Flaw in Booking.com found / White House launches cybersecurity strategy / U.S. implementing new laws that protect water systems

Plus: At least 30% of hackers are women, according to a new report

Inside.com Part of   Network March 03, 2023

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Researchers have found a security flaw in Booking.com that affects users that log in using Facebook. Hackers could steal data and take different actions by pretending to be the victim. More: The breach takes advantage of a flaw in OAuth, a technology that is used by hundreds of thousands of companies globally and millions of users. OAuth essentially allows users to log in to websites using their credentials for Facebook, Google, etc.  The researchers stated they tracked the flaws by manipulating specific steps in the OAuth sequence. After discovering the flaws, researchers notified Booking.com, which claims to have patched them since then. Booking claims that the flaw has not been used by threat actors to steal any user data. 90% of the users preferred social login over traditional email registration on websites. Zoom Out: OAuth has been targeted by hackers numerous times. In 2022, GitHub confirmed several organizations were compromised by a threat actor using stolen OAUTH tokens to access their private repositories. Microsoft Exchange was also breached by hackers who installed OAuth applications and managed to control Exchange servers and spread spam.

The White House has launched the U.S. National Cybersecurity strategy for 2023 and beyond. Private technology companies are expected to take on more responsibilities than ever before. More: According to the government, cybersecurity is essential for the functioning of the U.S. economy, its democracy, digital communication system, etc. This document has five main pillars: The defense of critical infrastructure, the disruption and dismantlement of threat actors, the push toward reshaping market forces to drive security, investing in a resilient future, and the creation of international partnerships. One of the biggest changes the document brings is the fact that it transfers cybersecurity responsibilities from individuals, small businesses, and local governments to technology firms. This decision is being seen as something that favors long-term investments as a balance between existing and future threats. Industry experts stated that deciding to put more responsibility on private companies and regulate the industry is right.

A message from ROLLWORKS We want it all, and we want it now—Leads that is!  With pressure on the rise to prove value AND generate results fast, marketers can no longer rely on just quantity. While the goal remains to maximize the volume of leads, the bigger focus now is on the quality of leads (your best-fit accounts!) Quality leads are best-fit accounts for your business that are ready to buy based on high fit scores, levels of intent, spikes in engagement, data, and more! Trust us, we know this shift in focus can make it hard to get leadership on board (let alone your marketing team), so we’ve created this guide to help cover the balancing act of moving from quantity to quality in 4 easy steps!  Get the guide

The U.S. is implementing new laws meant to protect water systems from hackers. The decision comes as water resource management facilities in the country were cyberattacked on multiple occasions. More: The new legislation requires state governments to audit the cybersecurity practices of public water systems. This decision was made due to the fact that many facilities have allegedly failed to take basic security steps to protect themselves and their clients. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency led this decision. The U.S. water sector includes more than 148,000 public water systems. Zoom Out: Only weeks into the Biden administration, in February 2021, a hacker infiltrated a Florida water treatment facility and tried to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide to a potentially dangerous level. An employee at the plant realized what was going on and manually stopped the system before it sent out contaminated water. The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have warned about multiple ransomware attacks on the computer networks of water and wastewater facilities from California to Maine.

At least 30% of hackers are women, according to a new report. More women are hackers than work in the legal cyber industry as of 2023. More: A security company used machine learning to analyze text written by 50 random users of the Russian-language XSS forum and 50 users of the English-language Hackforums site. The software concluded that revealed that at least 30% of those XSS forum users were women, while the same figure rose to 36% of Hackforums users. 4-8% of the U.K., Russian, and U.S. prison population are female.

Privacy-focused browser Brave has launched a new AI-powered search feature. The company is based in San Francisco. More: Brave is a privacy-focused browser that automatically blocks online advertisements and website trackers. The platform provides users the choice to turn on optional ads for a premium price. The company claims that Summarizer does not impact the previous privacy-first concept that Brave had. The company aims to roll out the feature once the company develops further. The Brave Summarizer has been made available to almost all users of Brave Search on both desktop and mobile.

Quick Hits: Get Gusto, the #1 payroll software according to PCMag. Set up your free account and get 25% off for the first 6 months when you run payroll by May 31, 2023. Terms apply.* A new report claims that China has a vast amount of data on U.S. citizens and businesses that it has obtained under suspected digital hacking campaigns. American fast-food chain Chick-fil-A has confirmed that over 71,000 customers had their accounts breached. According to unconfirmed reports, the Polish special services are using the Pegasus surveillance software to spy on specific politicians from the opposition. Normally it takes weeks or months to hire world-class talent, but Toptal has cut it down to just 2-5 days. Take a look.* *This is sponsored content.

Upcoming events at Inside: March 07 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here) March 09 - Inside Marketing w/ Jen Bryan (Velocity Growth) (Register Here) March 09 - Webinar on how Jiminny leverages AI for conversation intelligence (Register Here) * April 18 - Human Resources Summit'23 (Register Here) *This is a sponsored listing.

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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Amazon pauses 2nd HQ / Foxconn expands India presence / Volkswagen plans 2 new EV plants in the U.S.

Plus, President Biden had cancerous skin lesion removed.

Inside.com Part of   Network March 03, 2023

Presented by

Amazon announced on Friday it is putting a temporary hold on breaking ground for phase two of its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The company has planned to spend $2.5B on the project through 2030 and bring more than 25,000 jobs to the region. Amazon said it is still committed to the area. More: Amazon had planned to begin the project's second phase in Q1 2023. The second phase is supposed to include three 22-story office buildings. The company said the project's first phase, which includes two office towers, is near completion. Amazon plans to move employees to the new first-phase buildings this June. The company already has more than 8,000 employees in the area.

Apple’s primary manufacturer, Foxconn, is planning a significant expansion in India. The company is considering assembling more iPhones in India and setting up new production sites there. Foxconn has been looking to diversify its production outside China as U.S.-China tensions grow. More: Foxconn plans to increase its iPhone production at its plant in southern India to about 20 million units a year by 2024. The company currently produces about 6 million units a year at the plant. Foxconn also plans to build a new production site in the southern city of Hyderabad, India. The company also plans to build a silicon carbide fabrication plant and packaging facility for its semiconductor business in India.

A message from DESIGNINDC How Can Businesses Adopt Holistic Design Practices? It’s increasingly clear that our economy is unstable. In unstable times, businesses need to become less fragile. It takes adopting a new holistic design approach to your business to be less fragile. Whether it’s a brick-and-mortar or digital business, both types need to understand what holistic design practices are.  Holistic design practices result from thinking about many different customer journeys, experiences, and behaviors.  In this guide, our team at Design In DC will take you through the process of becoming more holistically minded and less fragile through the eyes of a creative agency.  Ideally you’ll walk away from this article more informed about how to adopt holistic design practices in your business.  And if you’d like to take things further to integrate a holistic design into your business, we offer a buffet of creative and digital services. We are offering a 10% discount to Inside readers only. Learn More

AI chatbot startup Character.ai has raised more than $200M in venture funding valuing the company at about $1B. The funding round was led by VC firm Andreessen Horowitz. Character.ai uses large language models to generate conversation in the style of various characters. More: Character.ai was founded less than six months ago. The company was founded by Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas, who previously built Google’s conversational model, LaMDA. The investment comes amid recent interest in generative AI technology. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced a $10B investment in OpenAI’s AI tool, ChatGPT. Andreessen Horowitz manages $35B worth of assets across its various funds.

Volkswagen plans to build two new plants in North America to boost its electric vehicle production. The German carmaker intends to open a new plant in Columbia, South Carolina, to produce its revived brand, Scout. VW is searching for a location for a new battery factory. More: VW plans to invest $2B in South Carolina and is expected to create about 4,000 jobs in the region. It joins a growing list of foreign automakers that have agreed to produce EVs or batteries in North America to qualify for the subsidies provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. The Inflation Reduction Act requires EVs to be made in the U.S. and exclude materials from certain countries, including China, to qualify for subsidies. VW is the fourth-largest EV seller in the U.S.

A message from ROLLWORKS We want it all, and we want it now—Leads that is!  With pressure on the rise to prove value AND generate results fast, marketers can no longer rely on just quantity. While the goal remains to maximize the volume of leads, the bigger focus now is on the quality of leads (your best-fit accounts!) Quality leads are best-fit accounts for your business that are ready to buy based on high fit scores, levels of intent, spikes in engagement, data, and more! Trust us, we know this shift in focus can make it hard to get leadership on board (let alone your marketing team), so we’ve created this guide to help cover the balancing act of moving from quantity to quality in 4 easy steps!  Get the guide

Meta Platforms has cut the price of some of its Quest VR headsets, including its high-end mixed reality device. According to the sources, the cuts were due to demand for the products being weaker than projected. More: Meta’s Quest Pro, the headset unveiled last fall aimed at corporate users, was cut from $1,500 to $1,000. The company also cut the price of its Meta Quest 2 from $500 to $430. In a post on Instagram, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the price cut was to get more people to try virtual reality. Meta shares closed at $185.25 on Friday, up more than 6% for the day.

Airbnb plans to cut recruiting roles across its workforce as it expects to slow its hiring pace in 2023. The company plans to increase its headcount by 2% to 4% this year after growing it by 11% in 2022. Airbnb did not provide details on how many recruiting roles will be cut. More: Airbnb said the restructuring does not indicate widespread layoffs, signaling the job cuts would focus primarily on the company’s recruiting team. Last month the company reported its first-ever annual profit in 2022. At the end of 2022, Airbnb had 6,811 employees globally.

Quick Hits Get Gusto, the #1 payroll software according to PCMag. Set up your free account and get 25% off for the first 6 months when you run payroll by May 31, 2023. Terms apply.* President Joe Biden had a cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest last month during his regularly scheduled annual check-up. A biopsy found the lesion was basal cell carcinoma. Shares of crypto bank Silvergate fell more than 50% on Thursday after the lender revealed it is considering its ability to survive. The crypto firm said it would miss the March 16 deadline to file its annual report with the SEC. Tencent founder Pony Ma was excluded from the list of delegates to China’s annual National People’s Congress. Tencent is China’s most valuable company, with a market cap of about $452B. Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences on Friday for the murder of his wife and son. A jury convicted Murdaugh of killing his wife and son in June 2021.  Normally it takes weeks or months to hire world-class talent, but Toptal has cut it down to just 2-5 days. Take a look.* *This is a sponsored post.

Upcoming Events March 07 - Inside Startups Coffee Break (Register Here) March 09 - Inside Marketing w/ Jen Bryan (Velocity Growth) (Register Here) March 09 - Webinar on how Jiminny leverages AI for conversation intelligence (Register Here) * April 18 - Human Resources Summit'23 (Register Here) *This is a sponsored listing.

Vanessa Omeokachie writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring.  Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. 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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