August 6, 2021
Security: Zoom Settlement: An $85M Business Case for Security Investment
Threatpost
Ransomware isn’t the only way lax security can cost a business eight figures in damage. Zoom just lost an $85 million class-action lawsuit this week for its cybersecurity missteps, proving that even the most essential and relied-upon brands can be tripped up by inadequate security. More importantly, Zoom’s journey is an object lesson showing that cybersecurity matters to the bottom line.

“This large Zoom settlement should be a wake-up call to not only all software and service providers, but also for the enterprises that use them,” Emil Sayegh, president and CEO of Ntirety explained to Threatpost. Read more
Healthcare IT: Business Owners Can Now List Vaccination Requirements on Yelp
MobiHealthNews
Yelp will allow businesses to display information on their profiles about COVID-19 vaccination requirements and whether staff are vaccinated. 

The review website and app announced Thursday that businesses can post whether customers must show proof of vaccination and whether staff are fully vaccinated. Users will also be able to filter businesses based on those vaccination policies.

Yelp will help protect businesses that use the new features from negative reviews about their COVID-19 policies, according to Reuters. Read More
Homeland Security: CISA Launches New Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative
Homeland Security Today
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the standup of the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC) today, a new agency effort to lead the development of cyber defense operations plans, and to execute those plans in coordination with partners from the federal interagency, private sector, and state, local, tribal, territorial (SLTT) government stakeholders to drive down risk before an incident and to unify defensive actions should an incident occur.

CISA is establishing the JCDC to integrate unique cyber capabilities across multiple federal agencies, many state and local governments, and countless private sector entities to achieve shared objectives. Read More
Transportation: Uber’s Do-It-All Approach Stalls Pursuit of Profit
Transport Topics
Another quarter passed, and Uber Technologies Inc. is a little further from its goal of posting an adjusted profit by the end of the year.

The second-quarter results showed a wider loss before interest, tax and other expenses than the prior period, a surprising slip that sent the stock down as much as 9.4% in extended trading Aug. 4.

The loss was especially unexpected because Uber’s main competitor in the U.S., Lyft Inc., reported its first adjusted profit the day before — and ahead of schedule. The divergence highlights how different the two rivals have become. Read More
Human Resources: Talent investments Pay Off, Gartner Report Says
HR Dive
Companies that invested in talent in 2020 (in addition to cutting Q1 costs) bounced back with an average Q4 revenue increase of 8.2%, a Gartner study found. The July report is the result of Gartner's HR Practice research team reviewing earning calls transcripts from S&P 500 companies.

The 8.2% uptick for these companies translated to more than a $500 million increase in revenue. Additionally, Gartner found that 48% of S&P 500 companies funded at least one talent investment opportunity through 2020, with an emphasis on employee benefits and well-being. Read More
Business & Technology: CIOs Embrace Business-Led IT Amid Tech Democratization
CIO
IT leaders have long decried technology deployed outside of their purview as the bane of their existence. This so-called shadow IT spurred heated arguments between CIOs who believed it was incumbent on them to lock down tech and business-line leaders who believed it was their right to buy or build software to support their work.

But the tide is turning for notable reasons. First, the rise of low-code and other automation tools that help “citizen developers” build applications is democratizing software development beyond IT’s control. Second, supporting this cohort of business technologists rather than cracking down on them can help lighten IT’s workload, which has grown unwieldy with the acceleration of digital business imperatives. Read More