December 2, 2022
Security: Attackers lure users to install malware via TikTok challenge
SC Media
Bad actors are taking advantage of a popular TikTok challenge in an attempt to trick users into downloading malware, according to new research from security firm Checkmarx.

The “Invisible Challenge” is when a person poses naked while using a special effect called “Invisible Body,” which makes a blurred contour image of the person’s body, according to a Nov. 28 Checkmarx blog post. The challenge had more than 25 million views for the #invisiblefilter hashtag, noted Checkmarx. Read More
Healthcare IT: Large language models help decipher clinical notes
MIT News
Researchers used a powerful deep-learning model to extract important data from electronic health records that could assist with personalized medicine.

Electronic health records (EHRs) need a new public relations manager. Ten years ago, the U.S. government passed a law that strongly encouraged the adoption of electronic health records with the intent of improving and streamlining care. The enormous amount of information in these now-digital records could be used to answer very specific questions beyond the scope of clinical trials: What’s the right dose of this medication for patients with this height and weight? What about patients with a specific genomic profile? Read More
Homeland Security: Cyber and physical threats illuminate need for security convergence in energy sector
Homeland Security Today
“Security convergence” is the industry term used to describe the uniting of cyber and physical security into a single organizational structure. It is a point of discussion among practitioners since ASIS International and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) established the Alliance for Enterprise Security Risk Management – an organization dedicated to this concept – 17 years ago. Yet only 52.5 percent of large companies surveyed are either “fully or partially converged,” as noted by Megan Gates in the latest issue of Security Management. Gates also cites the Colonial Pipeline incident, which operated as a traditionally siloed cyber and physical security program and is now merging security functions in the wake of experiencing a crippling ransomware attack in May. Critical infrastructure providers, particularly those in the energy sector, cannot operate effectively with cyber and physical security information siloes in place. Read More
Transportation: Tesla delivers its first electric semis to PepsiCo
Transport Topics
Tesla Inc. has handed over the first of its long-awaited battery-electric Class 8 tractors to private fleet operator PepsiCo, kicking off customer deliveries for the vehicle originally unveiled more than five years ago.

The electric vehicle maker and its CEO, Elon Musk, celebrated those initial Tesla Semi production units and offered more information about the vehicle’s design and capabilities during a Dec. 1 event at the company’s Gigafactory near Reno, Nev. The event was streamed live on Twitter, which Musk recently purchased. Read More
Human Resources: Gartner: Fewer than one-third of employees believe their pay is fair
HR Dive
Only 32% of employees say they are fairly compensated, and only 34% say their pay is equitable, according to results from a second quarter Gartner survey of more than 3,500 workers. 

Despite employees’ perceptions, most organizations reported to Gartner a prioritization of pay equity; 84% of total rewards leaders who responded to a July survey said they conduct annual pay equity audits, and 72% said their organization’s senior leadership regarded pay equity as a high or very high priority. 

Workers’ perceptions do not necessarily reflect company commitments, Gartner pointed out. “Employee perceptions of pay equity aren’t rooted in compensation,” said Tony Guadagni, senior principal in Gartner’s HR practice, in a release. “Instead, the main driver of perception is organizational trust — when employees don’t trust their employers, they don’t believe their pay is fair or equitable.” Read More
Business & Technology: CIOs find big benefits in shift to human-centered design
CIO
As a service organization, Save the Children wants to know the impact of its programs.

And the information it needs to gather to make that judgment differs from data typically collected by reporting software, says Sarah Angel-Johnson, the UK-based NGO’s CIO and vice president of business and technology solutions.

Using traditional measures, around project outputs, was serving neither the workers nor the children they aid as well as the organization wanted. So Angel-Johnson and her IT team have been reframing their thinking, drawing on the principles of human-centered design. They’re creating personas, including one representing children, and considering scenarios from their perspectives, asking, “What do they need?” “It has revolutionized how we approach technology and data,” Angel-Johnson says. Read More