Digitalised societies: definition, characteristics and how to ensure their security

Digitalised societies are the result of technological transformation affecting all aspects of people’s lives. 

This paradigm shift, which some call the Fourth Industrial Revolution, highlights the need to develop new social strategies in which digitalization, artificial intelligence and robotics are pillars.  

In these changing environments, as many advantages as challenges arise, and to understand their implications you need to know what digital societies are, their characteristics and how their security can be guaranteed.

What is a digitalised society?  

Digitalised society is a social organization in which its structures and daily exchanges are conditioned and shaped by automated systems, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), devices and other digital technologies.

The digitization process involves a movement of adaptation and integration of advanced technologies in all areas of society and culture.

This transformative process influences the thinking, decisions and actions of the people who inhabit these information societies.

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Characteristics of digital societies  

Digital societies have a number of common characteristics, regardless of where they are developed.

For example, a digitized society is a changing society, in continuous evolution, flexible and in which a culture of evolutionary adaptability is established.

In the same way, this type of social organization is inclusive and offers the same possibilities to all the people who make it up, helped by the democratization of access to the Internet.

These societies have a number of distinctive features that will be discussed in the following sections.

Stakeholders  

The players of the digital society are the engine of its development and include different profiles such as:

• All citizens who make up society and who will make use of technology. 
• Developers and promoters of Information and Communication Technologies, databases, information networks, etc.
• Content, knowledge and documentation generators needed in all processes. 
• People and organizations that plan, manage and process knowledge.

Tools and services 

The construction and implementation of digital societies require a series of basic tools in order to thrive. 

Here the list of the most relevant ones, although there may be many others:

• Computer equipments. Computers, smartphones, tablets, etc.
• Computer network devices. Switches, routers, signal repeaters, wireless systems, etc.
• Information storage elements. USB flash drives, pendrives, hard disks, etc.
• Information processing and management systems. Big Data, IoT (Internet Of Things), etc.
• Communication systems. Satellite infrastructure, 5G, HCI (Human Computer Interaction) systems such as virtual reality or AI (Artificial Intelligence), which seek to exchange information between human and machine in an intuitive way, etc.
• Smart, connected and sustainable services. They cover all dimensions of society -health, energy, education, transportation, etc.- to built smart cities.

Recent healthcare events around the world have accelerated society’s adaptation to digitalization and have provided a major boost for digital corporations, revealing major challenges for all.

Challenges of the digitalised societies

The challenges of the digital society are many, starting with the need for coordination and collaboration of all those involved in society, although there are other challenges such as these listed below:

• Digital literacy of society to reduce the digital break. 
• Training of Human Resources personnel in organizations, companies and institutions.  
• Lack of availability of resources and tools. 
• Boosting the planning of the application of technology in all areas of daily life.  
• Shortage of qualified personnel in digital skills.
• Implementation of policies that promote digitization.
• Need to ensure security in all areas of digitalised societies.

Let’s develop this last aspect in detail in the following section due to its implications for individuals, companies and institutions.

How to ensure the security of digitized societies?

The development of highly technological societies implies the need to ensure digital security, which needs to acquire a more global character.

There are many cyber threats in hyperconnected societies: malware attacks, cyberbullying, data theft, phishing or identity theft, among other risks, are becoming increasingly common. 

Thus, digital transformation requires measures to protect its infrastructures, products and services, as well as the digital privacy of people.

Faced with this reality, the way to ensure the security of digitalised societies is to engage people involved in creating legal, technical, organizational and cooperative measures, as well as to promote the creation of the necessary capacities to adopt them.

To give you some more tangible examples, we share with you 3 measures that you can incorporate into your projects:

• Adopt digital hygiene or cybernetic measures. Gather a series of good practices to protect you and your company.
• Strengthen the trusted internet connections security. This can be done by controlling access to information, ensuring confidentiality, protecting data traceability, etc.
• Implement proctoring solutions. These online supervision and monitoring tools ensure security, privacy and test quality.

At Smowltech, we have developed a range of adaptable proctoring plans to meet the changing and growing security and privacy needs of digital societies.

We invite you to request us a free demo. We will show you the online monitoring solutions that an innovative project needs.

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