July 23, 2021
Security: Takeaways from the Pegasus Project
WashingtonPost
Military-grade spyware leased by the Israeli firm NSO Group to governments for tracking terrorists and criminals was used in attempted and successful hacks of 37 smartphones belonging to journalists, human rights activists, business executives and the two women closest to murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to an investigation by The Washington Post and 16 media partners led by the Paris-based journalism nonprofit Forbidden Stories. Read more
Healthcare IT: Gamification Boosts Physical Activity, Healthy Behaviors in New Study
MobiHealthNews
More and more, health interventions are employing gamified strategies like badges, points and levels in an attempt to get people to adopt new behaviors. By creating a feeling of competition among participants, intervention developers hope they can increase medication adherence, improve chronic condition management, up physical activity and more. But past research indicates that giving health interventions a competitive edge is not always enough to create meaningful changes in human behavior.

A new study from JAMA Network Open sought to test how well gamification – paired with social support and financial incentives – could improve physical activity among veterans who were overweight or obese. Read More
Homeland Security: New Handheld Screening Wands Could Reduce the Need for Airport Pat-Downs
Department of Homeland Security - Science and Technology
We’ve all walked through a metal detector at the airport, hoping we didn’t forget anything in our pockets that will set off the alarm. When security personnel can’t immediately identify what is triggering the alarm, the process is halted for a pat down. Though this slows the screening process significantly for people waiting in line and can be an uncomfortable experience for the individual being screened, it is an essential element of keeping all travelers safe.

Handheld screening wand detects and identifies concealed objects under an air-travelers clothes.To improve airport security, both for screeners and for those being screened, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) continually invests in research and development (R&D) to build solutions for the future. S&T’s Screening at Speed Program partners with government, academia, and industry to increase security effectiveness at the airport from curb to gate, while dramatically reducing screening wait times and improving the passenger experience. Read More
Transportation: After Chip Crisis, Is Battery Shortage Next?
Transport Topics
Rising demand from electric vehicles and challenges in securing raw materials will deliver a battery supply crunch for automakers already grappling with a chip crisis, according to a key Chinese manufacturer.

“When the chip shortage is over, the major supply shortage the industry faces would be batteries,” Yang Hongxin, chairman of SVolt Energy Technology Co., which has struck an agreement with Jeep maker Stellantis NV, said in an interview. “The production capacity of battery cells will be tight in the next few years because expansion takes time.” Read More
Human Resources: 6 Dead-End IT Skills — and How to Avoid Becoming Obsolete
CIO
When it comes to skills, the secret to future-proofing any IT career is diversification. In a recent Deloitte survey, a majority of CIOs said that one-third of their staff’s current skill sets will not be relevant in the next three years. In fact, 68% of executives surveyed by Deloitte said their organization’s skills gap is “moderate-to-extreme,” with 27% rating it as “major” or “extreme.”

The IT landscape is rapidly evolving, and employers are seeking skills in combinations that align with their future needs. To help your career avoid a dead end, we talked with tech leaders to identify areas that are nearing the end of their life cycle — and how you can pivot to establish a revamped skillset that will keep your career growing. Read More
Business & Technology: How Contractors Can Successfully Manage from the Outside
Knowledge@Wharton
Wharton management professor Peter Cappelli ran into a former student who shared an intriguing story about A-Connect, a management consulting services and solutions firm. The alumnus, who worked at A-Connect, noticed an increasing number of managers being hired on contract. These weren’t consultants or people angling for full-time work, but contractors who were being handed over control of company employees to execute a project or tackle a problem.

Despite being outsiders with no personal connections or networks, these contractor-managers were doing a terrific job.

“How does it work? Because it shouldn’t work, according to all these management theories, and yet it does work.” Read More