Once upon a time, the cathode ray tube was pretty much the only type of display you’d find in a consumer television. As the analog broadcast world shifted to digital, we saw the rise of plasma displays and LCDs, which offered greater resolution and much slimmer packaging. Then there was the so-called LED TV, confusingly named—for it was merely an LCD display with an LED backlight. The LEDs were merely lamps, with the liquid crystal doing all the work of displaying an image.

Today, however, we are seeing the rise of true LED displays. Sadly, decades of confusing marketing messages have polluted the terminology, making it a confusing space for the modern television enthusiast. Today, we’ll explore how these displays work and disambiguate what they’re being called in the marketplace.

The Rise Of Emissive Displays

When it comes to our computer monitors and televisions, most of us have got used to the concept of backlit LCD displays. These use a bright white backlight to actually emit light, which is then filtered by the liquid crystal array into all the different colored pixels that make up the image. It’s an effective way to build a display, with a serious limitation on contrast ratio because the LCD is only so good at blocking out light coming from behind. Over time, these displays have become more sophisticated, with manufacturers ditching cold-cathode tube backlights for LEDs, before then innovating with technologies that would vary the brightness of parts of the LED backlight to improve contrast somewhat. Some companies even started using arrays of colored LEDs in their backlights for further control, with the technology often referred to as “RGB mini LED” or “micro RGB.” This still involves an LCD panel in front of the backlight, limiting contrast ratios and response times.

The holy grail, though, would be to ditch the liquid crystal entirely, and just have a display fully made of individually addressable LEDs making up the red, green, and blue subpixels. That is finally coming to pass, with manufacturers launching new television lines under the “Micro LED” name. These are true “emissive” displays, where the individual red, blue, and green subpixels are themselves emitting light, not just filtering it from a backlight source behind them.

These displays promise greater contrast than backlit LCDs, because individual pixels can be turned completely off to create blacker blacks. Response times are also fast because LEDs switch on and off much more quickly than liquid crystals can react. They’re also relatively power efficient, as there’s no need to supply electrons to pixels that are off. Contrast this to LCDs, which are always spending power on turning some pixels black in front of a  glowing backlight which is also drawing power. Viewing angles of emissive displays are also top-notch. Inorganic LEDs also have long lifetimes, which makes them far more desirable than OLED displays (discussed further below). Their high brightness also makes them ideal for us in bright conditions, particularly where sunlight is concerned.

Given the many boons of this technology, you might question why it’s taken true LED displays this long to hit the market. The ultimate answer comes down to cost and manufacturability. If you’ve ever built your own LED array, you’ve probably noted the engineering challenges in reducing pixel size and increasing resolution. When it comes to producing a 4K display, you’re talking about laying down 8,294,400 individual RGB LEDs, all of which need to work flawlessly and be small enough to not show up as individually visible pixels from typical viewing ranges. Other technologies like LCDs and OLEDs have the benefit that they can be easily produced with lithographic techniques in great sizes, but the technology to produce pure LED displays on this scale is only just coming into fruition.

You can purchase an all-LED TV today, if you so desire. Just note that you’ll pay through the nose for it. Few models are on the market, but Best Buy will sell you a 114″ Micro LED set from Samsung for the charming price of $149,999.99. If that’s a bit big for your house, condo, or apartment, you might consider the 89″ model for a more acceptable $109,999.99. Meanwhile, LG has demonstrated a 136″ model of a micro LED TV, but there have been no concrete plans to bring it to market. Expect it to land somewhere firmly in the six-figure range, too.

If you’re not feeling so flush, you can get a lesser “Micro RGB” TV if you like, which combines a fancy RGB matrix backlight with LCD technology as discussed above. Even then, a Samsung R95 television with Micro RGB technology will set you back $29,999.99 at Best Buy, or you can purchase it on a payment plan for $1,250 a month. In fact, with the launch of these comparatively affordable TVs, Samsung has gone somewhat quiet on its Micro LED line since initially crowing about it in 2024. Still, whichever way you go, these fancy TVs don’t come cheap.

But What About OLED?

It’s true that emissive LED displays have existed in the market for some time, but not using traditional light-emitting diodes. These are the popular “OLED” displays, with the acronym standing for “organic light emitting diode.” Unlike standard LEDs, which use inorganic semiconductor crystals to emit light, OLEDs instead use special organic compounds in a substrate between electrodes, which emit light when electricity is applied. They can readily be fabricated in large arrays to create displays, which are used in everything from tiny smartwatches to full-sized televisions.

You might question why the advent of “proper” LED displays is noteworthy given that OLED technology has been around for some time. The problem is that OLEDs are somewhat limited in their performance versus traditional inorganic LEDs. The main area in which they suffer is longevity, as the organic compounds are susceptible to degradation over time. The brightness of individual pixels in an OLED display tends to drop off very quickly compared to inorganic LEDs. A display can diminish to half of its original brightness in just a few years of moderate to heavy use. In particular, blue OLED subpixels tend to degrade faster than red or green subpixels, forcing manufacturers to take measures to account for this over the lifetime of a display. Peak brightness is also somewhat limited, which can make OLED displays less attractive for use in bright rooms with lots of natural light. Dark spots and burn in are also possible, at rates greater than those seen in contemporary LCD displays.

The limitations of OLED displays have not stopped them gaining a strong position in the TV marketplace. However, the technology will be unlikely to beat true LED displays in terms of outright image quality, brightness, and performance. Cost will still be a factor, and OLEDs (and LCDs) will still be relevant for a long time to come. However, for now at least, the pure LED display promises to become the prime choice for those looking for a premium viewing experience at any cost.

Featured image: “Micro LED” displays. Credit: Samsung

With the massive adoption of the OpenClaw agentic AI assistant, information-stealing malware has been spotted stealing files associated with the framework that contain API keys, authentication tokens, and other secrets.

OpenClaw (formerly ClawdBot and MoltBot) is a local-running AI agent framework that maintains a persistent configuration and memory environment on the user’s machine. The tool can access local files, log in to email and communication apps on the host, and interact with online services.

Since its release, OpenClaw has seen widespread adoption worldwide, with users using it to help manage everyday tasks and act as an AI assistant.

However, there has been concern that, given its popularity, threat actors may begin targeting the framework’s configuration files, which contain authentication secrets used by the AI agent to access cloud-based services and AI platforms.

Infostealer spotted stealing OpenClaw files

Hudson Rock says they have documented the first in-the-wild instance of infostealers stealing files associated with OpenClaw to extract secrets stored within them.

“Hudson Rock has now detected a live infection where an infostealer successfully exfiltrated a victim’s OpenClaw configuration environment,” reads the report.

“This finding marks a significant milestone in the evolution of infostealer behavior: the transition from stealing browser credentials to harvesting the ‘souls’ and identities of personal AI agents.”

HudsonRock had predicted this development since late last month, calling OpenClaw “the new primary target for infostealers” due to the highly sensitive data the agents handle and their relatively lax security posture.

Alon Gal, co-founder and CTO of Hudson Rock, told BleepingComputer that it is believed to be a variant of the Vidar infostealer, with the data stolen on February 13, 2026, when the infection took place.

Gal said the infostealer does not appear to target OpenClaw specifically, but instead executes a broad file-stealing routine that scans for sensitive files and directories containing keywords like “token” and “private key.”

As the files in the “.openclaw” configuration directory contained these keywords and others, they were stolen by the malware.

The OpenClaw files stolen by the malware are:

• openclaw.json – Exposed the victim’s redacted email, workspace path, and a high-entropy gateway authentication token, which could enable remote connection to a local OpenClaw instance (if exposed) or client impersonation in authenticated requests.
• device.json – Contained both publicKeyPem and privateKeyPem used for pairing and signing. With the private key, an attacker could sign messages as the victim’s device, potentially bypass “Safe Device” checks, and access encrypted logs or cloud services paired with the device.
• soul.md and memory files (AGENTS.md, MEMORY.md) – Define the agent’s behavior and store persistent contextual data, including daily activity logs, private messages, and calendar events.

HudsonRock’s AI analysis tool concluded that the stolen data is enough to potentially enable a full compromise of the victim’s digital identity.

The researchers comment that they expect information stealers to continue focusing on OpenClaw as the tool becomes increasingly integrated into professional workflows, incorporating more targeted mechanisms for AI agents.

Meanwhile, Tenable discovered a max-severity flaw in nanobot, an ultra-lightweight personal AI assistant inspired by OpenClaw, that could potentially allow remote attackers to hijack WhatsApp sessions via exposed instances fully.

Nanobot, released two weeks ago, already has 20k stars and over 3k forks on GitHub. The team behind the project released fixes for the flaw, tracked under CVE-2026-2577, in version 0.13.post7.

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When Alan DeKok began a side project in network security, he didn’t expect to start a 27-year career. In fact, he didn’t initially set out to work in computing at all.

DeKok studied nuclear physics before making the switch to a part of network computing that is foundational but—like nuclear physics—largely invisible to those not directly involved in the field. Eventually, a project he started as a hobby became a full-time job: maintaining one of the primary systems that helps keep the internet secure.

Today, he leads the FreeRADIUS Project, which he cofounded in the late 1990s to develop what is now the most widely used Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) software. FreeRADIUS is an open-source server that provides back-end authentication for most major internet service providers. It’s used by global financial institutions, Wi-Fi services like Eduroam, and Fortune 50 companies. DeKok is also CEO of InkBridge Networks, which maintains the server and provides support for the companies that use it.

Reflecting on nearly three decades of experience leading FreeRADIUS, DeKok says he became an expert in remote authentication “almost by accident,” and the key to his career has largely been luck. “I really believe that it’s preparing yourself for luck, being open to it, and having the skills to capitalize on it.”

From Farming to Physics

DeKok grew up on a farm outside of Ottawa growing strawberries and raspberries. “Sitting on a tractor in the heat is not particularly interesting,” says DeKok, who was more interested in working with 8-bit computers than crops. As a student at Carleton University, in Ottawa, he found his way to physics because he was interested in math but preferred the practicality of science.

While pursuing a master’s degree in physics, also at Carleton, he worked on a water-purification system for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, an underground observatory then being built at the bottom of a nickel mine. He would wake up at 4:30 in the morning to drive up to the site, descend 2 kilometers, then enter one of the world’s deepest clean-room facilities to work on the project. The system managed to achieve one atom of impurity per cubic meter of water, “which is pretty insane,” DeKok says.

But after his master’s degree, DeKok decided to take a different route. Although he found nuclear physics interesting, he says he didn’t see it as his life’s work. Meanwhile, the Ph.D. students he knew were “fanatical about physics.” He had kept up his computing skills through his education, which involved plenty of programming, and decided to look for jobs at computing companies. “I was out of physics. That was it.”

Still, physics taught him valuable lessons. For one, “You have to understand the big picture,” DeKok says. “The ability to tell the big-picture story in standards, for example, is extremely important.” This skill helps DeKok explain to standards bodies how a protocol acts as one link in the entire chain of events that needs to occur when a user wants to access the internet.

He also learned that “methods are more important than knowledge.” It’s easy to look up information, but physics taught DeKok how to break down a problem into manageable pieces to come up with a solution. “When I was eventually working in the industry, the techniques that came naturally to me, coming out of physics, didn’t seem to be taught as well to the people I knew in engineering,” he says. “I could catch up very quickly.”

Founding FreeRADIUS

In 1996, DeKok was hired as a software developer at a company called Gandalf, which made equipment for ISDN, a precursor to broadband that enabled digital transmission of data over telephone lines. Gandalf went under about a year later, and he joined CryptoCard, a company providing hardware devices for two-factor authentication.

While at CryptoCard, DeKok began spending more time working with a RADIUS server. When users want to connect to a network, RADIUS acts as a gatekeeper and verifies their identity and password, determines what they can access, and tracks sessions. DeKok moved on to a new company in 1999, but he didn’t want to lose the networking skills he had developed. No other open-source RADIUS servers were being actively developed at the time, and he saw a gap in the market.

The same year, he started FreeRADIUS in his free time and it “gradually took over my life,” DeKok says. He continued to work on the open-source software as a hobby for several years while bouncing around companies in California and France. “Almost by accident, I became one of the more senior people in the space. Then I doubled down on that and started the business.” He founded NetworkRADIUS (now called InkBridge Networks) in 2008.

By that point, FreeRADIUS was already being used by 100 million people daily. The company now employs experts in Canada, France, and the United Kingdom who work together to support FreeRADIUS. “I’d say at least half of the people in the world get on the internet by being authenticated through my software,” DeKok estimates. He attributes that growth largely to the software being open source. Initially a way to enter the market with little funding, going open source has allowed FreeRADIUS to compete with bigger companies as an industry-leading product.

Although the software is critical for maintaining secure networks, most people aren’t aware of it because it works behind the scenes. DeKok is often met with surprise that it’s still in use. He compares RADIUS to a building foundation: “You need it, but you never think about it until there’s a crack in it.”

27 Years of Fixes

Over the years, DeKok has maintained FreeRADIUS by continually making small fixes. Like using a ratcheting tool to make a change inch by inch, “you shouldn’t underestimate that ratchet effect of tiny little fixes that add up over time,” he says.

He’s seen the project through minor patches and more significant fixes, like when researchers exposed a widespread vulnerability DeKok had been trying to fix since 1998. He also watched a would-be successor to the network protocol, Diameter, rise and fall in popularity in the 2000s and 2010s. (Diameter gained traction in mobile applications but has gradually been phased out in the shift to 5G.) Though Diameter offers improvements, RADIUS is far simpler and already widely implemented, giving it an edge, DeKok explains.

And he remains confident about its future. “People ask me, ‘What’s next for RADIUS?’ I don’t see it dying.” Estimating that billions of dollars of equipment run RADIUS, he says, “It’s never going to go away.”

About his own career, DeKok says he plans to keep working on FreeRADIUS, exploring new markets and products. “I never expected to have a company and a lot of people working for me, my name on all kinds of standards, and customers all over the world. But it worked out that way.”

This article appears in the March 2026 print issue as “Alan DeKok.”

Although infrastructure like a 19th-century pumping station generally tends to be quietly decommissioned and demolished, sometimes you get enough people looking at such an object and wondering whether maybe it’d be worth preserving. Such was the case with the Claymills Pumping Station in Staffordshire, England. After starting operations in the late 19th century, the pumping station was in active use until 1971. In a recent documentary by the Claymills Pumping Station Trust, as the start of their YouTube channel, the derelict state of the station at the time is covered, as well as its long and arduous recovery since they acquired the site in 1993.

After its decommissioning, the station was eventually scheduled for demolition. Many parts had by that time been removed for display elsewhere, discarded, or outright stolen for the copper and brass. Of the four Woolf compounding rotative beam engines, units A and B had been shut down first and used for spare parts to keep the remaining units going. Along with groundwater intrusion and a decaying roof, it was in a sorry state after decades of neglect. Restoring it was a monumental task.

The inventor of the compounding beam engine, Arthur Woolf, was a Cornish engineer who had figured out how to make this more efficient steam engine work. While his engineering made pumping stations like these possible, the many workers and their families ensured that they kept working smoothly. Although firmly obsolete in the 21st century, pumping stations like these are excellent examples of all the engineering and ingenuity that got us to where we are today, and preserving them is the best way to retain all this knowledge and the memories associated with them.

For that reason, one can really congratulate the volunteers who turned this piece of history into a museum. It features a static display of the restored machinery. If you want to see it running, there are seven demonstrations of the station operating under steam every year, during which the six-story tall machinery can be observed in all its glory.

Top image: Claymills Pumping Station in 2010. (Credit: Ashley Dace)

One morning, you wake up and realize that your business has grown to the point where you can no longer afford to get into that old, worn-out diesel subcompact. Instead, you schedule a test drive of a brand-new electric vehicle. The business transitioning from password-based security to passkey technology experiences a similarly transformative feeling. Now, let’s dive into the details and break it down thoroughly!

Passwords have powered digital authentication for decades — much like an old diesel subcompact that somehow keeps starting every morning. But the engine is coughing. The doors don’t lock properly. Anyone who knows the trick can jiggle the handle and get in.

Research shows that 49% of security incidents involve compromised passwords, according to Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report, while 84% of users admit to reusing the same password across multiple accounts — creating a cascade of vulnerabilities. These are not minor inconveniences — they are warning lights flashing on the dashboard, signaling systemic risk.

Passwordless authentication, particularly through passkeys, is like upgrading to a high-tech bullet car: faster, sleeker, and nearly impossible to derail. The ride is smoother, quieter, and significantly harder to hijack.

For organizations under ISO/IEC 27001, switching from passwords to passkeys is less like a casual upgrade and more like overhauling an entire airline fleet to meet stringent new safety standards. It requires ensuring that the new drivetrain aligns with established controls, risk treatment plans, and documentation obligations.

This article examines how organizations can transition to passkeys while maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 compliance — covering the technical foundations and offering practical guidance for IT professionals navigating this modernization journey.

How passwordless authentication works: Technical foundations

Passwordless authentication eliminates the cognitive burden of remembering passwords. Authentication relies on cryptographic keys, biometrics, or possession-based factors — what you have or what you are.

Passkeys represent the most mature implementation of this approach. Passkeys, built on FIDO2 and WebAuthn standards, are like the latest GPS technology — they guide you securely to your destination without the risk of getting lost or taking a wrong turn.

When you create a passkey, your device generates a cryptographic key pair: a private key that stays locked on your device, and a public key that’s registered with the service. During authentication, the service sends a challenge, your device signs it with the private key, and the service verifies the signature. Because the private key never leaves your device, attackers have nothing to intercept or phish.

NIST’s Digital Identity Guidelines (SP 800-63B) classify authentication methods by Authenticator Assurance Level (AAL). Passkeys typically meet AAL2 or AAL3 requirements, representing a significant security upgrade over traditional password-based authentication.

Modern passkeys come in two flavors: device-bound (stored in hardware like security keys) and syncable (backed up across devices through encrypted cloud services). NIST’s updated guidance from August 2024 explicitly addresses syncable authenticators, recognizing that users who lose their only authentication method face significant access recovery challenges.

The adoption numbers tell a compelling story. FIDO Alliance reports that more than 15 billion online accounts now support passkeys — double the figure from 2023. Amazon has created 175 million passkeys, while Google reports 800 million accounts with passkeys enabled. The revolution is already underway.

ISO/IEC 27001 compliance requirements

ISO/IEC 27001 is like a detailed road map for navigating the complex terrain of information security risks, ensuring you don’t take a wrong turn. The 2022 revision reorganized Annex A controls into four themes: organizational, people, physical, and technological.

Authentication falls primarily under three controls:

• Annex A 5.15 (Access Control) defines rules and rights for accessing information and systems. Organizations must establish policies covering user authentication, authorization, access provisioning, and access revocation procedures.

• Annex A 5.17 (Authentication Information) requires organization-wide procedures for allocating and managing authentication credentials, including documenting authentication methods and protecting authentication data.

• Annex A 8.5 (Secure Authentication) specifies technical implementation requirements, including multi-factor authentication for privileged access.

For organizations with ISO/IEC 27001 certification, adopting passkeys requires demonstrating that the new authentication method meets or exceeds existing control objectives, that risks have been properly assessed, and that implementation is thoroughly documented.

Mapping passwordless adoption to ISO/IEC 27001 controls

Transitioning to passkeys touches multiple ISO/IEC 27001 controls. Here’s how to align your implementation:

A 5.15 (Access Control)

• Define passkey scope by risk level: device-bound passkeys for privileged accounts (AAL3), syncable passkeys for standard users (AAL2)

• Document fallback procedures for device loss scenarios

• Establish clear policies for when and how users can authenticate without passkeys during transition periods

A 5.17 (Authentication Information)

• Document the complete enrollment process, including who initiates registration and what identity verification steps are required

• Define encryption requirements for databases storing public keys

• Specify re-enrollment triggers: device compromise, security incidents, device loss, or role changes

• Establish access controls for authentication data management

A 8.5 (Secure Authentication)

• Demonstrate MFA compliance by documenting how passkeys provide two factors: possession (the device) plus biometrics or device PIN

• Explain how cryptographic binding to specific domains prevents use on phishing sites

• Detail technical implementation of WebAuthn protocols and FIDO2 standards

Risk assessment and treatment

• Document eliminated risks: credential theft through phishing, password reuse across services, brute force attacks, credential stuffing

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• Address new risks: device loss or theft, vendor lock-in with syncable passkeys, recovery complexity, downgrade attacks where attackers manipulate interfaces to force fallback authentication

• Establish monitoring procedures for detecting and responding to new attack vectors

Organizations should prioritize device-bound passkeys (AAL3) for privileged accounts and syncable passkeys (AAL2) for standard users. Document fallback procedures, encryption standards, and re-enrollment triggers to satisfy auditor requirements.

Benefits of passkeys

Real-world implementation data reveals benefits beyond theoretical threat modeling.  Google reports that passkeys eliminate password-based attacks entirely for accounts that use them exclusively, with a 30% improvement in authentication success rates and 20% faster sign-in times. Sony PlayStation observed an 88% conversion rate for users who started enrollment.

Password management creates ongoing operational costs through help desk calls for password resets, account lockouts, administrative overhead, oil changes, new tires, you get it? Gartner reports that password-related issues account for 20-40% of all help desk calls, with each reset costing organizations an average of $70 in direct support time.

Microsoft’s shift to passkeys as the default sign-in method for all new accounts, supporting over 1 billion users, represents a significant industry move away from this support burden. These costs accumulate quickly across enterprise environments with thousands of users.

Passkeys naturally align with multiple compliance requirements: NIST AAL2/AAL3 phishing-resistant authentication, PCI DSS 4.0 multi-factor authentication, GDPR reduced personal data exposure, and SOC 2 strong access controls. For organizations juggling multiple compliance frameworks, passkeys provide a single technical control that addresses requirements across standards.

Challenges and misconceptions

Passkeys significantly improve security, but implementation requires understanding their limitations. As an electric vehicle won’t take you 1,000 miles on a single charge the way diesel would. Modern technology requires modern infrastructure — charging stations, service networks, trained technicians. Passkeys face similar dependencies.

Passkeys aren’t completely phishing-proof

While passkeys resist traditional credential phishing, attackers adapt. Downgrade attacks force users back to passwords by manipulating authentication pages. Device code phishing and OAuth consent attacks bypass passkey protections entirely.

These attacks don’t compromise passkey cryptography — they exploit implementation choices and user behavior. Organizations should:

• Monitor for downgrade attempts

• Disable password fallback where possible

• Train users to recognize suspicious authentication flows

Account recovery complexity

If a user loses their device and hasn’t backed up their passkey, they’ve lost their authentication credential. Recovery approaches include:

• Email-based recovery (reintroduces email compromise as an attack vector)

• Backup passkeys on multiple devices

• Manual identity verification by administrators

• Recovery codes generated during enrollment

Each approach has security implications that your ISO/IEC 27001 documentation should address in detail.

Mixed authentication environments

Few organizations can go fully passwordless overnight. During transition periods, you’ll operate mixed environments where some users authenticate with passkeys while others use passwords. This creates:

• Inconsistent security posture — Your most sensitive systems may rely on passkeys while legacy applications still accept weak passwords, creating exploitable gaps.

• Policy enforcement challenges — Different authentication methods require different security policies, making it difficult to maintain uniform access controls across the organization.

• Audit trail complexity — Security teams must track and correlate authentication events across multiple systems, complicating incident investigation and compliance reporting.

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• User confusion — Employees struggle to remember which accounts use passkeys and which still require passwords, leading to support calls and productivity loss.

Enterprise implementation considerations

Enterprise password management platforms should support:

• WebAuthn-based authentication through fingerprint readers, Face ID, PIN codes, and hardware security keys

• Flexible authentication policies allowing administrators to enforce passwordless authentication for specific user groups while maintaining password-based authentication for others during transition periods

• Email verification and authentication to ensure account recovery mechanisms reach legitimate recipients

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• Audit trails and monitoring tracking authentication events, passkey registration, and modifications

These capabilities enable gradual migration while maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 compliance.

Best practices for implementation

• Prioritize by risk — Start with privileged accounts (administrators, developers with production access, users handling sensitive data). Document your prioritization rationale to demonstrate the risk-based thinking that ISO/IEC 27001 demands.

• Maintain defense in depth — Passkeys should be one layer in a comprehensive security strategy. Combine with robust session management, authentication pattern monitoring, and device security requirements (encryption, screen locks).

• Plan the transition — Define clear migration timelines with deadlines for passkey adoption by user population. Track which users continue using legacy authentication. Make clear this is a temporary state with a defined end date.

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• Address account recovery proactively — Require multiple recovery options during enrollment. Test recovery procedures regularly. Monitor recovery usage for unusual spikes that may indicate phishing campaigns.

• Document thoroughly — ISO/IEC 27001 requires documented information for controls implementation. Maintain records of technical architecture, policy updates, risk assessments, operational procedures, and training materials. This documentation demonstrates compliance during audits and creates institutional knowledge that survives employee turnover.

The test drive is over: Time to sign the papers?

Your old password-based authentication still gets you from point A to point B — but is it ready for tomorrow’s journey? Passkeys don’t eliminate all authentication risks, but organizations that build adaptable authentication frameworks today will be better positioned to incorporate emerging technologies while maintaining rigorous security governance.

Passkeys represent a fundamental shift in authentication security, offering measurable improvements in security, user experience, and operational efficiency. For ISO/IEC 27001-compliant organizations, success requires risk-based prioritization, comprehensive documentation, and thoughtful management of the transition period.

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You might assume that moving into a leadership position means that you already have the skills you need to succeed, but everyone benefits from a long-term learning strategy.

It takes commitment to advance to a leadership role, as you strive to prove you have the skills needed to lead others in the workplace. By the time you make your way up the career ladder, it is a fair assumption that you have all of the skills you might need ready to go, but that often isn’t the case.

Whether you are an early-career hire, or an established employee working out the last few years before retirement, everyone needs to have an upskilling plan that ensures they are keeping on top of changes and the needs of the working environment. 

So, with that in mind, which skills should employees looking towards a future in leadership prioritise?

Agility

In today’s shifting landscape one of the most important skills a future leader can have is the ability to transform and move with the changing times. In 2026, the modern workplace is being impacted by a range of factors, from the technological wave that is AI and the DEI response to the climate crisis, to mass global layoffs and increasing worldwide political tensions. 

Anyone looking to get ahead needs to be agile, ready to learn and unlearn in a short space of time, so they can help others through the chaos. Agility can be learned in a number of ways. For example, by experimenting with new ideas, technologies and processes, by being receptive to challenges and new opportunities, by seeking out constructive feedback and making the commitment to learn and grow from mistakes in a positive way.  

Basically, if you as the leader can’t roll with the punches, how can you expect your team and co-workers to?

Emotional intelligence 

Emotional intelligence, that is the ability to strongly identify, use and control your emotions, is fast becoming a coveted workplace soft skill. Perhaps as a response to rapidly changing global workplace dynamics. A true benefit in the working environment, skills in this space can enable leaders to ascend the career ladder quickly, improve cohesion, enhance trust, navigate risk and overall, create professional spaces for people to get their work done. 

To improve EQ employees should focus on other skills that lend themselves to higher emotional intelligence, for example, improved listening, clear communication, adaptability and critical thinking. As this particular skill depends on grouping a range of other abilities together, workshops, online courses and tutorials can be a more straightforward and convenient way to upskill in this area. 

Transparency

Openness and transparency in the workplace are critical to maintaining a content and productive atmosphere, in which important conversations and decisions can be made. To ensure a good start in your leadership journey, you should adopt a mindset of honesty. This can be achieved by being aware of your own limitations, addressing skills gaps, be they yours or co-workers, by ensuring that relevant information is not siloed and by embracing feedback. By creating strong channels of communication, through face-to-face meetings, online engagement and regular reviews, leaders show that they are committed to developing a cohesive and collaborative working culture. 

Strategy

When you first start in a leadership position it might be tempting to just ‘go with the flow’ and not ‘rock the boat’ for the first few weeks. Which is a fair plan, as you need time to acclimate and get your bearings, however, before too long you may find that part of this new professional experience includes making long-term plans. You are going to need to know how to strategise for the future. Having a strategic vision is about the ability to plan ahead, spot trends and patterns and ask the important questions before challenges arise. 

Professionals who want to work on their strategic thinking skills should work to expand their idea of the bigger picture, for example by attending industry-relevant events, networking with experts and following industry-relevant reports, surveys and announcements. Professionals should strive to ask smarter questions and should be open to exploring new avenues, as a means of discovering what works, what doesn’t work and what could be improved. 

Career-goers in leadership roles could also benefit from an in-depth knowledge of how various different ecosystems interact with and impact one another, as more and more we see workplace dynamics and expectations morphing. 

Perhaps most importantly, leaders should ensure that they take the time to reflect on their strategies and their overall approach to leadership. Changing your style as the landscape changes around you is not a sign that you have made a mistake, but rather that you recognise that your responsibilities are evolving and so must you. 

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Eating well means focusing on a balanced, nutritious diet that includes vegetables, fruits, greens, whole grains, proteins and even treats in moderation. Although highly processed foods are not as healthy as fresh foods, you don’t need to avoid them completely or feel bad when you eat them. Just be sure you consume them in moderation.

To improve your health and balance out your diet, we compiled a list of 10 foods to be mindful of when dining out or cooking at home. Remember, you can still have them, just limit how frequently you eat them.

10 foods that can negatively affect your health

While the following foods are particularly lacking in nutrition, the point of paying attention to this list is less about cutting each item out entirely and more about realizing how little they bring to your diet. We don’t recommend you avoid these foods completely as food restriction can potentially trigger disordered eating. The main takeaway here is that it’s OK to eat the foods on this list as long as you’re also eating nutrient-rich foods that provide you with the vitamins and minerals you need. 

Many of the following foods contain highly refined grains, high amounts of trans fats or other processed fats that are hard for the body to use effectively. The foods lack many of the key nutrients such as dietary fiber, that promote gut health. Over time, depriving your body of the many vitamins, minerals and nutrients of whole foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains may create deficiencies that have medical symptoms. 

White bread 

White bread is made with a kind of bread flour that is processed from wheat. The processing removes bran and germ: parts of wheat grain. Whole wheat will generally be darker and denser, because it contains more nutrients and more fiber. These two aspects are great for your digestion and give your body the nutrition it needs. White bread has a nice light flavor but it’s made of just the endosperm layer of a wheat grain, and it contains less nutritional value. Instead, choose whole grain bread, which is loaded with essential nutrients.

To learn more about how complex carbs help keep you healthy, check out why you should be eating more carbs, not less.

Potato chips 

Many of the reasons why eating too many chips can be harmful is because they don’t provide a balanced source of calories. The amount of oil and simple carbohydrates they contain makes them calorie-dense but they aren’t correspondingly full of useful nutrients like vitamins. Chips that don’t contain any preservatives are a nice option for an occasional delicious indulgence but eating nothing but chips in a meal will leave your body wishing for more vitamins, protein and fiber.

French fries

French fries include many of the same nutrients as chips, although there’s more actual potato in a french fry. The crispiness of a french fry, however, doesn’t have to be from deep-fat frying, which has a lot of oils if you eat them often. In an air fryer, a thin sheen of oil (or even zero oil) can still get you a homemade, low-salt batch of french fries made from basically only potatoes. If your diet already has enough oil in it, this could be a good way to get a crispy treat without going over your daily value. 

Fried chicken 

Chicken is a delicious lean protein, but the breading on fried chicken tends to include white flour, oil and salt. These three ingredients are fine in moderation, but choosing grilled chicken or air-fried chicken could help you to reduce unhealthy ingredients if you’re already getting more than the recommended amount. 

Processed meats 

Generally, processed meats have few nutrients in them that, when consumed in excess, have been linked to negative medical outcomes. Processing meats sometimes involves adding nitrates and nitrites, which have been linked to higher cancer risk when eaten in moderation. Also, sodium is built into processed meat at fairly substantial levels. Whenever possible, cook and eat fresh meat.

Sugary cereals 

Like eating candy, sugary cereal often has a lot of simple carbohydrates and sugars compared to a lower protein, fiber and vitamin content. As a breakfast option, sugary cereals can also result in a blood sugar crash that makes you feel hungry soon after eating the cereal. Choosing a lower sugar cereal that has more protein and fiber included, as well as a plant-based or dairy milk can help you feel full and energetic longer.

Margarine 

Margarine was turned to when the saturated fats in butter were seen as a negative for our health. However, margarine varies: In some countries, it has harmful trans fats that aren’t easily processed by the body and in many cases it has a similar amount of processed saturated fat. Read the label or choose a less processed oil, like olive oil, as a bread topper if you really want to cut butter from your diet.

Frozen entrees 

All frozen entrees aren’t created equal — flash-frozen vegetables and cooked chicken, for instance, sometimes are low in preservatives and are a great way to eat if you need convenience food. However, for premade meals, check what types of food and other items are in your meal, especially if you’re worried about preservatives or food coloring in your diet.

Boxed mac and cheese 

While some of the prominent brands of mac and cheese have been found to be high in harmful chemicals, a big reason they’re considered unhealthy is from the high amount of simple carbohydrates and fats and low nutritional value. If you love the cheesy pasta, though, don’t despair: There are a variety of versions now that are either incorporating whole grains, vegetables like cauliflower and lower levels of preservatives and fats. 

Baked goods

Cakes, donuts and other baked goods can be delicious. But they can also be loaded with simple carbohydrates and saturated fats. Plus, they have very little fiber, protein or vitamins. If you make your own baked goods, however, it’s easy to make a treat that will deliver more nutrition, be it with some whole wheat flour substituted, an unsaturated fat substituted for butter or adding fruits or grated zucchini to increase vitamin content.