Stanford Emerging Technology Review 2026 Report is out

Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing are two areas of emerging technology that receive most of the tech news. However, the Stanford Emerging Technology Review tries to include any relevant emerging technology area where we see significant progress.

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Methodology for dealing with bad data in production

Pinal Dave wrote up his methodology for what to do when you discover bad data in production. If you’ve never been in this situation, having a plan beforehand is critical

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Claude finds two cryptographic weaknesses (but the sky isn’t falling)

If you haven't seen the announcement, Anthropic was able to utilize Claude (Mythos Preview) to find cryptographic weaknesses in two algorithms. However, this doesn't impact anything anyone has in production today. The research is interesting and something we should take note of, but nothing to panic about.

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Microsoft announces new cybersecurity AI multi-model

Yesterday, July 27, 2026, Microsoft announced a new cybersecurity effort called Project Perception. Included in that announcement were high level details about MDASH with MAI-Cyber-1-Flash, which is reported to perform better than Mythos on a particular security benchmark, CyberGym. The announcement indicates that Project Perception opens for public preview on August 3, 2026.

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ISACA AI Material/Exam Prep Discount (May 18 – June 30, 2026)

If you are considering any of the ISACA AI certs like the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Audit (AAIA) or the newly release Advanced Artificial Intelligence Risk (AAIR), ISACA will be discounting their material for six weeks, starting on Monday, May 18, 2026 and running through Thursday, July 30, 2026.

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Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: A Plan

My most recent bout with imposter syndrome was with ISACA's Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework (DTEF) foundation exam. I'm blogging about it because I know a lot of people struggle with imposter syndrome, even though they don't specifically recognize what's going on. So let's talk about the challenge. The DTEF foundation exam is a 60-question multiple choice exam that you have two hours to complete.

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On Speaking Well

Professor Patrick Winston of MIT used to give a one-hour talk about how to speak. Though Professor Winston is no longer with us, his talk still is. If you want to get better at speaking, even if you're an experienced speaker, I recommend taking the hour to watch the recorded video.

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Who Are You Doing It For?

But as I've matured over the years, I came to realize that I needed to ask a critical question, "Who am I doing this for?" When I agree to work crazy hours, am I doing it for me, my family, or the organization? And once I determine who I'm doing it for, the next question is, "Is the sacrifice worth it?" Sacrifice means giving up something of value for something of greater value. Is my sacrifice going in the correct direction?

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Google Moves Up Post-Quantum Cryptography Timeline

In cryptography, the RSA and ECC algorithms which we use primarily for asymmetric cryptography are susceptible to Shor's Algorithm in quantum cryptography. Cracking those algorithms with classical computing is seen as requiring thousands of years, which is why we use them so heavily for things like TLS. Not so with quantum computing.

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In-Person CISA Training – April 13-16, 2026

I will be leading an in-person Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam prep class on April 13-16, 2026, in Columbia, SC.

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Black Box vs. Gray Box vs. White Box Testing

If your organization is spending money, then meaningful results are a must. Pen testing isn't supposed to be a pat on the back. It's supposed to be a tool to assess defenses and so you can make adjustments. It's a critical feedback loop for cybersecurity. So a report back of, "We didn't find anything," is useless.

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“We love to debate minutiae”

I am guilty as charged. The quote was in reference to how people argue about details in fitness or finances that are more detailed than is useful to them. We do this with respect to a lot of things. I have argued points in projects and security that weren't worth the time we devoted to the discussion.

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March 2026 SQL Server Security Updates

On Patch Tuesday, in addition to OS and Office security patches, Microsoft also released patches for SQL Server to address privilege escalation vulnerabilities in supported versions. Time to patch!

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Learn Better: Pause to Review More

If you want to learn better, pause more in your learning to intentionally review.

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Plan your 2026

If you don't have a plan, you'll accomplish it. That's not a good thing.

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Love God Most of All – Deuteronomy 6:5

Love God most of all. Yes, love people, your nation, your ideals, and other things, but never more than God.

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Teach Why – Deuteronomy 6:20-25

Whenever there is time, teach why we do something. Otherwise, it'll be lost.

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I recommend Smart Brevity (book) for communications

Following the advice in Smart Brevity improves communication.

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Act with Kindness – Genesis 25:29-34

When you are faced with the choice between kindness and personal gain, choose kindness.

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Act on Your Certification Test Results

Pass or fail, act on your certification test results.

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Beware of Short Term Reward – Genesis 25:29-34

We can be tempted by a short term reward over long term success. We must resist such temptation when it occurs.

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Resetting on the AI hype train

There's a great article from MIT Technology Review about resetting on the hype of AI. AI's current state is somewhere between the die hard evangelists and the doomsayers

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4 CPE Opportunity (Virtual) for Charity

Every year, the South Carolina State Internal Auditors Association and the South Carolina Midlands ISACA Chapter partner together to put on a "CPE catchup" opportunity in December to provide last minute CPEs for those needing them to maintain or renew certifications as well as to raise money for Harvest Hope.

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Patch Tuesday – Where to get more information

For a number of years I have subscribed to Randy Franklin Smith's Patch Tuesday newsletter. It tends to hit my inbox in the wee hours of Wednesday.

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Prepping for Certification, Part 4 of 4

In Parts 1-3, I covered how I prepare for a certification exam. In this last part, I'll talk about how I go about taking the exam.

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The Benefits of Teaching

Even preparing for a class or seminar with set materials takes a lot of time and effort, more so when you build your own content. So why teach?

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Microsoft AI Red Teaming Course

here is the compiled video of the Red Teaming course Microsoft put together.

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Quantum Computing and SQL Server Article Is Up

In parallel with the presentation I gave at the PASS Data Community Summit on quantum computing's impact on data, I wrote an article specifically on impact with respect to Microsoft SQL Server.

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Prepping for Certification, Part 3 of ?

After I have understood the details for a certification test (part 1), including format and the rules for taking it and after I have taken time to learn how the test is structured and what's covered (part 2), next is studying for the exam.

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SQL Training Black Friday Deals

If you're looking for particular "Black Friday" deals, here is what I've seen advertised in the community. I have not taken any of these classes, so I can't give a review/recommendation except to say all are being offered by current or former Microsoft Data Platform MVPs:

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