The short arm of predictive knowledge refers to the fact that it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict all the possible outcomes of an evolving, technologically-based society. One change in technology can lead to an entirely different outcome down the road that we just could not predict based on the knowledge we had at the time. Technology is just changing too rapidly to allow for that kind of long-term prediction. Our predictions are short-term at best if they come to pass at all.

Given this, we need to take a very specific approach to our development of cyber policy and infrastructure. We must do our best to build it in a way that allows for future changes and easy updates, as much as possible. We must design it so that it can grow and keep up with the changes. It must be able to evolve, or it will be left behind. We must keep cybersecurity at the forefront of the designs and do our best to design systems that are inherently secure. We must also invest in cyber and technology research to try to stay at the forefront of the changes. Criminals and their methods change as fast as technology, and we need to design policies and infrastructure that stay one step ahead of the criminals.

We must follow a framework designed with cybersecurity in mind that includes prevention, detection, and response if/when a security incident occurs. It is not enough to prepare to keep criminals out of our systems. We must also prepare for what we do if they get into our systems, compromising the confidentiality, integrity, and/or reliability of our data and networks. All of our cyber policies and infrastructure should keep this in mind.  Because we can’t predict where technology will take us, we need systems and policies that are easily adaptable and able to maintain a secure environment even as technology continues to grow. That might be the most important part of all. We know that technology will continue to change, and since we cannot predict those changes, our systems must have the capabilities to change and grow also.