A relatively quiet week with a few smaller companies getting funding. Major news included Appian releasing the latest version of its Appian Platform 24.3. This release adds new support for Enterprise AI use cases from process automation to application building. The AI is delivered through a range of new AI Copilots. The company also claims that it will help customers prepare for current and future AI regulations around the world.
Darkscope has formally launched a channel program for Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) to sell its AI-enabled cybersecurity solutions. The program follows successful pilots in the UK and Germany. The target markets are EMEA, North America, and APAC.
FBI
The FBI has announced its Take A Beat campaign to warn people of frauds and scams. It also wants people to be more willing to report those they encounter to law enforcement. The campaign will see the FBI provide examples of the active types of fraud and scams it encounters. It will also provide hints and tips on identifying and avoiding them.
According to the FBI’s latest Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) data, there have already been $1.6 billion in losses from January to May of 2024, which is nearly $300 million more from the same time last year.
Executive Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch said, “Fraud remains one of the most devastating violations the FBI works due to number of victims and the number of losses.
“In addition to the immediate financial harm, victims can experience other harm to include emotional and sometimes physical. Preventing fraud victimization takes a whole of community approach, so we encourage conversation between you and your loved ones in signs of potential scams, what to do if you fall victim, and how to report.”
Jumpcloud
JumpCloud Inc. has announced the launch of the Make Work Happen podcast. The podcast will share stories of innovation and resilience, showing how companies transform their workplaces from the point of view of those people making it happen. Each episode will feature an industry leader to discuss all things IT.
A new episode will air every other Tuesday. The first episode is now available online and streamed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and other popular platforms. Tune in and subscribe to discover how IT leaders remain vigilant in today’s changing IT landscape.
NOYB
noyb has filed two complaints against the European Parliament about a massive data breach in May 2024. Over 8,000 staff were affected by the loss of highly sensitive personal data. It took the Parliament months to discover the breach, and it has yet to say how it occurred. That leaves open the risk that more data can be stolen.
The PEOPLE system, from which the data was lost, requires potential employees to upload vast amounts of sensitive data. Importantly, for these complaints, the amount of data requested breaches GDPR by being excessive and by being retained far beyond the period required.
According to noyb, Article 4(1)(c) EU GDPR requires EU institutions to only process data that is “adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed”.
Acting on behalf of four parliament employees, the complaints allege that the EU Parliament appears to have breached Articles 4(1)(c) and (f) and 33(1) of the EU GDPR. In addition, when one of the complainants asked for data to be deleted as they hadn’t been employed by the EU Parliament, their request was denied. That’s despite EU Citizens having the right to be forgotten.
US Department of Justice
Naturalised US citizen Ping Li has pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as an agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) without notifying the Attorney General. Li is a telecommunications and IT worker living in Florida. He admitted to passing data to the PRC’s Ministry of State Security since 2012. Among the data provided was that of Chinese dissidents and pro-democracy advocates living in the US.
When Li was asked for details of the offices of a major US telecommunications company in China, he provided that data to his handler. He also passed on data on a major US technology company and its cybersecurity training.
