January 22, 2021
Security: Hackers Hijacked Cloud Accounts of High-Tech and Aviation Firms, Hid in Systems for Years
SC Media
A sophisticated threat actor gained illegal access into the networks of high-tech and aviation companies by initially hacking into their cloud-based services. Attacker dwell time on the secretly infiltrated networks sometimes lasted as long as three years.

The effectiveness of this operation serves as a reminder of the risks of openly sharing and storing plain-text network credentials or sensitive VPN/network access instructions on internet-accessible apps or servers. Read More
Healthcare IT: Trials and Tribulations – The New World of Decentralized Trials
MobiHealthNews
Clinical trials have become big news this year amid the search for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. They are a critical component of helping the FDA validate that new drugs and diagnostics will be both safe and effective.

Pharmaceutical companies spend over $45B a year running clinical trials, which are, by design, very methodical and measured. Unfortunately, they are also slow, unpredictable and massively inefficient. Read More
Homeland Security: U.S. Could Face a Simmering, Chronic Domestic Terror Problem, Warn security Experts
Homeland Security News Wire
Several U.S. security experts say they now consider domestic extremism a greater threat to the country than international terror. According to my research on political violence, the U.S. has all the elements that, combined, can produce a low-intensity terrorist conflict: extreme polarization and armed factions willing to break the law, in a wealthy democracy with a strong government. Read More
Transportation: Tesla’s Autopilot Won’t Achieve Full Autonomy, Waymo CEO Says
Transport Topics
Tesla Inc. has taken a misguided approach to developing fully autonomous cars and its “full self-driving” system will fail to live up to its billing, the head of Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo told a German business magazine.

“It is a misconception that you can simply develop a driver assistance system further until one day you can magically jump to a fully autonomous driving system,” John Krafcik, the CEO of Waymo, said in an interview with Manager Magazin. Krafcik’s barb was aimed at Autopilot, which has stoked controversy since Tesla first introduced the suite of driver assistance features in 2014. Read More
Human Resources: HR, IT Will Spend 2021 Cleaning Up Last Year's Breakneck Digital Shift
HR Dive
Any hopes HR leaders had for thoughtful tech transformation at the beginning of 2020 may have been dashed as soon as the first lockdown orders went out. Many leaders had to figure out how to operate a digital workspace in just a few days' time, Ron Hanscome, vice president, research in the Gartner HR practice, told HR Dive.

After a potentially slapdash transformation, questions proliferated. How are employees feeling? How does HR make sure a disparate workforce feels heard? How does HR ensure people are working? Read More
Business & Technology: 15 SLA Mistakes IT Leaders Still Make
CIO
Being diligent about service-level agreements (SLAs) has always been important for IT organizations working with IT service and cloud providers. But understanding how to negotiate, structure, manage, measure, and report on these metrics is more crucial than ever.

“Given digital transformation and the spending cuts across IT and business lines, it is critical to confirm the expected outcomes in advance relative to the IT spend, otherwise IT leaders will be disillusioned and disappointed in the results,” says Dave Jordan, vice president and global head of consulting and services integration at Tata Consultancy Services. Read More