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☆ Young Cyber Companies Face Uncertain Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Newer cybersecurity companies are grappling with uncertain economic conditions as they find it harder to raise capital, continue to trim their workforces and refocus on profits after long periods of chasing growth. Fed by a glut of venture-capital investment, many private cybersecurity providers hired widely and expanded their operations significantly in recent years. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. Cybereason, a Boston-based security company, raised $100 million in Series G financing in early April, led by SoftBank. The company’s chief executive, Lior Div, was replaced by SoftBank executive Eric Gan, with Mr. Div taking on an advisory role.

☆ Inside the Delirious Rise of ‘Superfake’ Handbags
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Amy X. Wang | Grant Cornett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Once upon a time, the legend goes, Theseus slew the Minotaur and sailed triumphantly home to Athens on a wooden ship. What if, Thomas Hobbes wondered, someone rustled up a second boat out of the discarded planks; would you now have two original vessels? Not long ago, I found myself wandering through Paris with a fake Celine handbag slung over my shoulder. In France, a country that prides itself on originating so much of the world’s fashion, punishments for counterfeiting are severe, to the point that I technically risked three years in prison just by carrying my little knockoff around. My plunge into the world of fantastically realistic counterfeit purses — known as “superfakes” to vexed fashion houses and I.P.

☆ The 7 Best Movie and TV Dramas to Watch Right Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Wsj Arts In Review Staff | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Here’s a roundup of the most noteworthy movie and TV dramas to watch right now, as covered by The Wall Street Journal’s critics. Taron Egerton and Nikita Efremov Photo: AppleTV+When Vladimir Putin daydreams about the glories of the old Soviet Union, he’s probably not thinking about Tetris, still among the most popular videogames ever created and the U.S.S.R.’s most important contribution to international pop culture since Boris Pasternak . Mr. Putin might long to retrieve the rights to the game, though, which is what “Tetris” is all about.

☆ Italy probes Meta over abuse of position in music rights case
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MILAN, April 5 (Reuters) - Italy's antitrust authority said on Wednesday it would investigate Meta Platform (META.O) over the possible abuse of its position in talks over the rights to music posted on Meta's platforms and potentially hurting competition in the sector. According to the antitrust regulator, Mark Zuckerberg's company may have "unduly interrupted the negotiations for the stipulation of the licence for the use on its platforms" of SIAE's music rights, it said in a statement. Last month, Meta, which owns Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram, failed to reach a deal with SIAE to renew the copyright license. Protecting the copyrights of songwriters and artists is an important priority for us," a spokesperson for Meta said on Wednesday. The investigation involves Meta Platforms Inc, Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Meta Platforms Technologies UK Limited and Facebook Italy S.r.l.

☆ ‘Tetris’ Review: Story of a Soviet Videogame
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( John Anderson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

When Vladimir Putin daydreams about the glories of the old Soviet Union, he’s probably not thinking about Tetris, still among the most popular videogames ever created and the U.S.S.R.’s most important contribution to international pop culture since Boris Pasternak . Mr. Putin might long to retrieve the rights to the game, though, which is what “Tetris” is all about. There have been a number of very good films in recent years that might be described as business-political thrillers, among them “American Hustle,” “The Wolf of Wall Street” and even “Joy,” in which the villainy was mostly about greed, forged signatures, illicit payoffs and general scammery—rather than, say, spies, surveillance, threats of death and car chases. “Tetris,” in its generosity and occasional overkill, provides all of the above, along with Taron Egerton as Henk Rogers , a game designer and hustler described by one Soviet citizen as “dumb, but honest.” He’s not really dumb, though. He’s just naïve and guileless enough to think he can go to a country where the “game over” sign is already starting to blink and where diehard Marxists and would-be capitalists are picking over the bones of a decaying empire.

☆ U.S. to Provide $25 Million to Costa Rica for Cybersecurity
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. will provide cybersecurity support to the government of Costa Rica, officials said, almost a year after a ransomware group laid siege to its critical infrastructure and triggered a state of emergency. The funds will also help Costa Rica with strategic and technical cyber planning, training, hardware and software licenses, the official said. The official said the U.S. government believes Costa Rica’s support for Ukraine may have been a factor in Conti’s attack, as the group previously expressed its support for the Russian government’s invasion. PREVIEWThe grant to Costa Rica follows similar efforts from the U.S. to assist Albania in recovering from a cyberattack, which the federal government has since linked to Iran. Costa Rica has applied to join this initiative, which comprises 36 countries and the European Union, the official said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis hasn’t announced a presidential bid yet, but that hasn’t stopped him from receiving his first congressional endorsement. The endorsement comes weeks after Roy, among others, attended a Florida donor confab held for DeSantis. The focus of that event was how to replicate DeSantis’ Florida wins nationwide—but the clear subtext was the looming presidential race and the expectation that DeSantis could parlay his consistently high polling position into an official presidential run. (DeSantis himself was a founding member of the Freedom Caucus when he served in the House.) South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, another HFC member, threw his support behind former South Carolina Gov.

☆ Dangers from Hacks Stretch Beyond Broken Computer Systems
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( James Rundle | Kim S. Nash | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. Part of the delay, he said, was in getting details from the cloud company, which he declined to name. Cybersecurity companies should be held to a higher standard than others in relaying information about hacks quickly and thoroughly, Mr. Toubba said. The lessons learned from cyberattacks can be just as important as how a company responds to a breach, security chiefs say. LastPass has also rolled out several security tools in its infrastructure, data center and cloud systems, Mr. Toubba said.

☆ Global house prices set to extend declines, risk of more with higher rates
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Hari Kishan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Predicted drops in house prices in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Germany, Australia and New Zealand will come off price surges of as much as 50% since the start of the pandemic in 2020. House prices in Canada and New Zealand, which began to fall last year, were forecast to register a peak-to-trough drop of at least 20%, the poll showed. Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsDouble-digit falls from recent peaks were also predicted for Australia (16.0%), Germany (11.5%) and the U.S. (10.0%). Reuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsAmong the most commonly cited reasons for house prices to remain elevated were crimped supply, made worse during the pandemic, when construction activity came to a near-halt, and ever-rising demand. While India's housing market will remain resilient despite rising interest rates, home prices in Dubai were also predicted to rise steadily.

☆ Global house prices set to extend declines, risk of more with higher rates: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Hari Kishan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Medical-Device Makers Face Push to Protect Their Wares From Hacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Mounting cyberattacks against hospitals and clinics and a regulatory push are increasing the pressure on medical-device manufacturers to improve the security of their products. Cyber protections have often been an afterthought for medical devices, which can be in operation for decades. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. While Mr. Suarez acknowledged that greater transparency about vulnerabilities is needed from makers of medical devices, he also wants to see customers stop using old, unsupported equipment. “It’s a complex challenge,” Mr. Suarez said.

At least 15 U.S. oil refineries plan maintenance ranging from two to 11 weeks through May, tallies by Reuters and refining intelligence firm IIR Energy show. By mid-February, U.S. refiners will drop some 1.4 million barrels per day of processing capacity, double the five-year average, according to IIR. PBF Energy's (PBF.N) Toledo, Ohio, refinery remains largely offline from December, according to two people familiar with the matter. Heating oil margins are $58 per barrel, more than double the year-ago level. U.S. gasoline inventories are 226.8 million barrels, compared to 240.7 million at this time last year, while refinery capacity is 8% lower than before storm Elliott.

Output in the Eagle Ford shale field tanked in 2020, but has returned to growth with an average increase per month of about 17,000 barrels per bay (bpd) in the back half of 2022, according to U.S. government data. Its gains will help keep U.S. output rising as the Permian basin, the largest U.S. shale field, has slowed rapidly in the last year. The Eagle Ford is close to existing and proposed liquefied natural gas terminals, offering producers more buyers for their gas. February's Eagle Ford oil production is forecast to hit 1.2 million bpd, the most since April 2020, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. GRAPHIC: Eagle Ford oil rig count rises to highest since March 2019 https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-OIL/EAGLE/dwpkdazxgvm/Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Josie KaoOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cyber Chiefs Face Scrutiny and Challenges in 2023’s Uncertain Economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( James Rundle | Catherine Stupp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

That leaves security teams, in real terms, working with fewer resources, Ms. Huth said. Inflation is pushing wage demands higher and the scarcity of cyber professionals—particularly within highly technical industries such as power—means security staff are in demand, Mr. Bojar said. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. Cyber staffs will need to vet third-party services while installing safeguards against new avenues hackers could exploit, Kohler’s Ms. Huth said. Retail giant Amazon.com Inc. hopes to grow its security team, said Chief Security Officer Stephen Schmidt, despite a company-wide hiring freeze and layoffs for up to 10,000 workers elsewhere in the company.

☆ Cybersecurity Firms Cut Staff as Fears About Economy, Funding Mount
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Belle Lin | James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Cybersecurity companies have laid off hundreds of workers in recent months, as concerns mount that an economic downturn will delay funding rounds, and squeeze the amounts investors are willing to commit. But cybersecurity companies often run through cash at high rates, analysts say. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. In August, email security firm Malwarebytes Inc. laid off around 125 people, or roughly 14% of its global workforce, a spokesperson confirmed. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS How would a layoff at one of your cybersecurity providers affect your security strategy?

The article was one of a series of reports this year by the news agency on Binance's financial compliance and relationship with regulators across the world. Reuters also asked representatives of the local Binance units and affiliates about their relationship with the main Binance exchange. In Italy, Binance's public corporate filings detail just the unit's capital base and its ownership by a separate Binance company in Ireland. The Italian company, Binance Italy S.R.L., has its listed address in a block of shops and apartments in the southern city of Lecce. Just two of the Binance units analysed by Reuters offer more substantial details in their filings.

☆ Cyber Insurers Turn Attention to Catastrophic Hacks
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

While cyber insurance has evolved significantly in recent years, insurers say they might still be unprepared for the fallout from a catastrophic cyberattack. “I think it’s important we stress that the insurance industry has not had a catastrophic event,” said John Coletti, head of cyber reinsurance at Swiss Re. “We have hundreds of years of history of understanding that risk,” Mr. Tiernan said. Part of the challenge for modeling cyber catastrophes is that historical data simply doesn’t exist to produce accurate models, Mr. Tiernan said. “We probably need to pay a little more attention to the assumptions that underpin them.”Write to James Rundle at james.rundle@wsj.com

☆ Reported Ransomware Incidents, Costs Soared in 2021, Treasury Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. banks flagged ransomware-related transactions adding up to more than $1 billion in 2021, the Treasury Department said, although risk experts said that barely scratches the surface of cybercrime’s true economic scale. In 2020, such transactions totaled $416 million across 487 reports. FinCEN is an arm of the Treasury that analyzes financial data to identify money laundering, terrorist financing and other crimes. Reports from the first six months of 2021 alone exceeded the total for all of 2020, FinCEN said, noting that around 75% of incidents in 2021 stemmed from Russia-based cyber actors. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors.

☆ Italy's economy grows stronger than expected 0.5% in Q3, easing pressure on new govt
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

* Q3 GDP 0.5% q/q, 2.6% y/y* Easily beats forecasts* Q3 growth founded on domestic demandROME, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Italy's economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter from the previous three months, preliminary data showed on Monday, a much stronger reading than expected which takes some pressure off the new right-wing government. On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product in the euro zone's third largest economy was up 2.6%, national statistics bureau ISTAT said. The Treasury said last month that is expected to see a GDP contraction in the third quarter. ISTAT said that assuming GDP was flat quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, full-year growth would come in at 3.9% this year. ISTAT confirmed second quarter growth at 1.1% from the previous three months but revised the year-on-year rate to 4.9% from a previously reported 5.0%.

☆ You Won’t Find Artwork Hanging From The Walls of This Rustic Italian Farmhouse
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Ruth Bloomfield | Photographs Valeria Bismar For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Elena Miroglio and Paul Grobler dreamed of a house in the countryside. But the little taste of wilderness that they imagined for themselves wasn’t easy to find in Piedmont, one of Italy’s most important wine producing regions. According to the local tourist office, there are some 250,000 acres of vineyards, as well as olive groves and hazelnut farms in this section of northern Italy. “They are completely man made, and not what we wanted,” said Ms. Miroglio, 52, who is the president of Miroglio Fashion S.r.l.

Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Tore Ellingsen, Hans Ellegren and John Hassler announce the 2022 Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, during a news conference at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden October 10, 2022. The winners are Ben S. Bernanke (USA), Douglas W. Diamond (USA) and Philip H. Dybvig (USA). "Some households and some firms are already weakened," Gernot Doppelhofer, professor at the economics department of the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) said. The economics prize is not one of the original five awards created in the 1895 will of industrialist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel. It was established by Sweden's central bank and first awarded in 1969, its full and formal name being the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

☆ Wall Street Journal Puzzles and Crosswords
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WSJ Puzzles is the online home for America’s most elegant, adventurous and addictive crosswords and other word games.Read more about our puzzles. To reach us, email support@wsj.com.

☆ Nordic countries consistently rank as the happiest in the world. 2 Finnish recruiters explain why their work culture and lifestyle are so attractive.
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-19 | by ( Hendrikje Rudnick | Nathan Rennolds | Business Insider Deutschland | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Nordic countries consistently come highest in world happiness rankings. World Happiness Report/worldhappiness.reportFanny Aberg and Marcus Honkanen are originally from Finland, but they now live and work in Sweden. In an interview with Insider, Aberg and Honkanen described the Nordic mindset and the differences in lifestyle and working culture compared with other countries. Nordic MindsAberg said that in Nordic countries, "family always comes first." When asked which words described the "Nordic culture," Aberg said open, honest, personal, and transparent.

☆ După 6 ani, Vladimir Putin ridică interdicţia zborurilor charter spre Egipt
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-09 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: 1 min

Zborurile au fost stopate după ce un avion Metrojet cu turişti ruşi la bord, care reveneau de la Sharm el-Sheikh la Sankt-Petersburg, s-a prăbuşit în peninsula Sinai în octombrie 2015. Rusia a concluzionat că avionul a fost distrus de o bombă plasată la bordul aeronavei. O grupare afiliată organizaţiei jihadiste Stat Islamic a revendicat atentatul, scrie Agerpres.ro. Decretul lui Putin de ridicare a interdicţiei va fi o 'gură de oxigen' pentru staţiunile egiptene Sharm el-Sheikh şi Hurghada, care în trecut atrăgeau un mare număr de turişti ruşi. Reluarea tuturor zborurilor între cele două ţări a fost convenită în aprilie, într-o discuţie telefonică între preşedintele rus Vladimir Putin şi omologul său egiptean Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, informa la acea vreme preşedinţia de la Cairo.

Persons: Sheikh, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Abdel Fattah, Sisi Organizations: Sharm Locations: Sankt - Petersburg, Sinai, Rusia, Cairo

☆ STUDIU: Anticorpii împotriva COVID-19 durează până la 12 luni la 70 % dintre pacienţii recuperaţi
▼ + stars: | 2021-07-08 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +2 min

Anticorpii împotriva coronavirusului SARS-CoV-2 pot dura până la 12 luni la peste 70% dintre pacienţii care s-au recuperat de COVID-19, potrivit unui studiu publicat de cercetători chinezi şi preluat joi de mass-media locale, relatează EFE.Studiul relevă că vaccinarea poate "restrânge efectiv răspândirea" coronavirusului, având în vedere că oferă un răspuns imunitar similar modului în care organismul uman generează anticorpi împotriva virusurilor vii, scrie agerpres.ro Studiul a fost realizat de o filială a companiei farmaceutice Sinopharm - care produce două dintre vaccinurile aprobate de guvernul chinez - şi de Centrul de Cercetare Translaţională şi Medicină al Universităţii Jiaotong, din Shanghai.Pentru acest studiu au fost prelevate 1.800 mostre de plasmă convalescentă de la 869 de persoane care s-au recuperat de COVID-19 după 12 luni de la infectarea lor la Wuhan, oraşul unde s-a detectat primul focar mondial de coronavirus în decembrie 2019.Cercetătorii au verificat prezenţa şi cantitatea în aceste mostre de RBDIgG, un tip de anticorp ce indică nivelul de imunitate împotriva virusului.Potrivit rezultatelor, la 9 luni de la boală anticorpii s-au redus cu 64,3 % faţă de nivelul când pacienţii au contractat virusul dar au rămas stabili până în luna a 12-a.Răspunsul imunitar a fost mai puternic la bărbaţi decât la femei în primele etape ale infecţiei, însă diferenţa s-a estompat şi a dispărut cu totul după 12 luni.De asemenea, persoanele din categoria de vârstă 18 - 55 de ani au dezvoltat nivele mai ridicate de anticorpi.Potrivit Grupului Naţional de Biotehnologie din China - filiala Sinopharm care l-a desfăşurat - este vorba de cel mai extins studiu dintre cele realizate până acum pentru a verifica continuitatea răspunsului imunitar la pacienţii recuperaţi de COVID-19.

Organizations: Universităţii Locations: Wuhan, China

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