Social Security

Duke Energy Collaborates with North American Utilities on Protecting Customers from Scams

Retrieved on: 
Monday, November 14, 2022

"This is Duke Energy, and we are on our way to disconnect your service unless you pay us right now."

Key Points: 
  • "This is Duke Energy, and we are on our way to disconnect your service unless you pay us right now."
  • If you receive a similar call or text, do not engage because Duke Energy never calls or text customers demanding immediate payment to avoid disconnections.
  • That's why Duke Energy partners with utilities across North America to bring awareness on fraudulent activities during the seventh annual Utility Scam Awareness Day on Nov. 16.
  • Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies.

Xinhua Silk Road: E. China's Jiangsu to hold promotion and match-making event, welcoming overseas talents

Retrieved on: 
Friday, November 11, 2022

BEIJING, Nov. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- East China's Jiangsu Province will hold a promotion and match-making event to attract talents from overseas to work and start business in the province.

Key Points: 
  • BEIJING, Nov. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- East China's Jiangsu Province will hold a promotion and match-making event to attract talents from overseas to work and start business in the province.
  • The event is expected to be held in the Jiangbei New Area of Nanjing City from November 21 to 25.
  • The five-day event will be live-streamed this year, as a bid to reach more online audience and attract more overseas talents to come to Jiangsu.
  • Since 2006, the annual events have attracted a total of 1,709 overseas talents with doctoral degrees from 25 countries and regions to visit Jiangsu.

Xinhua Silk Road: E. China's Jiangsu to hold promotion and match-making event, welcoming overseas talents

Retrieved on: 
Friday, November 11, 2022

BEIJING, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- East China's Jiangsu Province will hold a promotion and match-making event to attract talents from overseas to work and start business in the province.

Key Points: 
  • BEIJING, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- East China's Jiangsu Province will hold a promotion and match-making event to attract talents from overseas to work and start business in the province.
  • The event is expected to be held in the Jiangbei New Area of Nanjing City from November 21 to 25.
  • The five-day event will be live-streamed this year, as a bid to reach more online audience and attract more overseas talents to come to Jiangsu.
  • Since 2006, the annual events have attracted a total of 1,709 overseas talents with doctoral degrees from 25 countries and regions to visit Jiangsu.

Household spending and fiscal support during the pandemic – the role of public perceptions

Retrieved on: 
Friday, November 11, 2022

This posed a dramatic challenge to fiscal authorities, which needed to design and channel fiscal measures that were targeted, effective and efficiently allocated.

Key Points: 
  • This posed a dramatic challenge to fiscal authorities, which needed to design and channel fiscal measures that were targeted, effective and efficiently allocated.
  • For example, support measures ranged from traditional social security provisions, delivered through existing social welfare programmes, to more time-specific and pandemic-specific direct financial support and subsidies, including in-kind support (e.g.
  • Understanding households perceptions about these support measures is important for the optimal design, communication and subsequent evaluation of such policies.
  • Types of pandemic-related government support in 2020
    (percentages of respondents indicating that they received support, by type)

    Source: CES data collected in December 2020.

  • Please indicate whether your household has received such support in any of the following forms since January 2020.
  • [6] To gauge these perceptions, we asked CES respondents to directly assess the adequacy of fiscal support measures for the financial well-being of their household.
  • One finding we obtain is that respondents who received support generally perceive fiscal interventions to be more adequate (Chart 2).
  • A key question is whether changes in perceptions about the adequacy of government support policies could have a causal impact on actual spending decisions of consumers.
  • This is important, as a rise in expected taxes associated with government support measures could attenuate the stimulatory effects of fiscal policy.
  • This points to the powerful role of perceptions, as they operate over and above any immediate effects that government transfers can have on spending.
  • This, in turn, can help stimulate consumer spending and enhance the benefits of fiscal policy in terms of stabilising the economy.
  • Importantly, such perceptions influence the behaviour of households in general and not just those who actually receive support.

Default lines: How the FTC says Credit Karma and Fandango SSLighted security settings

Retrieved on: 
Friday, November 11, 2022

Its not a perfect analogy, of course, but the FTCs settlements with credit information company Credit Karma and movie ticket site Fandango demonstrate the dangers when companies override the default settings of operating systems designed to authenticate and secure the connections used to transmit sensitive information.

Key Points: 
  • Its not a perfect analogy, of course, but the FTCs settlements with credit information company Credit Karma and movie ticket site Fandango demonstrate the dangers when companies override the default settings of operating systems designed to authenticate and secure the connections used to transmit sensitive information.
  • This one-two punch of validation through an SSL certificate and encryption creates a safer way for people to transmit sensitive data.
  • By default, these APIs automatically validate SSL certificates and reject the connection if the certificate is invalid.
  • The developer documentation for both the iOS and Android operating systems uses particularly strong language to warn against disabling those default validation settings.
  • According to the FTC, Credit Karma and Fandango ignored those Dont go there warnings.
  • But the FTC says Credit Karma let the app go to market without turning the default settings back on.
  • The complaint alleges that a user contacted Credit Karma, leading the companys engineers to update the app in January 2013 to restore the default settings.
  • A short time later, FTC staff contacted Credit Karma about the problem.
  • The FTC says Fandango compounded the problem by not having an effective channel for people to report security problems.
  • Within three weeks, Fandango issued an update of both iOS apps that restored the default settings, thereby plugging that security hole.
  • Consistent with other settlements, Credit Karma and Fandango will need stem-to-stern security audits from an independent professional every other year for the next 20 years.
  • According to the complaint, Credit Karma authorized a service provider to disable the SSL certificate validation process during pre-release testing, but didnt see to it that the security settings were restored after that.
  • But standards change, so keep an eye on current technologies, and make sure youre using the latest and greatest security features.
  • Bookmark the FTCs Privacy & Security page and consult other public sources for free information about developing safer apps.

HYDE SHIPPING CORPORATION PROVIDES NOTICE OF DATA PRIVACY EVENT

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 10, 2022

HIALEAH, Fla., Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyde Shipping Corporation ("Hyde Shipping") is providing notice of an incident that may affect the privacy of certain individuals' personal information.

Key Points: 
  • HIALEAH, Fla., Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyde Shipping Corporation ("Hyde Shipping") is providing notice of an incident that may affect the privacy of certain individuals' personal information.
  • On or around July 13, 2022, Hyde Shipping became aware of suspicious activity related to an employee email account.
  • Upon learning of the event, Hyde Shipping immediately took steps to secure the affected email account and investigated the incident with computer forensics specialists.
  • Hyde Shipping is also offering credit monitoring and identity protection services to individuals whose information may be impacted by this event.

Mike Morse Law Firm Announces NIL Deal with Mike Morris

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 10, 2022

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mike Morse Law Firm, Michigan's largest personal injury law firm is excited to announce it has teamed up with University of Michigan linebacker Mike Morris on a Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) campaign.With the Wolverines off to a 9-0 start, attorney and founder Mike Morse felt there was no better time to reach out to Mike Morris, who has been a defensive star throughout the 2022 football season.

Key Points: 
  • SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mike Morse Law Firm , Michigan's largest personal injury law firm is excited to announce it has teamed up with University of Michigan linebacker Mike Morris on a Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) campaign.
  • "Mike Morris is an incredible football player," said Morse.
  • The Mike Morse Law Firm has been protecting the rights ofMichiganauto accident and injury victims for three decades.
  • Mike Morse Law Firm handles cases throughoutthe state of Michigan, with a main office inSouthfield.

Workers' compensation costs and benefits declined sharply in the first year of the pandemic, with significant variation across states

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 8, 2022

The reportcontains nineteen tables, seven figures, and fiveappendices covering national and state-level data relevant to workers compensation outcomes.

Key Points: 
  • The reportcontains nineteen tables, seven figures, and fiveappendices covering national and state-level data relevant to workers compensation outcomes.
  • In addition to its impacts on employment, the pandemic placed pressure on workers compensation and other disability benefit programs to keep households afloat.
  • The benefit decline was driven by a 12.8% decrease in standardized medical benefits; indemnity benefits fell by only 3.1%.
  • And while these declines in standardized costs and benefits continue a multi-decade long trend, the 2020 declines were especially large.

"I always feel like somebody's watching me"

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 10, 2022

Through software marketed by DesignerWare LLC, rent-to-own companies could trip a kill switch that deactivated computers if they were stolen or if renters didnt keep current with their payments.

Key Points: 
  • Through software marketed by DesignerWare LLC, rent-to-own companies could trip a kill switch that deactivated computers if they were stolen or if renters didnt keep current with their payments.
  • The software also offered a wiping feature that let stores erase the hard drives before renting the computers to other people.
  • But it didnt end there and thats where the story takes an eerie turn.
  • According to the complaint, once the rent-to-own store gave the go-ahead, DesignerWare would remotely complete the Detective Mode installation process.
  • The FTC says the data gathered by the software and provided to rent-to-own stores using Detective Mode revealed confidential details about peoples computer use.
  • At its highest setting, Detective Mode took webcam pictures and screen shots every two minutes while the computer was on.
  • In addition, the FTC charged that the company deceptively gathered and disclosed personal information collected from that fake software registration form.
  • Rents, LLC, d/b/a ColorTyme; Red Zone, Inc., d/b/a ColorTyme; B. Stamper Enterprises, Inc., d/b/a Premier Rental Purchase; and C.A.L.M.
  • The seven rent-to-own stores are prohibited from using information improperly gathered from consumers in connection with debt collection.
  • Next: Rent-to-own may not be your business, but theres a lot you can take from the FTC settlements

Stick with Security: Control access to data sensibly

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 10, 2022

According to Start with Security, its time to put limits in place to control access to data sensibly.

Key Points: 
  • According to Start with Security, its time to put limits in place to control access to data sensibly.
  • You have a lock on the door to prevent after-hours access to your business and people cant just stroll onto your factory floor.
  • Not everyone on your staff needs unrestricted access to all confidential information you keep.
  • Weve created a series of examples based on FTC settlements, closed investigations, and questions weve heard from businesses to provide tips on controlling access to data sensibly.
  • If employees dont have to use personal information as part of their job, theres no need for them to have access to it.
  • For confidential paperwork, a reasonable access control could be as simple as a locked cabinet.
  • For data on your network, separate user accounts that limit who can view sensitive files or databases is an effective option.
  • The system gives all employees IT staff, sales representatives, HR personnel, and support staff access to customer profiles.
  • Limit access to sensitive data to staff members who need it for the performance of their duties.