There were a number of security breaches and ransomware attacks reported this week, showing that cybercrime never sleeps. Deloitte and Onapsis announced a new strategic alliance to deliver better security tools and outcomes for users of SAP products.
Accenture launched LearnVantage, an AI-native learning platform. It is planning to invest up to $1 billion over three years into the platform. To kickstart it, the company has also acquired online learning provider Udacity. With Accenture already spending over $1 billion a year on training its staff, this is as much about its own needs as creating a new major training provider.
FBI
The FBI released the 2023 Internet Crime Report during National Consumer Protection Week. It highlighted how effective scammers and other online criminals are when it comes to stealing from Americans. Phishing is still the primary means of attack with over 298,000 reports to the FBI. In total, almost 900,000 reports were made about internet crimes, with losses exceeding $12.5 billion. That’s an increase of almost 10% on 2022.
FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen reported, “Ohio ranked number five in the top 10 states of complaints, and number 17 in victim losses at over $197 million. And while we don’t like to see that number grow, we want to remind everyone to step up and report the crime or attempted scam. That is the only way we can identify criminals, investigate their actions, and dismantle their network.”
The FBI also published a release from its Knoxville, TN office showing it did better than most states, ranking 31st in terms of Internet crime complaints. It shows that Tennessee residents and businesses lost around $160 million in 2022. Tech support, investment fraud and business email compromise (BEC) were the leading categories in which losses were recorded.
US Department of Justice
A federal grand jury has indicted Linwei Ding, aka Leon Ding, for a plan to steal proprietary information on Google’s AI projects. It is alleged in the indictment that he was working for PRC-companies in the AI industry while also working at Google. He transferred Google trade secrets and other information to his personal account and then to those PRC-companies.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, said, “While we work to responsibly harness the benefits of AI, the Justice Department is on high alert to its risks, including global threats to our national security.
“As alleged in today’s charges, the defendant stole from Google over 500 confidential files containing AI trade secrets, while covertly working for China-based companies seeking an edge in the AI technology race. The Justice Department will relentlessly pursue and hold accountable those who would siphon disruptive technologies – especially AI – for unlawful export.”
