Archive for June 16, 2026

New Study Shows 83% of Organizations Are Adopting AI for Cybersecurity, But Cyber Pros Say the Job Has Become Harder

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 16, 2026 by itnerd

The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and Omdia today released Volume VIII of the Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals, the longest-running annual study of the cybersecurity workforce. As attackers leverage AI to scale attacks and organizations invest in AI-powered security tools, the professionals using them are burning out, being left out of decisions, and thinking about leaving the field.

83% of organizations are currently using or planning to adopt AI for cybersecurity, but the data reveals a critical gap between technology investment and workforce reality:

  • Top AI use cases include automating scanning and testing (50%), predictive risk analysis (48%), and threat detection (38%).
  • 68% say the job has become harder over the past two years, even as AI adoption has accelerated.
  • 25% have increased AI spending without a defined strategy connecting it to their people or security program.
  • Beyond AI, the study examines job satisfaction, the skills shortage, organizational culture, and the evolving CISO role.

The numbers behind that verdict are consistent across every edition of the study. Close to half of respondents have thought about leaving their role in the past 18 months, and among those, 57% have considered leaving cybersecurity entirely. 71% say technology decisions get made without the security team at the table. CISO appointments fell from 76% to 63% in a single year.

39% cite leadership commitment as the top driver of job satisfaction, above compensation and technology investment. 54% say seeking an apprenticeship, internship, or mentor is among the most valuable steps for anyone entering the field.

The full ebook is available at https://issa.org/life-and-times-of-cybersecurity-professionals-volume-viii/

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Parallel Works Awarded Contract with Department of Defense’s High Performance Computing Modernization Program

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 16, 2026 by itnerd

Parallel Works today announced that the Department of Defense (DOD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) has awarded the company a contract to provide DoD scientists, engineers, and acquisition engineering professionals with a single, unified interface for accessing on-premises and cloud computational resources to address complex technical challenges.

The Parallel Works ACTIVATE High Security Platform (HSP) will serve as the control plane for connecting Defense Supercomputing Resource Centers (DSRCs) with a secure commercial cloud infrastructure, enabling defense researchers and engineers to deploy mission-critical workloads across environments through a single interface. Users will be able to test and deploy workloads on next-generation cloud infrastructure before those capabilities are integrated into the DSRC.  

Thousands of users across the Department of Defense and research institutions will have immediate access to DSRCs through Parallel Works’ HSP. The unified, hybrid multi-cloud offering has been approved for the highest non-classified DOD security level, Impact Level 5 (IL5). It is one of only three SaaS / PaaS software programs approved to handle export-controlled workload environments, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). 

By connecting secure cloud infrastructure, the platform creates a computing fabric capable of running large, distributed workloads across on-premises systems and multiple cloud providers through:

  • On-demand access to elastic compute resources, eliminating queue delays.
  • Access to added capacity, with a fabric that connects computational resources and runs across a variety of environments.
  • Rapid deployment of mission-critical workloads, shrinking time to operations from days to hours.
  • A secure environment for CUI and ITAR-regulated workloads.
  • Access to AI and code-assist tools for model development and a variety of workloads.
  • Testing of next-generation instances and capabilities in the cloud, before integration.
  • Scalable, secure workload hosting without requiring internal IL5 expertise.

As the first major implementation under the HPCMP contract, the Naval Research Laboratory implemented Parallel Works HSP to advance the speed and reliability of its forecasting model workloads. By automating complex weather prediction workflows and securely orchestrating hybrid defense computing environments, the solution enables faster, more strategic decision-making in the mission-critical DoD operation. The improvements go beyond efficiency and ensure operational continuity and the proactive redistribution of workloads. 

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Ericsson Mobility Report: 5G subscriptions top three billion as uplink gains momentum

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 16, 2026 by itnerd

Global 5G mobile subscriptions passed the three billion mark during the first quarter of 2026; 5G Standalone (SA) network slicing commercial offerings from communications service providers continue to grow significantly; while uplink mobile data traffic growth is already outpacing downlink for many service providers. All this and more features in the June 2026 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report (EMR).

The June 2026 report covers the same period (2025-2031) as the November 2025 edition, with updated statistics and forecasts.

The 162 million new 5G subscriptions added globally during the first quarter of 2026 brought the total past the three billion mark, to 3.1 billion subscriptions. This figure is expected to grow rapidly and is forecast to more than double (to 6.4 billion) by the end of 2031.

Some 390 service providers have launched commercial 5G services to date – more than 90 of which have launched 5G Standalone (SA). 5G networks handled 48 percent of all mobile data traffic at the end of 2025 – a figure expected to rise to 85 percent by the end of 2031. Western Europe, North America, North East Asia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are forecast to have 5G mobile subscription adoption close to, or above, 90 percent by the end of 2031.

The number of commercial differentiated connectivity service offerings based on 5G SA network slicing from service providers – with the ability to deliver guaranteed quality of service for use cases through securing slices of the network – continues to grow at pace. The total increased from 65 in the November 2025 EMR report to 84 across all regions in the new June edition – indicating that services based on differentiated connectivity are moving from early adoption to mainstream commercialization.

Speed-based tariff plans for fixed wireless access (FWA) also continue to appeal to service providers as a structured monetization strategy targeting different market segments. The share of FWA service providers offering the service over 5G has reached 71 percent – up from 57 percent in June 2025 – the largest annual increase in four years. Speed-based tariff plans are now offered by 57 percent of FWA service providers – up from 51 percent a year ago.The diverse momentum is reflected in new 5G FWA launches in Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Morocco, Taiwan, Türkiye and Vietnam.

5G FWA connections uptake is strongest in North America, the Nordics, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and parts of Asia.

The appeal is broad, spanning markets with more than 95 percent fiber-connected homes to low-ARPU markets, such as India. However, growth in Latin America, Africa and parts of South East Asia remains limited, despite long-term potential.

Changing user behavior is also reflected in the June 2026 EMR network traffic statistics.

Uplink traffic is growing faster than downlink for most service providers – in some instances, significantly faster. The main current drivers are smartphone communication and collaboration apps, the sharing of user-generated content, and cloud storage.

Based on network traffic measurements conducted by Ericsson, 43 out of 55 service providers experienced a higher uplink growth rate than downlink, while 17 out of 55 service providers experienced more than 1.5 times higher uplink growth rate than downlink. Ericsson scenario modeling suggests additional AI traffic could result in uplink traffic being three times higher or more in 2031 compared to 2025.

Network data traffic (for both mobile and FWA) grew 22 percent year-on-year for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025 – exceeding expectations. This was driven mainly by continued strong growth in India and North America.

The report also reflects the increasing industry focus on 6G – with standardization discussions underway. Early expectations include full support for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC); seamless integration between terrestrial and satellite networks to reduce coverage gaps; and a strong focus on energy efficiency – all driven by AI-native 6G.

The first implementable 6G specifications are expected to be finalized by the end of 2028 or early 2029. The first commercial 6G services are expected to follow around 2030, with varying subsequent uptake between regions and countries. As with 5G launches, the US, China, Japan, South Korea and the GCC countries are expected to be early adopters.

Deep dive/partner use case articles in the June 2026 EMR include:

  • A closer look at the growth of differentiated connectivity offerings from service providers around the world.
  • The rise of uplink demand in AI-driven mobile networks.
  • Why mobile connectivity is key to AI-driven enterprise transformation.
  • Co-written with Qualcomm:  A look at the evolution of AI-enabled XR in networks. AI is expanding into mobile experiences, with smart glasses and other wearables emerging as new complementary user interfaces that extend digital interactions.
  • Co-written with SoftBank: Network slicing success at the 2026 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.

Download the full Ericsson Mobility Report June 2026 via this link.

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