July 8, 2022
Security: Human error blamed for leak of 1 billion records of Chinese citizens
Threatpost
A prominent Chinese tech CEO has cited human error as the likely reason hackers got their hands on the personal data of 1 billion people in China from a Shanghai police database and then put some of it up for sale on illicit online markets.

A government developer wrote a blog post on the China Software Developer Network (CSDN) that accidentally included the credentials to the system where the data was stored, Zhao Changpeng, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, said on Twitter Monday. CSDN is one of the largest developer networks in China. Read More
Healthcare IT: Indian Institute of Technology researchers develop AI tool to identify cancer-causing genes
MobiHealthNews
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras have come up with a new AI prediction tool that can detect cancer-causing genes in individuals.

Dubbed PIVOT, the AI tool is based on a prediction model that uses information on mutations, expression of genes, and copy number variation in genes and perturbations in the biological network due to an altered gene expression. Read More
Homeland Security: Ransomware actors with ‘very low-level’ skills committing more attacks, DHS official says
Homeland Security Today
Ransomware tools are opening up the field to a growing number of less tech-savvy actors even as many ransomware operations have increased in sophistication, DHS Assistant Secretary for Cyber, Infrastructure, Risk and Resilience Iranga Kahangama told Congress.

“I think it’s appropriate to liken a ransomware organization almost to a modern-day mob or mafia,” Kahangama said June 28 at a Michigan field hearing of the House Homeland Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism on combating ransomware. “It’s very large structures. There is something called ransomware as a service, in which you break up a ransomware attack into different parts. There is initial access. There is deploying malware. There’s getting the money. These are kits that you can literally buy online. Read More
Transportation: DHS S&T demonstrates remote screening capabilities for airport security checkpoints
Transportation Today
In a test undertaken with developer Integrated Defense & Security Solutions (IDSS) at the Cape Cod Gateway Airport of Massachusetts, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) recently showed off the potential of remote screening infrastructure.

Meant to enhance airport security checkpoints, this technology proved capable of sending computer tomography (CT) X-ray images of carry-on baggage to remote locations in near real-time. Read More
Human Resources: Designing learning programs for a hybrid workplace
Harvard Business Review
The shift to remote and hybrid work, which is likely to be lasting or permanent for many organizations, has brought enormous amounts of anxiety about how to attract, develop, and retain talent when we aren’t always (or even often) physically together. Developing talent feels to many like an almost impossible task due in large part to the common misconception that formal and informal learning are best done when people are in the same room.

Why do so many people believe this? Mostly because that’s the world we know — the one that feels familiar to us and therefore “right.” But just because you did most of your learning in physical classrooms doesn’t mean that it was the only (or best) way for you to learn. Yes, you learned things. However, do you really remember everything you learned? Was it the most effective and efficient way of teaching you? If you’re really honest, how many times did you find that you had to teach yourself the material in preparation for the exam because the class itself did nothing for you? And then, after taking the test, how quickly did you forget it all? Read More
Business & Technology: The Edison Ratio: What business and IT leaders get wrong about innovation
CIO
Genius, opined Thomas Edison, who had firsthand knowledge of the subject, consists of 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Call it the “Edison Ratio.” While one might haggle over the exact numbers, the Edison Ratio provides a useful benchmark for what it takes to make an inspired idea real.

And it cuts straight to a key reason organizations often fail at innovation: They overemphasize innovation’s need for new ideas while remaining oblivious to — or eternally optimistic about — the volume of work necessary to execute each and every one of them. Read More