing. Now potential
applications of quantum computing are endless and span diverse fields. In drug discovery, quantum computing can simulate molecular interactions, speeding up the development of new treatments. In material science, quantum computing helps to design advanced materials with superior properties. Finance also stands to benefit from improved modeling and simulations, while artificial intelligence may see faster training of machine learning models. Moreover, quantum computing could revolutionise cryptography both by breaking existing encryption systems and by enabling the creation of quantumresistant algorithms. Alongside government initiatives, progress in quantum computing is being fueled by significant investments, much like AI is funded by industry leaders like IBM, Google, Microsoft and Intel. The continued investment in R&D teams focused on quantum computing continues to place it as one of the key dominating technologies of the year to come. Thanks to its unique ability to solve problems that are beyond the capabilities of traditional computers, quantum computing will remain at the forefront of technological innovation. To explain quantum computing in simple terms, imagine navigating a maze. While a classical computer tests one path at a time, a quantum computer can evaluate every path simultaneously, drastically reducing the time it takes to find the solution. Unlike traditional “bits” of either 0 or 1, this advantage stems from the use of “qubits” which superpose both states simultaneously thanks to the principles of quantum mechanics. Sustainable tech With the advancement of technologies such as AI, we have also
26 Public Sector Leaders | December 2024/ January 2025
seen a parallel increase in hardware and energy demands that power up these technologies. However, a number of nations have continued to endure significant climate change disasters in 2024, prompting the need for investment in green computing and sustainable computing. Equally, we are seeing Net Zero goals being further adopted by organisations continuing to seek ways to attain them sustainably by promoting investments in green energy innovations as well as innovations that support the circular economy. Growing environmental concerns are causing companies to push for energy-efficient hardware, sustainable software development and responsible data management. As growing concerns about climate change and resource scarcity drive investments in these areas, the focus will be upon optimising data centres, developing eco-friendly hardware and leveraging AI for environmental monitoring and resource management. The year 2025 thus promises a continued focus on how organisations and societies harness renewable sources of energy such as green hydrogen sources in order to support increasing demand for AI technology. n
Dr Mmaki Jantjies is an innovative leader who is passionate about harnessing the power of technology and R&D to drive change. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor in Information Systems.