November 18, 2022
Security: The state of ransomware in state and local government
SC Media
Ransomware in state and local governments is a significant threat to all branches and departments. In the very best case scenario: A government office is targeted by a successful ransomware attack. Thanks to an excellent allocation of resources, well-orchestrated protocols and employee adherence to the protocols, effects on services and infrastructure related to the attack are minimal, and little financial damages are incurred. 

In the very worst case scenario: A government office is targeted by a successful ransomware attack and no one is prepared. Read More
Healthcare IT: AI helps Stanford researchers show link between first opioid Rx and dependency
Healthcare IT News
The U.S. is being ravaged by an opioid epidemic that costs tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars each year. Dr. Tina Hernandez-Boussard, associate professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and her fellow researchers said they could not let this continue.

"Our goal was to use big data and advanced technologies to identify the causes of opioid addiction and recommend strategies to stem this chronic use," she stated. To perform this study, the team needed a large volume of data. Read More
Homeland Security: Making vital, timely, actionable emergency services sector information easily accessible
Homeland Security Today
The EMR-ISAC works with many federal partners to enhance information and intelligence sharing with the emergency response community. It shares emergent threat and critical infrastructure protection information primarily via the InfoGram, EMR-ISAC bulletins and the Homeland Security Information Network — Emergency Services (HSIN-ES).

The EMR-ISAC has published over 1,000 editions of the InfoGram since it debuted in January 2001. Each edition contains timely and relevant information regarding responder safety, awareness, planning, prevention, education, training and funding opportunities affecting ESS personnel nationwide. Published weekly and free to subscribers, the InfoGram is distributed to over 186,000 members of the ESS from federal, state, local, tribal and territorial organizations. Read More
Transportation: Microsoft Supply Chain Platform launched as open approach platform to unite fragmented supply chain systems
Transportation Today
The supply chain is diverse, multifaceted, and often hopelessly fragmented across time and capabilities, but Microsoft attempted to wade into it this week with the Microsoft Supply Chain Platform, a new design approach for organizations to improve their data, automation, and sustainability.

“Businesses are dealing with petabytes of data spread across legacy systems, ERP, supply chain management, and point solutions, resulting in a fragmented view of the supply chain,” said Charles Lamanna, corporate vice president of Microsoft Business Applications and Platform. “Supply chain agility and resilience are directly tied to how well organizations connect and orchestrate their data across all relevant systems. Read More
Human Resources: Aging population will keep talent pool tight even in a recession
HR Dive
Workers will continue to have bargaining power next year, despite a potential recession, a trends report released Wednesday by Indeed and Glassdoor said.

Economists say that demographic patterns like the aging population will keep the U.S. labor market tight for years to come. Couple that with workers’ evolving preferences for remote work, higher pay, better benefits and schedule flexibility, and employers will continue to struggle to attract workers, the report said. 

“The overall workforce is getting older. That will drive a lot of the tightness we’re going to see,” Indeed Chief Economist Svenja Gudell told HR Dive. Read More
Business & Technology: Your competitors aren’t always who you think they are
Harvard Business Review
Most executives think they know who they’re competing against — the major firms in their field or entrepreneurial “ankle biters” with a new technology or business model. But what happens when your competitors aren’t who you think they are? Specifically, how do you devise a winning business strategy when you are competing not just against incumbents or upstarts from your industry, but against the ever-changing expectations of your customers, whose encounters with products and services reach far beyond the established boundaries of your industry? Read More