Tag Archive for: companies

Brain-Computer Interface Companies Are Wary of Regulation

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The nascent field of brain-computer interfaces is particularly sensitive to security concerns, making it a natural target for stringent oversight. But at a conference Thursday, several executives warned of the potential for what they called overregulation.

Brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, aim to enhance brain function using specialized devices. At a conference hosted by the US Commerce Department on Thursday, representatives from BCI companies including Elon Musk’s Neuralink Corp. spoke about their work and voiced concerns about government intervention.

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Feds close case of Kremlin-connected Russian tech businessman accused of hacking non-public reports of U.S. companies

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The fate of a Kremlin-connected Russian tech businessman accused of directing an $82 million hacking scheme of non-public reports of U.S. companies and then illegally trading off this information is now in the hands of a federal jury.

Attorneys made their closing arguments Friday following the two-week trial of Vladislav Klyushin in federal court in Boston’s Seaport District.

The defense argued that the case was politically motivated and built on “predetermined conclusions.” The prosecution argued that Klyushin’s trading activities had only a “one-in-a-trillion chance” of being coincidental and unconnected to the hacking.

Klyushin was a director of Moscow, Russia-based M-13, a company, according to court documents, which provided services including the “monitoring and analytics of media and social media messages” and penetration testing — a service in which a company tests for security vulnerabilities in IT infrastructure. The company claimed it was used by Russian government agencies and even by President Vladimir Putin’s office.

He was arrested while on a ski trip in Switzerland in March 2021 and then extradited to the U.S. to face four counts related to conspiracy and wire and securities fraud.

Klyushin was indicted alongside alleged co-conspirators Ivan Ermakov and Nikolai Rumiantcev on April 6, 2020. Two others, Mikhail Irzak and Igor Sladkov, have also been charged in the case. All of the alleged conspirators, excepting Klyushin, remain at large.

Ermakov, the alleged lead hacker, is a former officer in the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) also wanted by the FBI after he and 11 others were indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. in July 2018 for allegedly interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

“What’s not in dispute is that the hackers were sophisticated, they were experts,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Frank during the prosecution’s rebuttal, the last of the arguments heard before the jurors were given instructions by Judge Patti B. Saris.

Prosecutors allege Klyushin directed a scheme in which hackers at his company obtained quarterly and annual reports of major companies before they were made public by…

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Baby formula milk companies ‘exploit’ parents’ fears to boost sales, analysis alleges

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Many baby formula milk companies allegedly exploit parents’ emotions and “manipulate” scientific data to boost sales, according to a major new analysis published in The Lancet.

The analysis, led by Professor Nigel Rollins of the World Health Organization, said urgent clampdowns are needed to address misleading claims made by the industry.

It comes on the heels of the formula crisis in the U.S. last year, which saw parents struggling to find formula due to global supply chain issues exacerbated by a large recall of Abbott baby formula after two infants died.

“Part of what we’re exploring in The Lancet breastfeeding series is that the system of influence that commercial formula companies are engaged in is much, much more pervasive and much more influential than maybe previously thought.” study co-author Dr. Cecília Tomori, a breastfeeding expert and associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, told ABC News.

Scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports breastfeeding newborns, if possible and desired. Breastfeeding has well-documented health benefits for both the parent and the baby.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, babies who are breastfed are at lower risk of illnesses and diseases including asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes and sudden infant death syndrome.

PHOTO: Hand spooning baby food.

Hand spooning baby food.

STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images

Babies can also receive antibodies from the mother’s breast milk, which boosts their immune systems and helps protect them from disease.

Meanwhile, mothers who breastfeed lower their risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

The authors say while many new parents breastfeed, many choose not to, and all choices should be supported.

According to the analysis, formula milk companies use exploitative tactics to sell products such as preying on parents’ fears about their children’s health and development.

For example, companies have said it’s important to introduce formula to help settle the behaviors of babies, such as disrupted sleep and persistent crying, implying that breast milk alone is not enough.

“The formula milk industry uses poor science to suggest, with little supporting evidence, that their products are…

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Companies warned to step up cyber security to become ‘insurable’

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Businesses are at risk of finding that they are unable to secure cyber insurance cover as the volume of cyber attacks reaches new levels.

Companies are increasingly being required to put in place higher levels of cyber protection for their systems before they will be considered for cyber insurance.

According to insurers, the cost of cyber risks insurance has rocketed as demand for cover outstrips supply.

Their comments came as the World Economic Forum (WEF) published its Global risk report 2023, which identifies widespread cyber attacks and cyber insecurity as one of the top 10 risks facing governments and organisations over the next 10 years.

Carolina Klint, risk management leader for continental Europe for insurance broker Marsh, and one of the contributors to the report said that insurance companies were now coming out and saying that “cyber risk is systemic and uninsurable”.

That means, in future, companies may not be able to find cover for risks such as ransomware, malware or hacking attacks.

“It’s up to the insurance industry and to the capital markets whether or not they find the risk palatable,” she said in an interview with Computer Weekly, “but that is the direction it is moving in.”

In recent days, cyber attacks have disrupted the international delivery services of the Royal Mail and infected IT systems at the Guardian newspaper with ransomware.

The Global risks report rates cyber warfare and economic conflict as more serious threats to stability than the risks of military confrontation.

“There is a real risk that cyber attacks may be targeted at critical infrastructure, health care and public institutions,” said Klint. “And that would have dramatic ramifications in terms of stability.”

Risk of Russia stepping up cyber attacks

Russia’s cyber attacks against the Ukraine could, depending on how the war goes, lead to more generalised attacks against inadequately protected IT systems in the West.

“I do think with Russia’s attacks, depending on the level of frustration and the success or failure of the war, we might be looking at broader spray attacks, which are going to be less targeted, which means that more companies or…

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