London 2012 sponsor Cisco is being sued after launching a global campaign that used the endline, "tomorrow starts here", which aimed to show how Cisco’s services connects people and businesses.
The "Internet of things" campaign, created by Goodby Silverstein & Partners, launched on 10 December and features broadcast advertising and digital activity with an estimated media spend of $100m (£62m).
East Carolina University (ECU) is pursuing legal action because it has a federally-registered trademark for the "tomorrow starts here" slogan, in order to protect the university’s "identity and vision".
Steve Ballard, chancellor at ECU, said: "ECU has used the mark ‘Tomorrow Starts Here’ for over a decade, including in national advertisements and publications such as Forbes and Wired.
"We feel it is essential to take action to protect that defining trademark of our identity and vision."
ECU claims its trademark is a university-wide brand that represents an "overlapping field of goods and services when compared with that of Cisco".
The ECU’s College of Technology and Computer Science has created intellectual property that is in the process of commercialising with a particular emphasis on "distance education technology".
Cisco has responded by claiming it is "surprised" by the complaint because it is "confident our new campaign does not create any confusion in the marketplace".
Networking giant Cisco Systems is laying off staff again, employees reported on social media this week. While the employees saw this as a fresh round of layoffs, Cisco said it was just enacting plans announced in November 2022.
Cisco confirmed to ComputerWorld that there was a round of layoffs this week but said they were part of the 4,100 job cuts it had previously announced.
"These accurate notifications are part of the rebalancing effort we began in November 2022, which included a limited restructuring impacting our real estate portfolio and approximately 5% of our workforce,” a Cisco spokesperson said.
Last November, despite posting record quarterly revenue of $13.6 billion, Cisco announced it would be laying off around 5 per cent of its 83,000 workers.
The company said then that it was restructuring in order to rebalance the organisation and enable further investment in key priority areas.
“Don't think of this as a headcount action that is motivated by cost savings. This really is a rebalancing,” CFO Scott Herren said then.
A Cisco spokesperson reiterated that line on Thursday.
“As we announced then, this is not about cost savings as we have roughly the same number of employees as we did before the process began,” the spokesperson said. “This rebalancing is about prioritising investments in our transformation, to meet and exceed our customers' expectations in the changing technology landscape.”
The spokesperson said the company will continue doing everything possible to help place affected employees in open roles and offer extensive support, including generous severance packages.
Disgruntled employees react
For the employees affected, it makes little difference whether this is a fresh round of layoffs or one announced previously: they’re still losing their jobs.
A Cisco employee in Bangalore told ComputerWorld that colleagues there had been laid off.
“There were certain employees laid off and there are speculations of more as well. As of what we are aware, these will be across the different business units and will include engineers, and security engineers,” the employee said, requesting anonymity.
The employee said that the layoffs began globally with several high-level directors being awarded the pink slip.
“We are not really aware if the layoffs are part of the fresh round or those announced earlier. For an employee, it is a plain layoff, a loss of employment and income. With the current job market scenario and the layoff there is a sense of scare and panic among employees,” the employee said, adding that the reason being given for the layoffs is a restructuring plan.
There is no definitive number for how many employees have been let go in the current wave, or how many more will be.
Globally, too, Cisco employees have been confirming layoffs on social media.
According to anonymous career messaging site Blind, employees in the Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), Cisco Collaboration, Cisco Data Center Services Solutions, Cisco Experience Centers (CxC) - Research Triangle Park, Cisco Security Business Group (SBG), Cisco Servers - Unified Computing System (UCS), and Cisco Webex have been impacted.
Another anonymous user wrote on Layoff.com, that he was laid off despite being a top performer. The user said the severance packages offered were “Early exit - 8/31 + 4-month base salary + Lump sum to help with COBRA + Nov 10th RSU will vest + Year end bonus or Standard exit - 10/16 + 3-month base salary + Lump sum to help with COBRA + Nov 10th RSU will vest + Year end bonus.”
(RSUs are restricted stock units, shares awarded as compensation when certain conditions (such as length of employment) are met. Help with COBRA refers to a contribution toward the cost of extending health benefits after employment ends under the US Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.)
Several employees questioned earlier remarks by Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins in January, where he told Bloomberg in an interview that there will be no further job cuts at Cisco.
Some employees also accused the Cisco leadership of insensitivity and ill-treatment.
A user on layoff.com wrote, “Chuck is sending out promotion emails and congratulations CP right after the layoff day. No empathy for the employees who got impacted by the layoff. He could at least wait for a couple of days.” Another one wrote, “I can't believe how the Cisco culture treats people like dirt once they are laid off. I'm very hurt! I realised it before, but now I see it firsthand.”
Layoffs continue in the tech industry
Due to the uncertain global economy and slowing revenue growth, technology companies have picked up the pace of layoffs in 2023, with total staff cuts now greater than all tech company job losses last year. These layoffs can mainly be attributed to big tech companies going on a hiring binge during the pandemic when lockdowns sparked a tech buying spree to support remote work and an uptick in e-commerce, and now they face revenue declines.
According to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi, the online tracker keeping tabs on job losses in the technology sector, 2,188 tech companies have laid off about 482,25 staff so far this year, compared to 164,411 layoffs last year.
At the Center for Responsive Politics we work to promote the nonpartisan goals of informing and engaging Americans, and championing transparency. In the interest of encouraging transparency in our government, we’re highlighting three simple steps citizens can take to encourage greater transparency from the symbolic home of our democracy, the White House:
Ask for the White House visitor logs to be made public The current administration’s choice to discontinue the practice of releasing White House visitor logs to the public effectively prevents citizens from knowing which political donors, activists, lobbyists and dignitaries are meeting with President Trump and his staff. Such meetings are often exclusive opportunities that may allow visitors opportunities to influence the president’s views. The White House should release visitors logs in a meaningful way by not only listing the names of those visiting the White House, but other identifying information as well - such as their employer, purpose for visiting, and the White House personnel they met with.
Ask to know who is visiting Mar-A-Lago The same idea seemingly applies to what has come to be called the “winter White House,” given how frequently the president visits his Florida retreat. On March 23, 2017, a group of Democrats introduced the MAR-A-LAGO Act in both the House and Senate expressing the concern that the guests at Mar-A-Lago (who are not necessarily members of that club) do not undergo the same background checks as guests of the White House, and therefore it’s not known who is in attendance at the same time as the president or with whom he is meeting or otherwise interacting. In February, a group of Democratic senators expressed concern that individuals may be “buying access” to the president with memberships, for lobbying or other purposes.
Ask that the White House continue to release the annual report on White House personnel Recently, the White House announced that it will no longer make publicly available its annual report on White House personnel, which lists each person employed or detailed to the White House, including his or her name, position and title, and annual rate of pay. In past administrations, this information has been used to determine conflicts of interest, dispel staff rumors, examine and address pay disparity, and provide a public directory of sorts for administration officials. Since 1997, federal law has required the report to be sent to Congress each year by July 1. Congress should push the administration to publish the data and the congressional committees that receive these reports should release it to the public. On May 1st a number of transparency focused groups, including the Center for Responsive Politics, sent a letter to Congress asking that the relevant committees commit to publicly releasing the annual report on White House personnel. The letter can be read here.
Hi, my name is [NAME], and I’m a constituent from [CITY and ZIP]. I’m calling to express my concern over the level of transparency we are seeing from the White House. I believe that transparency in government is a nonpartisan issue and an important expectation for any healthy democracy, so I am asking you to use your position to advocate for three simple things: 1. The release of White House visitor logs, 2. The release of the names of Mar-A-Lago members and guests, and 3. The release of the annual report on White House personnel by the White House and the relevant congressional committees (Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform). With the obvious exception of the Mar-A-Lago guest logs, all this information was regularly disclosed to the public before the current administration took office, and I believe, for the sake of government transparency and accountability, this practice should be restored. Thank you for representing our views in Congress and for your public service. [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied, as well as your phone number]
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) fourth-quarter results exceeded the predictions of Wall Street, primarily driven by the increasing interest of businesses in artificial intelligence, security, and cloud solutions. As a result, shares rose more than 2% pre-market today.
The company’s management highlighted gains in market share and potential within the field of AI during the earnings call. The company’s reported earnings per share (EPS) amounted to $1.14, with a revenue of $15.2 billion. These figures surpassed the expectations of Wall Street, which had projected an EPS of $1.06 and revenue of $15.05 billion.
Cisco anticipates adjusted earnings in the range of $1.02 to $1.04 for the first quarter, accompanied by a revenue ranging from $14.5 billion to $14.7 billion. Street estimates stood at $0.99 for adjusted EPS and $14.6 billion for revenues.
As for the outlook for 2024, the company predicts an adjusted EPS ranging from $4.01 to $4.08, along with a revenue spanning from $57.0 billion to $58.2 billion. Wall Street analysts had anticipated an adjusted EPS of $4.04 and revenue of $58.4 billion.
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Dateline: Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine.
Ukraine at D+540: Russification and disinformation. (CyberWire) International attention focuses on Black Sea shipping. Russification attempts intensify in the occupied territories.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 541 (Al Jazeera) As the war enters its 541st day, these are the main developments.
Ukraine's counteroffensive inches forward, with the help of cluster bombs (CNN) Ukrainian marines have advanced for the second time in two weeks on the southeastern frontlines, towards the key port city of Mariupol, with the recapture of the village of Urozhaine appearing to have been partially aided by the Ukrainian use of controversial cluster munitions.
Ukraine combat drone damages building in central Moscow, Russia says (Al Jazeera) Moscow’s mayor says Ukrainian drone shot down by air defence and debris falls on city’s Expo Center causing damage.
Ukraine-Russia war: Russia 'targeting' British storm shadow missiles (The Telegraph) Russia is targeting British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles as it ramps up attacks on Ukraine’s air force and runways, it has been reported.
Lukashenka Says Putin Not Pushing Belarus To Join War In Ukraine (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka said Russian President Vladimir Putin is not trying to push Belarus into joining the war in Ukraine and vowed that Minsk's forces would never take part in the war unless Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Belarus.
NATO must respond to Russia’s provocations in Belarus (Atlantic Council) The Alliance should conduct a no-notice exercise in the Suwalki Gap between Poland and Lithuania, deploying maritime, air, and ground assets.
Russian War Report: Tensions escalate in the Black Sea as the Russian navy forcefully inspects a civilian cargo ship (Atlantic Council) Russia escalated tensions beyond Ukraine again this week when its navy forcibly inspected and fired warning shots at a civilian cargo ship.
Putin must not be allowed to turn the Black Sea into a Russian lake (Atlantic Council) Western countries must take urgent action to prevent Vladimir Putin from turning the Black Sea into a Russian lake, warns Melinda Haring.
Russia's Former Top Commander in Ukraine Dies (The Moscow Times) A senior general who was briefly placed in charge of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine last year has died from an undisclosed illness, authorities said late Wednesday.
Russia general who reportedly served as the top commander for Ukraine last year has died (CNN) A Russian general who reportedly served as the top military commander for Ukraine last year has died, according to Russian state media.
Unexploded Missile Suggests Moscow Is Rushing Weapons to the Front (Bloomberg) Intact Russian rocket shows unusual production turnaround time. The Ukrainian counteroffensive has made slow process so far.
Russia building ‘thousands of Iranian-design drones’ in secret base (The Telegraph) Leaked documents show engineers working to create huge arsenal of aerial weapons capable of swarming Ukrainian targets
Ukraine’s vibrant tech ecosystem is a secret weapon in the war with Russia (Atlantic Council) Ukraine’s secret weapon in the war against Russia is a vibrant and sophisticated tech ecosystem including around 300,000 IT professionals and hundreds of defense tech startups, writes Mykhailo Fedorov.
Ukraine’s state authorities must follow private sector in unlearning old habits (Atlantic Council) To achieve individual, business, and national goals of renewal, Ukrainians need their government to be just as nimble and adaptive as the country’s private sector, writes Ukraine's Business Ombudsman Roman Waschuk.
Zelensky extends martial law, casting doubt on fall parliamentary elections (Washington Post) As Russian forces continued to bombard regions across Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday signed legislation extending martial law and a general military mobilization until mid-November. If martial law is not lifted, it would require postponing national parliamentary elections scheduled for fall.
The Dutch defense minister says the US has approved the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine (FOX 5 San Diego) The United States has given its approval for the Netherlands to deliver F-16s to Ukraine, the Dutch defense minister said Friday, in a major gain for Kyiv even though …
Pentagon open to host F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots in the U.S. (CBS News) The Biden administration says it's willing to host Ukrainian pilots if the training coalition led by Denmark and the Netherlands needs more space or resources.
Nato official apologises over suggestion Ukraine could give up land for membership (the Guardian) Secretary general’s chief of staff says statement was ‘mistake’ and part of wider discussion – but does not completely rule out idea
Putin’s plot to split the West may be succeeding (The Telegraph) The Kremlin is now using every tool it can find to foment divisions within the Nato military alliance
Anne Applebaum: Putin 'Is Really Destroying Modern Russia' (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) Anne Applebaum, the U.S. Pulitzer-Prize winning author, says Russian President Vladimir Putin will go down in history as the man who “destroyed modern Russia” by reinstating much of the hated features of the repressive Soviet system.
11 Years into the Syrian Conflict, Explore its Toll, Putin’s Role (FRONTLINE) Years before his 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Putin intervened in Syria to aid President Bashar al-Assad. Revisit FRONTLINE documentaries on the conflict.
Russia will struggle to cope with a sinking rouble (The Economist) What does the currency’s collapse mean for Vladimir Putin’s ability to wage war?
Britain plotting to assassinate pro-Russian leaders in Africa, says Moscow (The Telegraph) Kremlin source claims MI6 has trained a saboteur unit of 'Ukrainian nationalists and neo-Nazis' for a clandestine operation in the continent
Kazakhstan Blocks Russian TV Channel's Website Over Extremist Content (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) Kazakh authorities have blocked the website of the Russian TV channel Tsargrad due to extremist propaganda and "inciting discord."
How Russian prisoners of war see Putin’s invasion (The Economist) And how they are treated by Ukraine
WSJ News Exclusive | The Ghost Fleet Helping Russia Evade Sanctions and Pursue Its War in Ukraine (WSJ) Turkish companies have bought dozens of tankers that ship Russian oil, playing a critical role in Moscow’s efforts to fund its war in Ukraine.
Berlin prosecutor investigates possible poisoning of Russian journalist (the Guardian) Elena Kostyuchenko, who has criticised the invasion of Ukraine, fell ill on a train journey in Germany
American imprisoned in Russia faces espionage charges, reports say (AP News) A Russian-born U.S. citizen in prison on a bribery conviction now faces charges of espionage, according to Russian news agencies.
Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
PlayCrypt Ransomware Group Wreaks Havoc in Campaign Against Managed Service Providers (Adlumin SaaS Security) Adlumin's Threat Research Team unveils a widespread global offensive orchestrated by the elusive PlayCrypt ransomware group. Dive into the intricate tactics and high-stakes targets of this sophisticated campaign in our latest blog post.
Cuba Ransomware Deploys New Tools: Targets Critical Infrastructure Sector in the U.S. and IT Integrator in Latin America (BlackBerry) BlackBerry has discovered and documented new tools used by the Cuba ransomware threat group. The good news is that BlackBerry protects against Cuba ransomware.
Mass-spreading campaign targeting Zimbra users (We Live Security) A mass spreading phishing campaign has been targeting the users of the Zimbra communication tool, and ESET Research is here to give the details
NoFilter Attack: Sneaky Privilege Escalation Method Bypasses Windows Security (The Hacker News) "NoFilter" technique exploits Windows Filtering Platform for sneaky privilege escalation.
Thousands of Android APKs use compression trick to thwart analysis (BleepingComputer) Threat actors increasingly distribute malicious Android APKs (packaged app installers) that resist decompilation using unsupported, unknown, or heavily tweaked compression algorithms.
Microsoft: BlackCat's Sphynx ransomware embeds Impacket, RemCom (BleepingComputer) Microsoft has discovered a new version of the BlackCat ransomware that embeds the Impacket networking framework and the Remcom hacking tool, both enabling spreading laterally across a breached network.
Chinese hackers accused of targeting Southeast Asian gambling sector (Record) Hackers based in China are targeting the gambling sector across Southeast Asia in a campaign that researchers say is closely related to data collection and surveillance operations identified earlier this year.
Threat Actors are Interested in Generative AI, but Use Remains Limited (Mandiant) Threat actors are using AI capabilities to facilitate a variety of malicious activity, but use remains limited.
Online influence operators continue fine-tuning use of AI to deceive their targets, researchers say (CyberScoop) The use of AI for malign purposes is limited but growing and maturing in key ways, researchers with Google's Mandiant said Thursday.
Generative AI could be cybersecurity’s biggest threat, warns Mandiant (Verdict) US company Mandiant has warned that despite current usage of AI in online malicious activity being low, threat actors remain interested.
‘Extreme’ user abuse leads AnonFiles operators to shut down hosting service (Record) “After trying endlessly for two years to run a file-sharing site with user anonymity we have been tired of handling the extreme volumes of people abusing it and the headaches it has created for us,” AnonFiles' administrators said.
Hackers ask $120,000 for access to multi-billion auction house (BleepingComputer) Hackers have breached the network of a major auction house and offered access to whoever was willing to pay $120,000.
Tennessee school hit with ransomware as gangs ramp up attacks ahead of new academic year (Record) Ransomware gangs are accelerating their attacks against educational institutions as schools prepare to reopen, with the K-12 school for Cleveland, Tennessee telling parents and administrators this week that it is dealing with a ransomware attack.
University of Missouri System provides update on data breach (KFVS 12) Current and former students and employees from the University of Missouri are advised to keep an eye on their personal information.
Microsoft’s Role in Hack Conjures Ghost of Gates ‘Choose Security’ Memo (Bloomberg) Microsoft’s role in email breach to be part of cyber inquiry
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
Apple fixes Sonoma location permissions issue with 13.5.1 update (AppleInsider) Apple has released macOS Ventura 13.5.1, incorporating a single fix for location permissions settings not displaying.
Cisco Releases Security Advisories for Multiple Products (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) Cisco has released security advisories for vulnerabilities affecting multiple Cisco products. A cyber threat actor can exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system or cause a denial-of service condition.
Atlassian Releases Security Update for Confluence Server and Data Center (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) Atlassian has released its security bulletin for August 2023 to address a vulnerability in Confluence Server and Data Center, CVE-2023-28709. A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial-of-service condition.
Trends
Rapid7’s Mid-Year Threat Review (Rapid7 Blog) It will come as little surprise to most people that cyber threats in 2023 have been rather prolific. From widely exploited vulnerabilities to high-profile ransomware and extortion campaigns, the first half of the year has seen more than its fair share of large-scale incidents.
Rapid7 Says ROI for Ransomware Remains High; Zero-Day Usage Expands (SecurityWeek) Rapid7 says criminal ransomware gangs could easily be able to purchase and use bevy of zero-day exploits for vulnerable enterprise software.
Cyberattacks on health care grow in number even as more leaders, staff gain awareness (Contemporary OB/GYN) ‘New era’ as 2023 could go from bad to worse for invasions of computer networks.
The Ethical Investor: How AI helps cyber criminals, and why cyber security is now a major factor for ESG - Stockhead (Stockhead) Why cybersecurity is emerging as an ESG factor for investors, and what impact Artificial Intelligence has on the cybersecurity sector.
Marketplace
ProjectDiscovery raises $25M to launch a cloud version of its threat-scanning platform (TechCrunch) ProjectDiscovery, which is developing tools to help security teams detect and remediate security threats, has raised $25M.
Conversant Group Hires Tod Grantham as VP of Professional Services (PR Newswire) Conversant Group, an innovative provider of "Secure First" infrastructure and cybersecurity services, has added Tod Grantham as the company's...
Joe Rohner: Booz Allen Gets Workforce Ready for AI - ExecutiveBiz (ExecutiveBiz) Looking for the latest Government Contracting News? Check out our story: Joe Rohner: Booz Allen Gets Workforce Ready for AI. Click to read the full story!
NTT Research CIS Lab Director Wins Second IACR Test-of-Time Award for Paper on Oblivious Transfer (Business Wire) NTT and NTT Research Also Contribute 15 Papers to Crypto 2023
Meta Platforms gets tough with its return-to-work plan, warns employees they could be fired if they don't comply (Silicon Valley Business Journal) Meta Platforms Inc. on Thursday delivered a message to employees: management will be watching how they comply with the company's return-to-office rules and workers could be fired if they don't, according to a report in Insider.
Products, Services, and Solutions
Deloitte and Claroty team for OT cybersecurity (CRN Australia) Vendor’s xDome to be built into Deloitte’s managed XDR.
Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE Recognized as a Leader in Zero Trust Edge Solutions (PR Newswire) Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, announced today it has been positioned as a leader in the inaugural...
Booz Allen Wins DISA's Thunderdome Production Agreement | WashingtonExec (Washington Executive) Kelly Rozumalski, Booz Allen Booz Allen Hamilton has won a follow-on production other transaction authority agreement to deploy Thunderdome, the Defense Inf ...
How to Protect Your Cryptocurrency with a Cold Wallet | Trend Micro News (Trend Micro News) Why Do You Need a Cold Wallet to Protect Your Cryptocurrency? How to Set up Cold Wallets? What's the Common Risks?
Kivu Launches New Managed Security Services for Cloud and Identity Threat Detection and Response (PR Newswire) Kivu Consulting, a premier global cybersecurity solutions provider, is proud to introduce two new managed security services: Cloud Detection...
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
SEC Rule Sparks Reimagining of Cybersecurity Operations (Palo Alto Networks Blog) The U.S. SEC's new cybersecurity reporting rule mandates companies disclose their cybersecurity risk management processes in annual reports.
The Growing Need For Cyber Insurance (Wealth Management) Digital fraud is a growing threat to advisors, who are on their own when it comes to buying coverage for the risk.
CISA and Election Security Partners Hold Tabletop the Vote Election Security Exercise (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) hosted the nation’s largest annual election security exercise this week in close coordination with the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED).
Design and Innovation
Google Brings AI Magic to Fuzz Testing With Eye-Opening Results (SecurityWeek) Google sprinkles magic of generative-AI into its open source fuzz testing infrastructure and finds immediate success with code coverage.
Academia
Department of Defense-Sponsored Cyber Internship Offers Knowledge, Inspiration for College (U.S. Department of Defense) The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering-sponsored Cyber-Spectrum internship program, MAVEN, recently celebrated its second internship graduation.
Utica University receives grant for cyber range plans (Central New York Business Journal) Utica University received a $150,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust to build a new cyber range in Bull Hall.
BlueVoyant Empowers Next Generation of the STEM Workforce (PR Newswire) BlueVoyant, a leading global cybersecurity firm, is honored to team up with the Transforming Lives Community Development Corporation (TLCDC) to...
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
States’ use of non-state actors in cyberspace (Observer Research Foundation) Without proper legislation, states using non-state actors for cyberwarfare pose a significant threat to governments, businesses, and individuals.
Chinese Officials Meet Foreign Firms to Ease Data Law Fears (Bloomberg) Walmart, PayPal among foreign firms that met CAC last week. They discussed fast-tracking some data transfers abroad.
U.K. to Put Magnifying Glass on Crypto Transfers (Wall Street Journal) The country’s financial regulator laid out guidance for applying rules for traditional money transfers to those involving digital assets.
Crypto memes could land you in prison or with an unlimited fine for breaching financial promotion rules, UK regulator warns ‘finfluencers’ (MSN) The UK's financial regulator is proposing new rules for social media promotions. It specifically highlights memes promoting crypto investment as potential rule-breakers.
Cyber Incident Notification Requirements (NCUA) Beginning on September 1, 2023, all federally insured credit unions must notify the NCUA as soon as possible after the credit union reasonably believes it has experienced or received notice of a reportable cyber incident.
The Plan to Better Protect US Hospitals From Ransomware (WIRED) An innovation agency within the US Department of Health and Human Services will fund research into better defenses for the US health care system’s digital infrastructure.
Troops need improved cyber education, US Army leaders say (Defense News) Failing "to defend the networks that our warfighters use absolutely will cause us to lose,” said Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, the ARCYBER commander.
Newly created Army cyber/space office to focus on streamlining efforts, building out talent - Breaking Defense (Breaking Defense) “I think our focus right now is we have to grow fast…And that’s done through good hiring actions…it’s also the retention of employees that we have," Christopher Green said. "I want to make sure we build a culture where people want to come to work everyday, they want to stay with us and they want to help us build our capabilities.”
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Veröffentlichung Bundeslagebild: über 130.000 Fälle von Cybercrime in 2022 (Bundeskriminalamt) Straftaten im Bereich Cybercrime liegen in Deutschland weiter auf einem sehr hohen Niveau. Im vergangenen Jahr registrierte die Polizei 136.865 Fälle von Cybercrime. Das geht aus dem heute veröffentlichten Bundeslagebild Cybercrime 2022 hervor. Damit nahm die Zahl der Taten im Vergleich zum Vorjahr um 6,5 Prozent ab. Wie das Lagebild anhand von ergänzenden Lagedaten jedoch auch zeigt, nahm die Zahl jener Taten, die aus dem Ausland heraus begangen werden und in Deutschland einen Schaden verursachen, weiter zu, nämlich um 8 Prozent im Vergleich zum Vorjahr.
German Police Warn of Increased Foreign Cybercrime Threat (Bank Info Security) Ransomware and other cyberthreats stemming from overseas actors surged last year in Germany, causing losses worth billions of euros, the country's federal police
Cyber security researchers become target of criminal hackers (Financial Times) Computer experts called in to tackle organised hacking groups say their work is attracting physical threats
Republicans scrutinize Biden White House’s emails with tech platforms (NBC News) Selective releases from Rep. Jim Jordan and a federal court case have become a focus for Republicans claiming censorship on social media.
Officials Investigate Threats Against Trump Grand Jurors in Georgia (New York Times) Some of the jurors’ identities have been shared on social media, with suggestions that they be harassed or made “infamous.”
Truth Social are doxxing grand jurors who indicted Trump in Georgia (The Independent) A plethora of Truth Social users came to Mr Trump’s defence following his fourth indictment
Dallas Ransomware Victim Count Climbs, Feds Investigate (GovTech) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it’s investigating the Dallas ransomware attack from earlier this year. The city now says 30,253 people were impacted by the cyber attack.
Kobach: KBI looking into possible data breach in Kansas newspaper case (The Lawrence Times) Kansas AG Kris Kobach says state authorities reviewing alleged crimes associated with the raid of a Marion newspaper are interested in whether someone breached the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System.
FBI arrest California police officers involved in racist text messages scandal (the Guardian) A grand jury had indicted officers from Antioch and Pittsburg for a wide range of offenses, including criminal conspiracy
Did a Journalist Violate Hacking Law to Leak Fox News Clips? The Government Thinks He Did. (Zero Day) But attorneys for Timothy Burke say a raid on his home and office exhibit government over-reach and misuse of the federal hacking law, and raises First Amendment issues.
‘No records’ of suspected Russian spy graduating from claimed university (Record) Queensland University of Technology said it has “no records of anyone" with the name Orlin Roussev as having graduated from the institution.
One month after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected California’s ban on enforcing agreements that require the individual arbitration of claims under the Private Attorneys General Act of 2004, the California Supreme Court granted review in Adolph v. Uber Technologies, Inc.
In Adolph, the state Supreme Court held that a plaintiff employee who was compelled to arbitrate his or her own PAGA claims based on Labor Code violations still has standing to pursue PAGA claims in the courts on behalf of other employees.
Lawyers and judges throughout the state assumed Adolph would resolve whether, after arbitration of the PAGA claim based on violations experienced by the plaintiff, the same plaintiff could go to court on the merits of the PAGA claims based on violations experienced by coworkers.
It did not.
The Adolph decision is limited to the issue of standing. Thus, arguably a PAGA plaintiff whose individual claim is sent to arbitration has still waived the right to proceed based on “events involving other employees.”
What is a “representative”?
To appreciate the holdings in the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Viking River Cruises v. Moriana and the California Court’s decision in Adolph, it is important to first understand the two contexts in which the term “representative” is used in PAGA jurisprudence. In the first context, PAGA claims are “representative” claims insofar as they are qui tam (a Latin term meaning “in the name of the king”) actions brought by employees as proxies for the State of California. In other words, a plaintiff who brings a PAGA claim does so as a representative of the State.
The second meaning of “representative” is that a PAGA plaintiff seeks to recover civil penalties not just for violations experienced personally, but also for violations experienced by other employees. In other words, it is similar to a class action lawsuit, in which a plaintiff acts on behalf of similarly situated individuals.
California precedent holds that an arbitration agreement cannot require an employee to categorically waive the right to assert a PAGA claim as a representative of the State. Viking River Cruises and Adolph do not disturb that holding. Accordingly, the rest of this bulletin uses “representative” in the second context: that of a plaintiff who brings a PAGA claim on behalf of other employees.
Viking River Cruises
In Viking River Cruises, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Federal Arbitration Act mandates the enforcement of bilateral agreements requiring the arbitration of claims on on an individual basis (that is, class waivers). Viking River Cruises overruled the California Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transp. Los Angeles, LLC, to the extent that Iskanian held that PAGA claims could not be compelled to individual arbitration. In Iskanian, the court had ruled that PAGA claims are incapable of division into “individual” and “representative” components.
As a result of Viking River Cruises, if a plaintiff brings a PAGA claim seeking to recover penalties for both personal violations and violations experienced by others, the claim can now be divided into individual and representative components, and the plaintiff can be required to arbitrate the individual component.
But Viking River Cruises did not explicitly resolve what happened to the representative portions of the PAGA claim. Should they be dismissed, as in a class action? Does the plaintiff maintain standing to purse the representative components even after the individual components have been sent to arbitration?
Enter Adolph.
Adolph
In Adolph, the California Supreme Court held that a plaintiff who has been compelled to arbitrate individual PAGA claims still has standing to pursue representative PAGA claims in court. The Court reasoned that the text of the PAGA statute has only two requirements for standing – first, that the plaintiff have been employed by the alleged violator, and second, that the plaintiff be “aggrieved” insofar as he or she suffered at least one Labor Code violation.
Critically, Adolph addresses only statutory standing under state law (where Article III standing principles do not apply). The fact that a party has standing to assert a claim does not settle whether the party may actually litigate the merits of the claim. Claims are routinely dismissed for a variety of reasons unrelated to standing.
And indeed, when putative class claims are dismissed based on an order compelling individual arbitration, standing is not the issue. Instead, the class claims are being dismissed because the FAA requires enforcement of the plaintiff’s agreement to arbitrate individually. The same rationale should apply to PAGA claims post-Viking River Cruises.
Moving forward
The early consensus among both plaintiff-side and defense-side employment practitioners has been that Adolph leaves a PAGA plaintiff free to pursue representative PAGA claims even after the plaintiff’s individual claims have been sent to arbitration, effectively nullifying any positive impact of Viking River Cruises.
We are more optimistic. Although the issues surrounding the waiver of the representative components of PAGA claims are unlikely to be settled in the next few years, employers should be able to rely on Viking River Cruises to argue that once the individual component of a PAGA claim is sent to arbitration, the representative components should also be dismissed.
We also recommend that employers review their arbitration agreements with outside counsel to ensure they include representative action waiver language crafted to take full advantage of the holdings in Viking River Cruises and Adolph.
Latinos are cheering the new superhero film “Blue Beetle” — and it’s not just because the title character defeats the bad guys.
They’re applauding because it’s the first live-action movie to star a Latino hero. Not only that, but “Blue Beetle” features a mostly Latino cast, Latino writers and is helmed by a Latino director, creating a major milestone in Hollywood history.
“There’s something that registers a sense of familiarity that makes the film even more significant to us when we see someone with whom we can identify,” said Richard T. Rodríguez, a UC Riverside English professor who’s written about comic books.
The film’s impact is being felt across heavily Latino Southern California, where Latinos are applauding the character and saying that it’s about time someone who looks like them plays a starring role alongside the likes of Batman, Superman and Iron Man.
Moreno Valley resident Norma Hernandez, 47, took the day off work Thursday, Aug. 17, to watch the movie with her son, Ivan Hernandez, 27.
“I think it’s amazing,” Norma Hernandez said before an afternoon showing at the Moreno Valley Harkins Theatre. “We typically see Latinos as construction or field workers in movies. We never see heroes. We’re having a voice.”
“Blue Beetle,” which tells the story of what happens to teenager Jaime Reyes after he gets an alien suit of armor, is paving the way for more Latino representation in film, Rodríguez said.
Diversity is about more than who is on the screen, Rodríguez said.
“It’s also about who’s working behind the camera, who’s writing the script, who’s doing the casting,” he said, adding that seeing themselves in American media can be empowering for Latinos.
Action, a superhero and George Lopez – who plays the star’s kooky uncle — brought Ivan Hernandez to the theater.
“It looks like it’s going to be funny,” Ivan Hernandez said.
Like Ivan Hernandez, other generations will show up at the movies because of familiar Latino names such as Lopez or Xolo Maridueña, who stars as Reyes but is known for his role in “Cobra Kai,” the TV series sequel to “The Karate Kid” films that began in 2018.
“The inclusion of a multi-generational cast is really pivotal because it registers a familiarity with a wide range of spectators, from young to middle aged to elderly,” Rodríguez said.
Maximus Carrillo, an 18-year-old from Van Nuys, was also looking forward to the film’s portrayal of the Latino family bond, he said before a Thursday showing at Regal Sherman Oaks Galleria.
Carrillo said he was “pumped” to see the movie because, as a kid, he never saw Latino characters.
Though the Blue Beetle is being celebrated as the first live action Latino superhero with a starring role, there have been previous Latino and Latina superheroes.
In 2022, Xochitl Gómez, who is of Mexican descent, co-starred in the Marvel Studios movie “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” as America Chavez, a young girl who can travel the multiverse.
Others also include Miles Morales, a teenager of Black and Puerto Rican descent, in the animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” and Roberto “Robbie” Reyes — known as Ghost Rider — in the TV series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Some Latinos may recall a 1970s superhero on Mexican television known as El Chapulin Colorado, the Red Grasshopper.
El Chapulin was the antithesis of a typical superhero. He wore yellow shorts over a red jumpsuit and antennas and is an iconic character and symbol in Mexican culture, though he often creates more trouble than he solves.
Though it’s not known if the “Blue Beetle,” which was first a comic book, took inspiration from El Chapulin, Rodriguez finds the similarities interesting.
“This kind of insect figure that each one of their identities is derived from is really significant because what it’s doing is it’s drawing a parallel with what it means to be marginalized as Mexican American or Mexican or Latino in the U.S. and kind of turning that script on its head by giving them you know, a more significant role to play on a much wider scale,” Rodríguez said.
As a nod to El Chapulin, the movie mentions him during a scene in which Lopez jams a surveillance room’s feed with the 2015 animated version of the character in order to sneak into a building.
The movie also includes Latin music and jokes about Latino culture that drew chuckles from the crowd Thursday.
It cites “María la del Barrio,” a 1995 Mexican telenovela in which a poor girl gets taken in by a rich family. It mentions VapoRub, affectionately coined “vapuru” by Latinos who use it to treat illnesses. And its musical catalog includes “Atrévete (Ponte Rebelde)” by Subverso, “La Chona” by Los Tucanes de Tijuana and “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” by Selena.
Southern California comic shop owners are also excited, too.
Enrique Muñoz, who owns Comic Hero University in Fullerton, said that growing up, he never felt that he couldn’t be Spider-Man — his favorite superhero — because of his ethnicity. Still, Muñoz is proud that a Latino superhero will be carrying a movie.
But he feels the content of superheroes’ character is more important than their race.
“Make sure that the story is good,” Muñoz said. “Because through that, more people will find some aspect of themselves within the character. It doesn’t matter what race, orientation, religion or whatever the character is.”
Mark Garcia, store manager at Comic Book Hideout in downtown Fullerton, echoed many when he said that, as a Latino youth, he had few superheroes to look up to.
“I think that’s cool to see that it’s possible that we can be the hero of the stories and we can be a star of the movie,” Garcia said.
Other than the cartoon character Dora the Explorer, Garcia said there hasn’t been much positive Latino representation in the media. There have been plenty of stereotypical representations of Latinos as villains, workers or henchmen in film, he said.
“Other than movies that were made by us, I feel like there was always a typecast to play an immigrant, cholo or a background character,” Garcia said.
Because people often form opinions of groups depending on how they are portrayed in entertainment, stereotyping Latinos in the media creates a false narrative about who they are, said Maylen Calienes, founder of the Hollywood-based Latino Filmmakers Network.
Calienes remembered how growing up in Miami she felt most connected to the shows “I Love Lucy” and “¿Qué Pasa, USA?” because they were representative of her and her family. But when Calienes started acting and producing in Los Angeles, she said she “was put into a box” and was only wanted for projects involving Latino characters.
“Latinos are a very diverse community, but usually in this industry, it seems like it’s always the same type of stories and projects that come out from our community that are greenlit all the time,” Calienes said.
It’s important, she said, to advertise “Blue Beetle” as a superhero movie rather than a Latino movie because “it just happens to have Latinos involved.”
“Growing up, if you only see women with blue eyes and blonde hair being portrayed as pretty, that’s what you want to be,” Calienes said. “It’s so important to see yourself being represented in these roles in an early age because then it’s like … I’m happy to be the way that I look like. I’m happy to be me. I’m happy to speak another language. I’m happy to have an accent.”
LATINO SUPERHEROES
While “Blue Beetle” is being hailed as the first live-action superhero film centered around a Latino hero, there have been previous Latino superheroes on the screen. Here are a few of them.
Miles Morales — The teenager, who is of Puerto Rican and Black heritage, becomes Spider-Man in the 2018 animated film “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” He returns in the 2023 sequel “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.”
America Chavez — The teenage girl with teleportation powers, played by Xochitl Gomez, was a supporting character in the 2022 film “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”
Diablo — Jay Hernandez plays a tattooed gang member who can wield fire in “Suicide Squad,” the 2018 ensemble movie about anti-heroes.
Roberto “Robbie” Reyes — The mechanic who becomes Ghost Rider was played by Gabriel Luna in the ABC TV series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” which ran from 2013 to 2020.
Cisco Ramon — The superhero Vibe, played by Carlos Valdes, is a friend of The Flash on The CW TV series of the same name.
Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez — The Colombian agent, played by Natalia Cordova-Buckley, gained the power of super speed on “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Sunspot — The mutant named Roberto da Costa can manipulate solar energy and is played by Brazilian actor Henry Zaga in the 2020 film, “The New Mutants.”
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