A Russian hacker has been found guilty of helping threat actors steal $90M and hack U.S. computer networks. The individual owned a cybersecurity firm in Russia. More: - The hacker specialized in stealing financial earning reports from U.S. companies and then using that information to place trades on if the stock price would rise or fall before the reports were made public.
- The company would keep 40% of the profits made, giving the rest to its clients.
- These trades were made between January 2018 and September 2020.
- The jury found the Russian individual guilty of conspiring to obtain unauthorized access to computers, commit wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, unauthorized access to computers, and securities fraud.
- He could face a jail sentence of up to 30 years, a verdict that will be given on May 4, 2023.
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GitHub Copilot has announced a new update that aims to stop the AI platform from accidentally revealing secret data, such as passwords, among other features. The software is now used in 64% of all Java-written code, according to GitHub. More: - GitHub Copilot is software that enables computer programmers to become more efficient by offering code suggestions, predicted typing, inserting code comments, etc.
- The new update includes features such as:
- Detecting vulnerabilities in code faster than ever,
- Identifying, blocking, and replacing insecure suggestions such as hardcoded credentials, path injections, and SQL injections.
- More secure suggestions that do not rely on public data, etc.
- GitHub has previously been criticized for publishing the public data that is used to train Copilot in its code suggestions.
- GitHub Copilot's AI technology is based on ChatGPT. Both GitHub and OpenAI are owned either partially or fully by Microsoft.
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 A message from MASTERWORKS Real estate dethroned – mega-sale sends surprising NYC market soaring +16.5% Few investments are considered more reliable than NYC real estate, but new data reveals a shocking -26% plunge in Q4 sales* - proof that even this market isn’t immune to macroeconomic turmoil. However, another NYC market continues to surge: blue-chip contemporary art. At NYC’s mega-auctions, contemporary art sales totaled $2.3 billion in one week – an all time record – and prices climbed +16.5%. But it’s not just ultra-rich dealmakers celebrating, thanks to Masterworks. This platform lets anyone easily invest in shares of multi-million dollar art, by names like Banksy and Picasso. Masterworks’ last three exits netted +10.4%, +13.9%, and +35.0% returns. Offerings can sell out in minutes, but Inside readers can skip the waitlist with this referral link. Skip the waitlist See important Regulation A disclosures.
*data from New York Times
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Google has launched Privacy Sandbox Beta on Android 13 devices. The update aims to help users protect their privacy. More: - Privacy Sandbox is a technology that Google uses as a way of creating advertising products that limit user data sharing and don't rely on cross-app identifiers.
- Google announced that devices that have been selected for the Beta test will have a Privacy Sandbox section on the Settings page.
- The Privacy Sandbox for Android Beta will roll out gradually, starting with a limited number of Android 13 devices.
- This project is part of a broader initiative that aims to begin phasing out third-party cookies in the Chrome web browser by 2024.
Zoom Out: - The digital advertising industry is going through a major shift due to changes from Apple and Google. The two companies, which have the two largest operating systems used in most smartphones, have begun limiting cookies' ability to track user activity.
- Apple famously made the decision to ask users if they wanted Facebook to track their activity online, something that resulted in a major revenue drop for the company.
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Oligo Security has raised a combined $28M Seed and Series A funding round to detect security flaws in open-source libraries. The company has been operating in stealth mode since its inception. More: - Oligo Security offers a patent-pending solution that can determine what vulnerabilities are at risk of being exposed and if it is worth notifying the client about them.
- The company's product is based on eBPF, which is a technology that lets programs run without needing to modify the kernel source code.
- The product has been used in industries such as:
- technology,
- commercial real estate,
- investment services,
- online financial services, etc.
- Lightspeed Venture Partners, Ballistic Ventures, and TLV Partners led the funding.
- The company is based in Tel Aviv, Israel.
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 A message from TRAVELBANK Automation is your finance team's best productivity strategy. Time is money. Automating manual tasks can minimize errors, enhance reporting and analytics, and strengthen the ways budget and financial forecasting tie into overall business strategy. In our checklist, get: - Tips for saving company money with automation
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Smile Identity has raised a $20M funding round to provide digital identity verification software in Africa. The company says it has doubled its user base and tripled its revenue. More: - Smile Identity claims that it has completed 50 million identity verification checks, more than any other company in Africa.
- Its software has an accuracy rate of 98%, according to company officials.
- Smile Identity's client list includes names such as:
- Chipper Cash,
- Paga,
- Paystack,
- Twiga,
- Opay, etc.
- The company is based in Nigeria.
- Founded in 2017, it has raised $35M since its inception.
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Quick Hits - Athletic Brewing is pioneering a non-alcoholic craft beer revolution and donating 2% of sales toward protecting and restoring local trails.*
- The Redeyes hacker group has been tracked deploying M2RAT, a malware that exploits the CVE-2017-8291 vulnerability.
- Adobe has announced that it has patched several security flaws, including four bugs that had a 7.8 CVSS score.
- Hackers are using the MortalKombat ransomware together with the Laplas clipper to deploy a hacking campaign that aims to steal financial information from Windows users, most of whom are in the U.S.
*This is sponsored content.
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Upcoming events at Inside: - February 16 - Inside Marketing w/ Kate Chernis (Lately) (Register Here)
- February 20 - Inside Marketing Coffee Break (Register Here)
- February 21 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here)
- March 01 - Webinar on the changing privacy landscape in the US by Vanta and Osano (Register Here) *
- March 02 - AI Quality Workshop: Driving ML Performance and Trustworthiness (Register Here) *
- April 18 - Human Resources Summit'23 (Register Here)
*This is a sponsored listing.
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 |  | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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