November 19, 2021
Security: California Pizza Kitchen Serves Up Employee SSNs in Data Breach
Threatpost
A hefty slice of data – that of 100K+ current and former employees – was spilled in an “external system breach,” the pizza chain said. 

California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) served up more than tasty meals recently after a data breach exposed the names and Social Security numbers (SSNs) of more than 100,000 current and former employees.

The “external system breach” occurred on Sept. 15 at the popular U.S. pizza chain and affected 103,767 people, according to a Data Breach Notification posted on the website of the Maine Attorney General. CPK, founded in Beverly Hills, Calif. in 1985, has more than 250 locations across 32 states. Read more
Healthcare IT: Looking Back on a Year of Interoperability Milestones at eHealth Exchange
Healthcare IT News
After more than a decade of hard work, and not a little frustration at the slow pace of change, interoperability has been making some significant progress recently. And 2021 has been a particularly notable year for U.S. efforts toward more widespread and seamless data flow, says Jay Nakashima, executive director of eHealth Exchange.

The nationwide exchange – it's literally in all 50 states – is a network of networks that links federal agencies and private-sector healthcare organizations for care delivery and public health. In recent times, of course, that's meant, among other imperatives, "sending millions of COVID-19 testing and diagnoses reports to the CDC, and other national and state agencies." Read More
Homeland Security: TSA Ready for Holiday Travel Surge Despite Reports of Staffing Concerns
Homeland Security Today
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) expects to screen about 20 million passengers during the Thanksgiving holiday, which runs from Friday, Nov. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 28. 

“We anticipate that travel may be very close to pre-pandemic levels this holiday, and we are staffed and prepared for the holiday travelers. We have deployed technologies that enhance detection capabilities and reduce physical contact, and it’s equally important that passengers are prepared with travel tips for the most efficient checkpoint experience,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “With overall vaccination rates improving nationwide and greater confidence in healthy travel, there will be more people traveling so plan ahead, remain vigilant and practice kindness.” Read More
Transportation: Congress Mandates New Car Technology to Stop Drunken Driving
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has created a new requirement for automakers: Find a high-tech way to keep drunken people from driving cars. It’s one of the mandates along with a burst of new spending aimed at improving auto safety amid escalating road fatalities in the $1 trillion infrastructure package that President Joe Biden is expected to sign soon.

Under the legislation, monitoring systems to stop intoxicated drivers would roll out in all new vehicles as early as 2026, after the Transportation Department assesses the best form of technology to install in millions of vehicles and automakers are given time to comply. Read More
Human Resources: Talent Acquisition vs. Recruitment: Understanding the Difference
HRMorning
Hiring. Recruiting. Talent acquisition. Doesn’t it all mean the same thing? There’s actually a crucial difference between recruiting and talent acquisition, and understanding this will help you establish a more effective hiring strategy.

Recruiting happens when employers are addressing a current opening — they need a spot filled right away, so they look for candidates to do that job.

Talent acquisition is long-term planning that involves building relationships with talent — with the intention of hiring them at some point in the future. For example, some roles take much longer to fill than others, so proactive employers begin looking for potential talent before the job is even open. Read More
Business & Technology: The Secret Art of Technical Architecture Improvement
CIO
Choose one word to describe your company’s technical architecture and it would likely be “really complicated.”

Okay, that’s two words, but most technical architectures really are really complicated. Figuring out how to simplify and improve them? We’ll need to repeat “really” a few more times: That’s really, Really, really complicated.

Of course, when anything is that complicated — or convoluted — it helps to break things down before building up an improvement plan. Read More