Image Credits: Forerunner Ventures

Forerunner Ventures first made its name in the venture world by betting on once-nascent startups like Jet, Bonobos and Glossier when it was far easier to build a digitally native brand. Yet, as commerce evolves, so does the firm.

As part of its ongoing evolution, Forerunner brought aboard veteran VC Brian O’Malley five years ago to dig into startups at the intersection of commerce and enterprise tech; to find out what’s interesting to him right now, we recently swung by Forerunner’s office in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park (now home to a growing number of venture firms) to ask.

Our conversation was wide-ranging, but unexpectedly, O’Malley seemed the most excited about old-fashioned service businesses. Think travel agencies, therapists’ offices, even plumbing companies — all of them “sleepy but very large categories,” said O’ Malley. Indeed, seated in a modern, glass-lined conference room, he highlighted a startup he’d just met within the HVAC space. “A lot of these local businesses are doing $10 million, $20 million, with 20% to 30% profit margins,” he enthused.

The big question, naturally, is whether they are suddenly venture fundable businesses. O’Malley explained why he thinks that, structured the right way and aided by recent advancements AI, they are. Excerpts from that chat follow, edited lightly for length and clarity.

TC: Consumer is a tough place to invest these days. Where do you see opportunities to invest Forerunner’s current fund?

BO: I’ve been spending a fair amount of time on a concept we’ve sort of labeled the “digitally native franchise.” It stems from looking at a lot of marketplace businesses in the category of trying to empower people to be able to work for themselves. On the one hand, you can work for one of these gig companies and you have everything kind of handled for you, but at the end of the day, you don’t really have much control. You’re really beholden to the platform and they’re getting most of the cut and you’re just completely commoditized.

At the other extreme, you can buy small business [software] and run your own company, but then you’re largely on your own. There’s no playbook. You have to find your own customers. You need to teach yourself a business. So we started wondering: How can you be prescriptive with a playbook and technology platform that also enables people to [foster] what they bring to the table as a business owner?

Like a real estate franchise.

But it’s not just Coldwell Banker or Taco Bell or 1-800-GOT-JUNK; there are a million businesses that do a trillion dollars of revenue. I didn’t know much about franchises historically, but one out of 20 people in the U.S. is employed by a franchise. Say you’re going to open Taco Bell. You’re going to take advantage of the corporate brand. They’re going to give you the menu, they’re going to give you all the ingredients — you just need to get the physical real estate and hire the people and grow from there. But now there can be much more of a digital back end.

What’s a related bet?

So one of the early investments we’ve made here is in Fora, which helps people build their own travel agency businesses and helps standardize the workflow and takes care of the payment options. With these types of businesses, you can also handle digital marketing because you as a centralized entity can probably do it better than some local business. A lot of the time, you can also build community around all the people who are doing this and they can help each other out.

Why does this concept of a digitally native franchise make more sense now than, say, five years ago?

The two big things that are different today is one, this lack of capital available, so you want to be more efficient. Also, it’s early days but AI is this growing trend and you can leverage AI in a way where it’s still human first but a lot of the more tedious tasks can be automated.

I keep wondering if there will be three companies in 10 years or every person will run their own company thanks to AI, though either scenario would seem problematic for VCs.

You’ve got to be helping build the platform to enable all these folks to go do their own thing. Our belief is that the AI components can help more of these service businesses that historically were maybe lower gross margin and required a fair amount of individual expertise and can now be handled by a wider set of people for more software-level gross margins because the AI can take control of some of the more standardized components of it, while people can put their own flair on what’s unique and special about what they bring to the table.

AI is getting better all the time. Is there any concern that at some point, these operators may not need a platform partner?

[With every company we fund] there’s some level of platform advantage that keeps the company sticky so people don’t roll off and do different things. There’s a company [outside our portfolio], Alma, which is in the therapist space and fits into this model because they’ve done a lot of work behind the scenes with insurance companies to help people get their therapy covered by insurance, which for therapists is really important because people are ultimately stickier if the net cost to them is lower.

There are many of these offline service businesses that still rely on checkbooks and pen and paper and haven’t taken advantage of a lot of the tools that have been created yet still have thriving businesses. We think that this model can be a way where you’re helping them continue to do what they’ve always wanted to do, but you’re also helping new people get into the category.

A lot of these businesses are owned by boomers, and there’s an expectation that about a third of them will turn over in the next 10 years. We see an opportunity to enable the next generation of local entrepreneurs, where people want to work for themselves, and they have the grit and determination, but they don’t necessarily know what to do.

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San Francisco saw the biggest increase in worker visits to the office in the country during July, according to Placer.ai, which uses cell phone data to track traffic in 800 buildings across 11 cities nationwide. 

San Francisco office visits were up 38.3 percent year-over-year, with second-place Washington D.C. coming in at 36.1 percent and New York a distant third at 16.1 percent. San Francisco also had the most ground to make up, given that it is still down 55.8 percent from July 2019 — the biggest pre-pandemic downshift in the country. Still, the city has made great strides in bringing workers back to downtown since the pre-vaccine depths of late 2020 and early 2021, when office visits were nearly 90 percent below July 2019 levels. 

Foot traffic in general downtown has seen a “significant uptick” this summer compared to one year ago, according to Dina Gourveia, Avison Young’s Market Intelligence Manager for the West. She said via email that increased tourism has been a big contributor as well as return to office mandates that may finally be starting to take hold after continued resistance from employees. 

“More businesses are seeing the importance of in-person work collaboration, therefore we also saw tenant activity increase compared to last year,” she said. “A fair number of those tenants are still working out occupancy needs following layoffs and restructuring. We anticipate further stabilization moving into the fall and winter months.”

Derek Daniels, Colliers’ research director for the Bay Area, said via email that the year-over-year growth was “encouraging” and that the brokerage is “bullish that RTO will continue to pick up in September and (is) expecting a general push in getting workers back into the physical office at least some of the time.” 

The other cities in the Placer survey also made inroads on their pre-pandemic office gaps, with nationwide office visits up 16 percent year-over-year. That could be due to an increase in return-to-office mandates, but it’s difficult to draw a direct connection, according to Placer’s Ethan Chernofsky.

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“It’s difficult to say with any certainty whether shifts in return-to-office trends are driven by specific companies, city-led initiatives or a normal evolution of hybrid work standards,” he said via email. “The impact, however, is significant in that it brings needed visits back to office-oriented areas and the retailers and restaurants that rely on that traffic.”

Nationwide, July office visits were 37 percent below 2019 levels, indicating the continued strength of the hybrid model, Chernofsky said. That could mean that visits end up reduced only on certain days of the week or periods of time.

Washington D.C. now has the most recovered market but is still 22.4 percent off its pre-pandemic office visit figures, while second-place New York is down by nearly one-quarter.

“It is hard to imagine a reality where hybrid work’s impact doesn’t continue to make a significant difference in office visitation,” Chernofsky said. 

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By Miles Dilworth, Senior Reporter for Dailymail.Com

15:30 08 May 2023, updated 15:45 08 May 2023

• Telecom giant becomes the latest victim in a corporate bloodbath in a California city
• Comes after the retail hub blamed “rampant criminal activity” for the exodus last week
• Businesses have closed stores over employee safety concerns, while crime rises

T-Mobile is the latest major retailer to close a flagship store in San Francisco as the city faces a business exodus due to “rampant criminal activity.”

The telecom giant’s decision to close its Union Square premises follows similar announcements by Saks Off 5th and Nordstrom last week.

T-Mobile said the closure of its two-story, 17,000-square-foot building in the heart of San Francisco is part of its “nationwide retail strategy to better serve customers.”

It’s the latest in a string of closures damaging the tech haven, which has been hit by rising crime and an epidemic of homelessness.

Billionaire Elon Musk last week called downtown San Francisco “post-apocalyptic.”

T-Mobile is the latest major retailer to close a flagship store in San Francisco as the city faces a business exodus due to “rampant criminal activity.”

The T-Mobile building previously housed Apple’s flagship store before the tech giant moved to its current Post Street location.

The Union Square store was sold to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation for $50 million in 2013, records show.

It comes after luxury department store Nordstrom announced it will close both units in downtown San Francisco in the coming months after serving the area for 35 years.

Its 40,000-square-foot Nordstrom Rack store on Market Street will close on July 1, while one of its flagship stores — the 312,000-square-foot Nordstrom at Westfield San Francisco Center — will close by the end of August.

Jamie Nordstrom, Chief Stores Officer, explained the decision: “The dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically over the past few years, impacting the footfall in our stores and our ability to operate successfully.”

A Westfield spokesman said the move underscores “the deteriorating situation” in the district.

“A growing number of retailers and businesses are fleeing the area due to the unsafe conditions for customers, retailers and employees, and the fact that these significant issues are preventing the area from recovering economically,” read the statement from Westfield and its owner, Unibail- Rodamco-Westfield [URW]called.

“URW has been actively working with city leaders for many years to express our serious concerns, which are shared by our customers and retailers.

“We have called on the city to find solutions to key issues and a lack of enforcement against rampant criminal activity.

“The current environment is unsustainable for either the community or business, and we hope the city will implement the changes that are so desperately needed.”

The Nordstrom Rack in downtown San Francisco, which will close on July 1, Nordstrom Chief Stores Officer Jamie Nordstrom said, “The dynamics of the downtown San Francisco market have changed dramatically in recent years, which is impacting traffic to our stores and our ability to operate successfully’ Whole Foods previously closed a flagship store in downtown San Francisco A Whole Foods spokesperson said the store was closed due to safety concerns for its employees, as area rampant drug use, theft and aggressive behavior occurs (homeless people use drugs in downtown SF street camps) “zombie-like” drug addicts are pictured with drug use and intoxication in downtown San Francisco last month

It came just a day after Saks Off 5th announced it would close its downtown store in the fall after eight years in the city.

Whole Foods temporarily closed a flagship location in the city last month, citing safety concerns for staff — just a year after the unit opened.

The organic food giant opened a new “flagship” location on Trinity Place in the city’s Tenderloin area in March 2022, hoping to revive visitor numbers after two years of draconian COVID restrictions severely impacted businesses in the area.

However, a Whole Foods spokesperson said the store would close “for now” and only reopen “when we feel we can keep our team members safe.”

A City Hall source said the business cited deteriorating street conditions related to drug use and crime near the store as driving factors for the closure, The San Francisco Standard reported.

The Trinity Place Whole Foods store has struggled since it opened in March 2022, as managers cut operating hours in October due to “grand theft” and hostile visitors.

Billionaire Elon Musk has branded downtown San Francisco “post-apocalyptic” as retailers continue to flee the city over security concerns

A month later, the store announced customers could only enter the toilets with a valid QR code after syringes and tubes were found strewn on the bathroom floor.

Meanwhile, San Francisco supervisor Matt Dorsey claimed a Whole Foods employee told him there were no more baskets available for shoppers because all 250 had been stolen.

Last month, it emerged that a Target store in San Francisco had locked down its entire line of products, citing concerns about “organized retail crime.”

A video posted to TikTok on April 20 shows all of the items secured behind glass.

According to geotagged images, some products at the Folsom Street store had been locked and keyed since at least October last year, WNCT reported.

California’s Proposition 47, which downgraded crimes like drug possession and theft of goods under $950 from felonies to misdemeanors, was previously blamed for a breakdown in law and order in cities across the state and forcing businesses out.

Figures show the number of homeless people in San Francisco reached 8,000 last year, the second-highest since 2005 and only topped in 2019, when the pandemic was peaking.|

A Target San Francisco location was forced to put its inventory behind glass to combat shoplifting A former prosecutor suggested that San Francisco’s crime statistics are even worse than the numbers suggest San Francisco is experiencing a staggering rise in the number of Number of drug-related deaths recorded by 41 percent in the first quarter of 2023

Devastating images captured last summer showed rows of tents lined up outside shops and homeless people sitting on people’s doorsteps, openly smoking illicit drugs and passing out on the tarmac in the middle of the day.

Small businesses trying to recover from the pandemic have reached out to city officials for failing to address the issue, which they say is hurting revenue.

The Castro Merchants Association said some of the homeless people on the streets outside their stores were harassing customers and needing help.

About 50 percent of small businesses in San Francisco remained closed last year, according to Forbes.

Meanwhile, San Francisco had the highest overall crime rate of the 20 largest cities in the United States, recording 6,917 crimes per 100,000 people in 2019, according to the latest available FBI Unified Crime Report.

That was more than double the crime rate in New York and Los Angeles, and well above the rate in the next largest US cities: Chicago, Houston and Phoenix.

The post San Francisco sees T-Cell exit as metropolis faces enterprise exodus appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

North Tahoe Fire Department officials are warning residents of increased gas leaks and carbon monoxide poisoning in the area due to heavy snow blocking air vents and natural gas meters.

Since the beginning of the year, “danger calls” — related to gas leaks, carbon monoxide and other related emergencies — accounted for nearly “20% of all non-EMS incidents,” according to the North Tahoe and Meeks Bay Fire Safety Districts.

“Firefighters of North Tahoe are responding to a significant increase in CO emergencies across the region, many of which result in positive CO readings upon arrival, with occupants/patients presenting with symptoms of varying severity,” the districts said in a statement.

Many of these incidents, firefighters said, are the result of heavy snow accumulation on incinerator vents, underground vents, and improper or snow-covered home generator ventilation systems.

There has also been a surge in gas leaks from underground tanks, above-ground propane lines and underground natural gas meters affected by recent “repeated freeze-thaw cycles,” officials added.

According to fire department districts, gas leaks have also been reportedly linked to roof snow dumping and house snow clearing operations.

Firefighters recommend residents who want to clear snow from their properties not to stack snow around tanks, gauges, regulators, or piping, not to use sharp tools or force when removing snow from pipes, regulator tanks, and cylinders, and not to run tanks dry.

Tanks, authorities added, should be filled when they reach 30% to 40% and have a clear, accessible route for gas suppliers.

Reach Joel Umanzor: joel.umanzor@hearst.com

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The thing that made the goal was the touch; one of those touches where Lionel Messi doesn’t so much trap the ball or kill it but lets it come and nestle, falling asleep on his toe like a fond old cat.

There were still six more touches to go before the ball would be left spinning, with a kind of purr, in the back of Mat Ryan’s net. But it was the touch that set the clock running, as the ball was looped back out to Messi on the touch line from his own free kick.

You could see straight away that Messi had felt that familiar surge of static, seen the numbers whirring, the spaces start to yawn. Footballers are often said to carry a picture in their head. Messi has a great whirring bank of air traffic controller’s screens up there, alternate visions of the future to scroll through and finesse.

The touch spun the ball out in front of him, enough to draw the closest Australian shirt into his arc. This was a mistake. Don’t run towards Messi. His dribbling is a kind of judo-throw effect these days, using his opponent’s movement to trampoline into space.

Messi sniped away. He had time now. Messi gets a kind of pre-screening of these things, sees the shapes before anyone else, like a pavement artist conjuring Notre-Dame out of four chalk lines. He laid the ball back to Alexis Mac Allister, then sped in a straight line towards the thing he knew would happen next.

Mac Allister laid the ball in to Nicolás Otamendi. His touch was clumsy, but Otamendi had felt things thing starting to happen too. He performed a lovely little backwards sway, like a man leaping clear of the spray from a passing lorry.

Messi took the ball and had time to take another step, to open his hips slightly as he ran, the movement hidden in his stride, but enough to ease the ball to Ryan’s right, into the far corner and out of his reach. The Ahmad bin Ali Stadium erupted into a barreling wave of noise on three sides, that distinctly Argentinian football noise, a shout of recognition as well as joy.

Twenty minutes into the second half, with Argentina 2-0 up after Julián Álvarez’s delightful steal swivel and finish, Messi did something for fun, a kind of roll through the greatest hits. Taking the ball in the center circle he just decided to keep running, conjuring the ghosts of the Camp Nou, that surging, mulletted miracle of snap and spring. He ran out of space, smiled, jogged back, as the Bin Ali took the chance to sing his name.

And this is the thing with Messi. Every game is now a kind of Russian roulette. Click the hammer. Is this it? That sense of jeopardy, the fear that this might be the last of Messi on this stage will now move on to the quarter-finals of Qatar 2022.

How far can Argentina take him in this thing? Here they held on at times, almost ran away at others. Australia were dogged, dragged the score back to 2-1 and will feel they showed the best of themselves. Argentina have their weaknesses. But they also have a sense of heat about them. They kept to the 4-3-3 from the Poland game here, which may just come to stand as a step change for this team.

Lionel Messi shields the ball from a posse of Australia defenders. Photographer: José Sena Goulao/EPA

At the last World Cup Argentina were subservient to Messi, a team constructed to serve their sun king, litter-bearers for the princeling in their midst. Messi became almost inert, the still center of this imperial bureaucracy.

As a false 9 in this team he is simply a free agent, with three expert midfield rats behind, runners up front, and in the middle of this the orb, the seer, the floating brain.

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The Ahmad bin Ali Stadium is a lightweight, fun, fizzy thing dumped down in the overflow car park of the Mall of Qatar. It looks like a giant wedding cake decoration, or the world’s most imperious pop-up ice rink.

Mixing with the Argentinian fans here has been a fascinating contrast. In the middle of all these gleaming surfaces, here is something disorderly and ragged. Argentinian football isn’t just passionate or patriotic. It is devotional. And here the ground was packed with blue and white shirts, laced with those familiar songs, the warm wave of noise.

As the game kicked off Messi could be seen swinging his arms, loosening up, as though it had just occurred to him he was about to do some exercise. He walked for a bit. He took up a position miles in front of the rest of his team, the small, slouching, baggy shirted chimney sweep at the top of the tree.

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Graham Arnold likes to make the occasion small, to reduce it to simple human possibilities, will, desire, take the moment. He talks about the “Aussie DNA”, a scrap-happy, fight-in-the-dog kind of schtick. Australia did fight here, but Argentina had enough to resist. And they now roll on, three games from the summit.

Another striking aspect was the love at the end as Messi led the celebrations, the feeling of the moment being cherished and locked in. It hasn’t always been this way. No other footballer has been so exposed to the glare, so relentlessly seen, analyzed, venerated, bathed in light. Another one down. But there may just be a few more spins of the chamber before this thing is done.

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Dateline

Ukraine at D+104: Cybercrime as a force multiplier. (The CyberWire) Russia and Ukraine treat the Donbas as a decisive theater. Cyber gangs serve as a Russian “force multiplier.” And US officials warn that the cyber threat from Russia remains as high as ever (and Russia says tu quoque).

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 105 (Al Jazeera) As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 105th day, we take a look at the main developments.

Ukrainian forces could pull back from embattled eastern city (AP NEWS) Ukrainian forces battling Russian troops in a key eastern city appeared on the cusp of retreat Wednesday, though the regional governor insisted they are still fighting “for every centimeter” of the city.

In Russia’s Battle for East Ukraine, Both Sides Have Higher Stakes at Play (Wall Street Journal) Moscow aims to prove it can gain and retain territory, while Ukraine wants to show some wary Western allies that it has a chance of prevailing against bigger Russian forces.

What to know about Severodonetsk, the Ukrainian city Russia wants to capture (Washington Post) The eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk has emerged as a focal point of Russia’s war in Ukraine in recent weeks. Fierce fighting continues to rage there as Ukrainian troops seek to prevent Russia from seizing the entire city.

Russian MPs vote to quit European Court of Human Rights (Al Jazeera) The move formalised the broken ties between Russia and the Council of Europe, of which the ECHR is a part.

No Peace at Any Price in Ukraine (Foreign Affairs) It’s too soon for a lasting diplomatic settlement.

Kyiv asks for more rocket systems as Kremlin warns of potential strikes in Russia (Washington Post) Ukraine says it needs 60 multiple-launch rocket systems to have a chance at defeating Russia, suggesting the number pledged by the West so far may be inadequate, along with access to sophisticated air defenses to help protect vulnerable citizens from relentless shelling.

Norway donates 22 howitzers to Ukraine (Reuters) Norway donated 22 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, including spare parts, ammunition and other gear, the Norwegian defence ministry said on Wednesday.

Norway donates 22 M109 howitzers to Ukraine (Ukrinform) The Norwegian government has donated 22 M109 155mm tracked self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine to help the country repel Russian attacks. — Ukrinform.

Russian troops try fake marriage as an escape route from Ukraine (The Telegraph) Kyiv’s intelligence agency releases wiretapped conversation between invading soldiers discussing unsuccessful efforts to avoid front line

U.S. Lacks a Clear Picture of Ukraine’s War Strategy, Officials Say (New York Times) Intelligence agencies know far more about Russia’s military, even as the United States ships billions of dollars in weapons to the Ukrainians.

Russian Cyber Threat Remains High, U.S. Officials Say (Wall Street Journal) Senior U.S. cyber officials urged companies to remain on high alert for cyberattacks as a consequence of Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying the warnings are based on intelligence assessments of potential strikes.

Russian Government, Cybercriminal Cooperation a ‘Force Multiplier’ (Decipher) The Russian government’s tolerance and sometime cooperation with the cybercriime groups in the country makes the threat from both factions even more serious, US officials say.

Opinion The U.S.-Russia conflict is heating up — in cyberspace (Washington Post) As the war in Ukraine rages, a long-standing battle between Russia and the United States over cyberspace is also heating up, with a top Russian diplomat warning of “catastrophic” consequences if the United States or its allies “provoke” Russia with a cyberattack.

‘Assume you can be jammed’ — What US troops are learning about electronic warfare in Ukraine (Task & Purpose) “We are really not prepared for that level of electronic warfare”

Russian Cyberattack Hits Wales-Ukraine Football Broadcast (Gov Info Security) The broadcast of the Football World Cup 2022 qualifier game between Wales and Ukraine on Sunday was interrupted in Ukraine by a cyberattack that targeted OLL.TV, a

Smartphones Blur the Line Between Civilian and Combatant (Wired) In Ukraine, civilians are valiantly assisting the army via apps—and challenging a tenet of international law in the process.

Denver area tech companies play key roles in Ukraine battle against Russia (Axios) Palantir Technologies’ CEO Alex Karp met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine last week, the company said.

Sanctions Take Toll on Laundering Tools Used by Ransomware Gangs (Wall Street Journal) U.S. sanctions in recent months have hammered a handful of cryptocurrency services used by ransomware groups, suggesting Washington can effectively target some tools hackers use to convert digital ransom payments into cash.

We are giving Ukraine more military aid than Britain, suggests Germany (The Telegraph) Olaf Scholz claims that Berlin has provided more support than Westminster, adding that only the US has done more

Merkel defends Ukraine policy, does not regret engaging Russia (Washington Post) The former German chancellor’s past efforts to broker peace, as well her opposition to Ukraine joining NATO, have come under scrutiny since the war.

Vladimir Putin has won round the French elite, not just Macron (The Telegraph) The President’s appeasement of Russia is alarmingly representative of establishment opinion

Sweden’s NATO Bid Gets Tangled Up in a Domestic Political Dispute (New York Times) A move by right-wing lawmakers to remove Sweden’s justice minister has been dragged into a battle over the country’s efforts to join the military alliance.

Sweden’s NATO Bid Is in Trouble (Defense One) Domestic politics have elevated a Kurdish parliamentarian, and that worsens Stockholm’s Turkey woes.

NATO Is Out of Shape and Out of Date (Foreign Policy) With the bloc’s unity over Ukraine showing cracks, NATO needs an overhaul.

The U.K.’s Bold Bosnia Policy Slaps Down Russian-Backed Separatists (Foreign Policy) Sarajevo’s hopes of NATO accession are growing as London steps in.

What happens in Ukraine doesn’t stay in Ukraine: Austin adds clarity on Taiwan (The Hill) In recent weeks, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has made some important policy statements — on the continuing war in Ukraine, on the threatening conflict over Taiwan, and on the possible linkage be…

Vladimir Putin paints rosy picture of Russia’s crumbling economy (Newsweek) The Russian president told ministers that unemployment was low and inflation had stabilized.

Russia-Ukraine latest news: Russia ‘steals 600,000 tonnes of grain’ from occupied Ukraine (The Telegraph) Russia has stolen around 600,000 tonnes of grain from occupied Ukrainian territory and exported some of it, the deputy head of Ukraine’s agricultural producers’ union said on Wednesday.

Belgian security experts alerts against use of Russian software Kaspersky (Publicist 24) Security experts have alerted against Belgium’s continuous use of Russia-developed antivirus software Kaspersky, over fears that the software may contain vulnerabilities that may be exploited by the Russian Government.

IBM begins laying off its entire Russian workforce (Engadget) The company suspended operations back in March but kept employees on the payroll..

Russia’s War Is the End of Climate Policy as We Know It (Foreign Policy) Ironically, geopolitical strife and energy scarcity will do more for the climate than decades of ardent policies.

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

People’s Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Exploit Network Providers and Devices (CISA) Best Practices • Apply patches as soon as possible • Disable unnecessary ports and protocols • Replace end-of-life infrastructure • Implement a centralized patch management system

US agencies detail the digital ‘plumbing’ used by Chinese state-sponsored hackers (The Record by Recorded Future) U.S. agencies on Tuesday offered new details about how Chinese state-sponsored hackers have used publicly known vulnerabilities to target internet service providers and major telecommunications firms around the globe over the last two years.

Australian Chinese News Site Hit by Cyber Attack, Media Reports (Bloomberg) One of Australia’s largest Chinese-language media platforms came under cyber attack early in the hours of June 4, potentially putting users’ information at risk, The Australian newspaper reported Wednesday.

Jersey computers used in international cyber-attacks (Jersey Evening Post) HIJACKED computers in Jersey were recently used to launch cyber-attacks against organisations in other countries – amid a daily rise in digital crime that could ‘happen to anybody’.Matt Palmer, of the government’s Cyber Emergency Response Tea…

Multilevel Extortion: DeadBolt Ransomware Targets Internet-Facing NAS Devices (Dark Reading) The innovative ransomware targets NAS devices, has a multitiered payment and extortion scheme as well as a flexible configuration, and takes a heavily automated approach.

Evil Corp Cybercrime Group Shifts to LockBit Ransomware to Evade Sanctions (The Hacker News) Cybercrime group Evil Corp shifts to LockBit Ransomware in an attempt to get around sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury in December 2019.

LockBit claims Mandiant hack in apparent bid to distance itself from Evil Corp (Tech Monitor) LockBit is apparently keen to play down associations with the notorious cybercriminals Evil Corp after a Mandiant report linked the groups.

Multilevel Extortion: DeadBolt Ransomware Targets Internet-Facing NAS Devices (Dark Reading) The innovative ransomware targets NAS devices, has a multitiered payment and extortion scheme as well as a flexible configuration, and takes a heavily automated approach.

Linux version of Black Basta ransomware targets VMware ESXi servers (BleepingComputer) Black Basta is the latest ransomware gang to add support for encrypting VMware ESXi virtual machines running on enterprise Linux servers.

It Takes 2 Seconds of Silence to Skim a Credit Card (Sucuri Blog) This seemingly benign audio snippet conceals malicious JavaScript which creates a fake payment form, harvests sensitive credit card information, and encrypts it to circumnavigate network monitoring.

Notice of Data Security Incident – Shields Health Care Group (Shields Health Care Group) Shields Health Care Group, Inc. (“Shields”) recently became aware of suspicious activity on its network.  Shields provides management and imaging services on behalf of the health care facilities (“Facility Partners”) listed below.  With the assistance of third-party forensic specialists, we took immediate steps to contain the incident and to investigate the nature and scope of … Continued

Personal data of 2 million leaked in cyberattack on Massachusetts healthcare group (The Record by Recorded Future) The sensitive information of two million people was accessed during a cyberattack on Shields Health Care Group in Massachusetts. 

Prothena Corporation, PLC Confirms Recent Data Breach Following Compromised Employee Email Account (JD Supra) Recently, Prothena Corporation, PLC confirmed that certain sensitive consumer information was exposed after an unauthorized party gained access to an…

Palermo Municipality Cyberattack Still Affecting Citizens (Gov Info Security) A cyberattack on the municipality of Palermo, which began on Thursday, reportedly continues to cripple the southern Italian city on Monday. The attack caused the

Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates

Apple Announces New Security Update Feature in iOS 16, macOS Ventura (SecurityWeek) iOS 16 and macOS Ventura will get security updates faster via a new feature called Rapid Security Response.

Safari update brings new collaboration and security features in iOS 16 (9to5Mac) Safari is receiving a fresh update with iOS 16 this fall, as announced during WWDC 2022‘s opening keynote. The refresh also comes to devices compatible with iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura at the same time. There are lots of new features and updates coming to Apple devices this year. Let’s take a deep dive on […]

Microsoft Suggests Work-Around For ‘Serious’ Follina Zero-Day (Security Boulevard) While malicious email attachments are nothing new, there’s reason to be particularly cautious when it comes to the new zero-day vulnerability, dubbed

Technical Details Released for Recently Patched Zyxel Firewall Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) Security researchers with HN Security have published technical details on two vulnerabilities affecting many Zyxel products.

Owl Labs Releases Security Updates for Meeting Owl Pro and Whiteboard Owl (CISA) Owl Labs has released security updates to address a vulnerability (CVE-2022-31460) in Meeting Owl Pro and Whiteboard Owl. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information.  CISA encourages users and administrators to review the Owl Labs security advisories for Meeting Owl Pro and Whiteboard Owl and update to Version 5.4.1.4. 

Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC and MELIPC Series (Update B) (CISA) 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
CVSS v3 7.5
ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity
Vendor: Mitsubishi Electric
Equipment: MELSEC and MELIPC Series
Vulnerabilities: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency, Improper Input Validation

New ‘DogWalk’ Windows zero-day bug gets free unofficial patches (BleepingComputer) Free unofficial patches for a new Windows zero-day vulnerability in the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) have been released today through the 0patch platform. 

Trends

Hacking Scenarios: How Hackers Choose Their Victims (The Hacker News) Enforcing the “double-extortion” technique aka pay-now-or-get-breached emerged as a head-turner last year.

The Godfathers of Cybercrime: The 2022 Verizon Report (Above the Law) Lawyers are still clicking where they shouldn’t.

Cyber-Attack Surface “Spiralling Out of Control” (Infosecurity Magazine) Infosec pros still struggling to define and manage cyber-risk

The challenge of managing cyber risk: A Trend Micro Research Paper
(Trend Micro) Digital transformation during the pandemic pushed many organisations over a technology ‘tipping point’ from which they will never return. In short, the future of business is digital.

Smishing and Vishing Attempts Surged in 2021 (Infosecurity Magazine) Proofpoint records 100,000 phone-based attacks each day

Cyber-attacks ‘could become fully automated’ (Law Society Gazette) More opportunities for criminals, SRA outlook warns

Healthcare has 650% increase in ransomware attacks – report (SecurityBrief New Zealand) Zscaler’s annual ThreatLabz Ransomware Report reveals the healthcare and restaurant and food service industries had the biggest jumps in ransomware attacks.

RSA Conference 2022 – Announcements Summary (Day 1) (SecurityWeek) SecurityWeek is publishing a daily digest summarizing some of the announcements made by vendors at the RSA Conference 2022.

Marketplace

Cyber Innovation Fellows Initiative (CISA) CISA launched the CISA Cyber Innovation Fellows initiative bring private sector experts into the agency on a short term, part-time basis to lend their expertise to specific areas of CISA’s mission space.

Forescout Announces Intent to Acquire Cysiv to Deliver Data-Powered Threat Detection and Response (Forescout) Acquisition will leverage Forescout’s automated cybersecurity with Cysiv’s cloud-native platform to deliver data-powered analytics for 24/7 threat detection and response SAN JOSE, Calif., June 6, 2022 – Forescout Technologies, Inc., the global leader in automated cybersecurity, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Cysiv, a cybersecurity innovator that uses its cloud […]

Cyren Announces Divestment to Enable Focus on Strategic Growth Opportunities (Yahoo) Cyren (NASDAQ:CYRN), a provider of inbox security and threat intelligence solutions, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to divest its legacy Secure Email Gateway business to Content Services Group GmbH for €10,000,000 in cash. The purchase price is subject to certain adjustments and the transaction is expected to close prior to August 31, 2022, with customary closing conditions.

Cyren stock surges aftermarket on €10M sale of secure email gateway unit (SeekingAlpha) Cyren (CYRN) said Tuesday it will divest its legacy secure email gateway business to Content Services Group for €10M in cash.CYRN will use the proceeds to expand go-to-market…

IBM bolsters cyber security offerings with Randori acquisition (IT PRO) It plans to use the company’s attack surface management and offensive security offerings to strengthen its cloud and AI capabilities

Airbus boosts cybersecurity protection with new organisation (Corporate Jet Investor) CJI Summary *Airbus is boosting its cybersecurity protection to reflect the rapid rise in cyber threats and the growing digitisation and connectivity of its products and systems. *The OEM is investing in measures to strengthen its cybersecurity capabilities and expertise, to ensure “the best possible protection for the company, its ecosystem, and its customers”. *Airbus … Continue reading “Airbus boosts cybersecurity protection with new organisation”

Operational Technology Cybersecurity Coalition Adds Four New Members (OT Cyber Coalition) Washington, DC – Today, the Operational Technology Cybersecurity Coalition (OT Cyber Coalition) announced that four new members – ABS Group, Network Perception, Waterfall Security Solutions, and 1898 & Co. – will be joining the Coalition in its first membership expansion since launching in April. “The addition of these companies to the Coalition shows the ever-increasing importance of securing operational technology and the need for organizations to contribute meaningful solutions and capabiliti

Laminar Joins the Cloud Security Alliance (Laminar) Laminar Brings Its Expertise Securing Data Across Multi-Cloud Environments to the Alliance

Synack launches paid mentorship program to boost skills, increase diversity in cybersecurity (PR Newswire) Synack, the premier on-demand security platform for continuous penetration testing and vulnerability management, today is launching an…

American Cybersecurity Company Red Trident Opens A New Office At The HSD Campus In The Hague (Invest in Rotterdam – The Hague area) During the RSA Conference taking place from 6-9 June 2022 in San Francisco, American OT cybersecurity company Red Trident announced the opening of its new

Bridgehead IT Announces Relocation and Expansion of San Antonio-Based Corporate Headquarters (Newswire) Bridgehead IT Inc., a privately held San Antonio-based information technology firm specializing in custom technology solutions for businesses, mo …

Governor Hochul Announces 24th Annual Cybersecurity Conference at Empire State Plaza In Albany (Governor Kathy Hochul) Governor Hochul announced that the 24th annual Cybersecurity Conference, New York’s premier cybersecurity event, begins today, June 7, at the Empire State Plaza in Albany. 

Fortinet establishes a Public Sector Advisory Council on cybersecurity leadership. (Fortinet) As a trusted partner to the public sector and private industry, Fortinet establishes the Public Sector Advisory Council (PSAC).Advisory Council. The council members will contribute strategic counsel and leadership on some of the world’s most critical cybersecurity challenges.

Illumio Appoints Gary Barlet as Federal Field Chief Technology Officer (GlobeNewswire News Room) Former Federal Chief Information Officer and Air Force Cyber Operations Officer to Help Government Agencies Innovate with Zero Trust Segmentation to Stop…

Products, Services, and Solutions

Open Systems Recognized as a Microsoft Security Excellence Awards Winner for Security MSSP of The Year (Business Wire) Open Systems, the only cybersecurity services provider with Mission Control, today announced it has won the Security MSSP of the Year award at the Microsoft Security Excellence Awards 2022.

SecZetta Featured in Aite-Novarica Group Inaugural Risk Insights and Advisory Fintech Spotlight (Business Wire) SecZetta, the leading provider of third-party identity risk solutions, is pleased to share it is featured in a new financial services technology spotlight report by the Aite-Novarica Group, an advisory firm providing mission-critical insights on technology, regulations, markets, and operations to banks, payments providers, insurers, and securities firms.

Grand Globee® Award Winners Announced in 2022 Information Technology World Awards® (StreetInsider.com) The Globee Awards have announced the winners of Grand Globee Awards in the 17th Annual 2022 Information Technology World Awards, recognized as the world’s top honors for achievements in the information…

Talon Cyber Security Named “Most Innovative Startup” at RSA Conference Innovation Sandbox Contest 2022 (Yahoo) RSA Conference, the world’s leading information security conferences and expositions, today announced that Talon Cyber Security has won the annual RSAC Innovation Sandbox Contest. Named the “Most Innovative Startup,” Talon was selected by a panel of esteemed judges for creating a secure enterprise browser, which empowers organizations to simplify their security programs while providing a secure and improved hybrid work experience.

Nubeva Announces Decryption Success In Two Ransomware Attacks (El Paso Inc.) Nubeva Technologies(TSX-V: NBVA, OTC: NBVAF) announces success in two live ransomware attacks by Conti and a new version of REvil .

NetWitness Launches Comprehensive XDR Offerings for Next Generation Security (Business Wire) NetWitness, a globally trusted provider of cybersecurity technologies and incident response, today announced NetWitness XDR, a family of products and

Secret Server Enhances Disaster Recovery and More (Delinea) Delinea continues to invest in innovation to empower security for its customers with enhancements to Secret Server privileged access management solution.

Checkmarx Unveils Context-aware Checkmarx Fusion with Industry’s First Holistic View and Cross-component Prioritization of Application Vulnerabilities (PR Newswire) Developers and application security (AppSec) teams today have long needed a single, integrated view into the interaction, functions and…

ConnectWise Shares Business Strategies to Bolster Security at IT Nation Secure (Industry Analysts, Inc.) Company also details new cybersecurity product integrations and updates  ORLANDO, Fla. (June 7, 2022) – ConnectWise, the world’s leading software company dedicated to the success of IT solution providers, shared a slew of information in its

Onapsis Continues Product Innovation, Offering Customers Enhanced and Add-on Capabilities to Strengthen Business Application Security (Business Wire) Onapsis today announced enhanced information security solutions for its Assess and Defend products.

German Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media Approves Incode Technologies as an Age Verification System (AVS) (Business Wire) German Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media Approves Incode Technologies as an Age Verification System (AVS)

New Version of Netwrix Auditor Simplifies Access Reviews and Locks Down Data in Microsoft Teams (Netwrix) Netwrix Auditor 10.5 streamlines regular access attestation, mitigates the risk of data leakage via Microsoft Teams, and secures data in Qumulo and Synology.

Sumo Logic Introduces Threat Labs Unit for Advanced Detection and Expanded Security Community Contribution (GlobeNewswire News Room) Establishes Sumo Logic Threat Labs Unit to deliver accelerated detection for modern threats at cloud scale…

Mandiant Announces New Cyber Alliance Program (Business Wire) Vendor-independent technology partner program delivers a customer-first and mission centric approach to cyber security partnership strategy

SimSpace platform enhancements help security teams validate their incident response operations (Help Net Security) SimSpace unveiled new updates to its cyber range, delivering an open platform for cybersecurity training and optimization.

UL Launches New SafeCyber Solution and Platform Features to Address Mounting Security Threats (PR Newswire) UL, a global safety science leader, today announced the latest enhancements to its product security and compliance life cycle management…

Verteks Consulting Achieves Platinum Partner Status in WatchGuard Technologies’ WatchGuardONE Partner Program (Newswire) Leading MSP recognized by cybersecurity vendor for their continued commitment to the growth of the WatchGuard brand

AI-Driven ImmuniWeb Neuron Brings Intelligent Automation to Web Security Scanning Market (ImmuniWeb) ImmuniWeb® Neuron to be the first AI-automated solution for web and API security scanning with a contractual zero false positives SLA for on-premise or cloud-native apps.

Offensive Security Announces “OffSec Live: PEN-200” – Interactive, Instructor-led, Streaming Preparation for the OSCP (Business Wire) Free Streaming Series Provides Security Professionals Enhanced Learning and Preparedness for the OSCP Certification Exam

OffSec Live (Offensive Security) We’ve spent the last few years optimizing and improving our traditional model. The results of this work have been coming out periodically, giving our students items like exclusive access to multi-system attack chains, the introduction of Topic Exercises, the OffSec Training Library, and so on. And, more refinement is coming over the year.

Hexnode Integrates with Keeper Security to Help Businesses Strengthen Their First Line of Defense (Quality Digest) Partnership bolsters defense against growing cybersecurity risks

New Collaboration Between Kovrr and Microsoft Enables Clients to Transform Their Internal Cyber Security Data Into Financially Quantified Cyber Risk Management Decisions (Business Wre) The offering is a product of Kovrr being selected by “Microsoft for Startups” for its Financial Cyber Risk Quantification Solution

Juniper Networks and Dragos Announce Official Joint Partnership to Secure Critical Infrastructure (Business Wire) IT and OT networks can realize a converged industrial network through the integration of Juniper Security Director Cloud and the Dragos Platform

Akamai Launches New Malware Protection for Uploaded Files (Dark Reading) Edge-based solution detects and blocks malicious files uploaded to Web apps and APIs.

Snowflake Launches New Cybersecurity Workload to Detect and Respond to Threats with the Data Cloud (Snowflake) Snowflake’s new Cybersecurity workload provides a unified, secure, and scalable data platform for helping security teams eliminate blind spots and respond

Advantech and Actility launch an Edge Solution-Ready Package to deploy Enterprise IoT LoRaWAN Networks (Actility) Advantech and Actility launch a solution allowing to deploy and manage private LoRaWAN® networks on customer premises

Exabeam Partners with Google Cloud to Create Hyperscale Cloud-native SIEM and Cybersecurity Analytics Offerings (Exabeam) Cybersecurity innovator invests further in leading cloud data provider to make security operations teams more efficient.

Mandiant Opens Managed Defense Beta Program to CrowdStrike and SentinelOne Customers (Mandiant) As part of this customer-first initiative, participants will have access to advanced managed detection and response capabilities, while informing future service innovation

Technologies, Techniques, and Standards

CISA Provides Criteria and Process for Updates to the KEV Catalog (CISA) CISA has updated the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog webpage as well as the FAQs for Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01, Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities, which established the KEV catalog. The updates provide information on the criteria and process used to add known exploited vulnerabilities to the KEV catalog. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the new information.

Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (CISA) CISA issued Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01, Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to evolve our approach to vulnerability management and keep pace with threat activity. The directive establishes a CISA managed catalog of known exploited vulnerabilities and requires federal civilian agencies to identify and remediate these vulnerabilities on their information systems.

New Dragos OT-CERT Provides Free Industrial Cybersecurity Resources (SecurityWeek) Dragos has launched OT-CERT, a new initiative to provide free industrial cybersecurity resources.

Virtru launches open-source project OpenTDF (CSO Online) The company hopes OpenTDF will establish a standard for safe, private data sharing.

Palo Alto Networks calls on cybersecurity industry to adopt ZTNA 2.0: Zero trust with zero exceptions (Manila Standard) Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, today urged the industry to move to Zero Trust Network Access

Microsoft flags common pitfalls for cyber insurance (SearchSecurity) Microsoft executive Cynthia James spoke at RSA Conference 2022 on issues in the cyber insurance market and how best to navigate them.

Why HR plays an important role in preventing cyber attacks (SearchHRSoftware) HR’s employee information is some of the company’s most important data. Learn why HR has an important role to play in preventing cyber attacks.

Phishing Made Easy(ish) (Black Hills Information Security) Hannah Cartier // Social engineering, especially phishing, is becoming increasingly prevalent in red team engagements as well as real-world attacks. As security awareness improves and systems become more locked down, it is unsurprising that the human element of security is becoming a more appealing attack vector. In addition, phishing campaigns can be used to test […]

Design and Innovation

A Long-Awaited Defense Against Data Leaks May Have Just Arrived (Wired) MongoDB claims its new “Queryable Encryption” lets users search their databases while sensitive data stays encrypted. Oh, and its cryptography is open source.

Palo Alto Networks Founder: Machines Should Run SOCs, Not Humans (SDxCentral) Palo Alto Networks founder Nir Zuk expects more vendors will follow the vendor’s lead to offer an autonomous security operation center.

Research and Development

If you thought encryption was complicated now, wait ’til quantum computing | Federal News Network (Federal News Network) The big fear in the data encryption community is the advent of quantum computing, i.e. computers are so powerful they can crack any algorithm.

Academia

Cybersecurity Industry Leaders Launch Campaign to Close the Cybersecurity Talent Gap (PR Newswire) NightDragon, an investment and advisory firm focused on the cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy industries, and NextGen Cyber Talent,…

Southern University partners with Filtari to help students ‘clean up’ social media before applying for jobs (PR Newswire) The Office of Career Services at Southern University and A&M College recently partnered with social media screening service, Filtari, to assist…

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

USB-C will be mandatory for phones sold in the EU ‘by autumn 2024’ (The Verge) Along with tablets, cameras, and more.

Eye to eye in AI: Developing artificial intelligence for national security and defense (Atlantic Council) As artificial intelligence transforms national security and defense, it is imperative for the Department of Defense, Congress, and the private sector to closely collaborate in order to advance major AI development priorities. However, key barriers remain. As China and Russia develop their own capabilities, the stakes of the military AI competition are high, and time is short.

Senators Propose Industry-Friendly Cryptocurrency Bill (Wall Street Journal) The regulatory framework would spare much of the crypto market from Securities and Exchange Commission oversight and create favorable tax treatment.

Crypto industry scores a big win under long-anticipated Senate bill (Washington Post) The proposal would hand crypto oversight to the CFTC, which the sector views as friendlier than the SEC

Senate Crypto Bill Eyes Bigger Role For CFTC (Law360) U.S. Senate legislation introduced Tuesday would assign most oversight of cryptocurrencies to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a smaller regulator that can be seen as friendly toward digital assets, although lawyers said the proposal would not end jurisdictional disputes among federal agencies.

Witnesses Stress Need for Harmonization, Standardization in Cyber Incident Reporting Requirements (MeriTalk) As the Federal government works through the rulemaking process for the recently signed Incident Reporting legislation that originated in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, witnesses for that same committee today stressed the need for unity among both reporting avenues and standardization of data to help operationalize the data.

Google Issues Warning About Security Risks Of Big Tech Bill (Law360) Google on Tuesday continued to criticize proposed legislation aimed at reining in the power of large technology platforms by preventing them from giving their own services an unfair advantage, contending that the bill would undermine the company’s ability to keep people safe.

CISA chief: Cyber defense program building trust between government, industry (The Record by Recorded Future) A months-old initiative by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to revamp how the federal government works with the private sector to address digital threats has begun to foster a new level of faith between the two sides, the agency’s chief said Tuesday.

Private Sector Stakeholders release Joint Statement Calling for Increased Public Private Collaboration (StreetInsider.com) A group of leading private sector organizations and cyber advocacy groups; Business Executives for National Security; the Coalition for…

Work Remains in Fight Against Ransomware (Wall Street Journal) The authors of an influential report on ransomware said the government response one year on in implementing its recommendations has been admirable, but more should be done in key areas.

U.S. National Guard’s Cyber Training Emphasizes Social Media, Supply Chain Protection (Nextgov.com) Ahead of the annual Cyber Shield exercise, military leaders will train National Guard and other military members to fight disinformation and protect critical infrastructure.

Pennsylvania lawmakers consider requiring government data breach notifications (ABC27) Pennsylvania Senator Kristin Phillips, who chairs the technology committee, held a hearing on June 7 about a proposal to require prompt disclosure whenever there is a data breach wit…

New N.Y. Law Aimed at Getting Social Media Platforms to Restrict “Hateful” Speech (Reason.com) Its operative provisions just require social media platforms to create a mechanism for taking complaints about such “hateful” speech; but the title is “hateful conduct prohibited,” and it’s clear the legislature is trying to get social media platforms to restrict such speech more.

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

DOJ, FBI shut down marketplace for stolen Social Security numbers (The Record by Recorded Future) US law enforcement agencies seized and shut down a popular marketplace where cybercriminals buy stolen social security numbers and other personal information.

SSNDOB Marketplace, A Series Of Websites That Listed More Than 20 Million Social Security Numbers For Sale, Seized And Dismantled In International Operation (US Department of Justice) United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg, along with Special Agent in Charge Darrell Waldon for the IRS – Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge David Walker for the FBI – Tampa Division, today announced the seizure of the SSNDOB Marketplace, a series of websites that operated for years and were used to sell personal information, including the names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers belonging to individuals in the United States. The SSNDOB Marketplace has listed the personal information for approximately 24 million individuals in the United States, generating more than $19 million USD in sales revenue.

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Government Ordered Travel Companies To Spy On Russian Hacker For Years And Report His Whereabouts Every Week (Forbes) Critics say the government isn’t doing enough to inform the public about such secretive surveillance.

Digital fingerprints of a million child abuse images made (BBC News) A new system for classifying images will help stop them being shared online, a UK charity says.

Spanish Judge to Seek Testimony From NSO on Pegasus Spyware (SecurityWeek) Spanish judge José Luis Calama will travel to Israel to take testimony from Shalev Hulio, CEO of the Tel Aviv-based NSO Group, maker of the controversial Pegasus spyware

‘Culture of corruption’: Former DWP cybersecurity chief gets 4 years in prison (Los Angeles Times) David Alexander, a former executive overseeing cybersecurity at the DWP, was sentenced for his role in a sprawling corruption scheme.

DC Judge Blesses $63M Deal Over 2015 OPM Hack (Law360) A D.C. federal judge gave an early blessing on Tuesday to a $63 million settlement that would allow government workers affected by the 2015 cyberattack on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to recoup up to $10,000 apiece.

Fed. Circ. Wary Of Atty’s ‘Buzzwords’ In Location IP Suit (Law360) A Federal Circuit judge did not seem compelled by inventor Sholem Weisner’s bid to revive his location-tracking patent infringement suit against Google, saying the four patents-at-issue are invalid under Alice and that Wesiner’s counsel is using “buzzwords” from judicial precedent without providing any specificity.

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Luz Pena: “How much do you pay for these things?”
Angel Sanchez: “$7 for that. I sell it for $9.”

Angel buys his merchandise at the flea market and slightly marks up the price. He’s making between .50 cents to $2 per item.

Angel says he would never steal. He buys everything he sells, though he doesn’t ask where the items come from. With his profits he pays the bills, and the rest he sends to his kids in Mexico. One is going to college and the other one is in high school. Lately he says business has been difficult.

Luz Pena: “Two years ago, how many vendors were out here?”
Angel Sanchez: “Eramos as 6.” (We used to be about 6)
Luz Pena: “Now?”
Angel Sanchez: “20”

VIDEO: I-TEAM EXCLUSIVE: Fencing operation video shows what happens after car break-ins

Susana Rojas Executive Director of Calle 24’s Cultural District says many of the new vendors are coming from the Tenderloin following the state of emergency declaration in that neighborhood.

“I think they are coming from the United Plaza in the Tenderloin because they are being very strict,” said Rojas and added, “It is getting worse. Unfortunately, as things have been happening in other parts of the city, then people get desperate and they start moving around trying to find a place to be able to either set-up a tent to sleep or a tent to sale some supplies.”

Watching everything from afar is Diana Medina. She’s opened Diju Jewelry 14 years ago. She used to be a street vendor and understands the struggle. Medina wants street vendors to have a permit.

VIDEO: San Francisco public officials react to I-Team stolen goods investigation

Many street vendors we spoke to say they want a permit.

Rojas and her team are signing up vendors like Angel to a program introduced by Supervisor Hillary Ronen that will require street vendors to have permits starting next month.

“After May 7, if someone cannot prove where their items come from, they are going to be confiscated and asked to move,” said Rojas.

Rojas says it will be complicated for many vendors to reproduce proof of purchase even though they are paying for items.

“The problem is that they do go to the flea market. They get them legally, but they don’t give them any receipts. When they come over here, they won’t be able to prove where they get their items from,” said Rojas.

RELATED: SF Mayor London Breed declares State of Emergency in Tenderloin due to drug crisis

RELATED: ‘I covered their eyes and we ran away’: Family recounts what it’s like living in SF’s Tenderloin

More than 20 vendors have signed up for the program so far.

Rojas says the plan is to continue registering vendors to the program and assign them specific areas from Cesar Chavez to 24th street. Rojas says the city still doesn’t know how much, if anything, they will charge these vendors to set-up shop.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live

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JustAnswer of San Francisco asks over three million questions annually from consumers who have problems and need expert help. CEO Andy Kurtzig says that over the years it has given them what is on the rise and what is losing strength.

Weddings, for example, are definitely making a comeback after COVID caused some couples to hold back. Wedding questions are up 30 percent.

RELATED: Couple Marries on US-Canada Border Due to COVID Restrictions

Is politeness making a comeback? Questions about etiquette are up 65 percent.

“It’s because people are like, ‘Hey, should I or not I invite this person to my party?’ ‘Should I get her vaccinated or not?’ “Should I ask you if you have a negative COVID test or not?” Sensitive topics about which you don’t really know how to ask politely, “says Kurtzig.

Inquiries about sanitary facilities have increased by 33 percent.

VIDEO: ‘Pandemiquette’: How to survive in a world with difficult social situations caused by coronavirus

“People are stuck at home. You don’t want a stranger to come into your house, ”remarked Kurtzig. “You can do a lot of these things yourself, you know. You don’t have to pay the $ 300 or $ 500 for the plumber to come to your house.”
ABC7 News reporter David Louie noted a sharp drop in interest in watch repairs. What’s behind it?

“Everyone has COVID time, right? Nobody, nobody has to watch the clock that much this year,” said Kurtzig.

RELATED: TV That You Can Taste, Invented by a Japanese Professor

Gaming is still big, but with no new systems coming this year, this is an area that is losing steam. 32 percent less.

Advice on firearms fell by 39 percent.

Other Interesting Trends – Consumers want answers about reptilian behavior and dream interpretations, but interest in boats is losing momentum by 16 percent. Maybe that’s because people are more interested in RVs as an alternative to expensive living and working in the office. RV questions are up 27 percent.

Copyright © 2021 KGO-TV. All rights reserved.

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See’s Candies from Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B, BRK-A), the 100-year-old maker and seller of chocolates, lollipops, toffee and Warren Buffett’s favorite treat – peanut brittle – had the best quarter ever in 2021 earlier in the year, according to CEO Pat Egan.

“We are fully back, I think. We had our best January ever, our best February ever, we just finished our best first quarter ever, ”Egan told Yahoo Finance ahead of Berkshire Hathaway’s 2021 annual meeting, streaming exclusively on Yahoo Finance.

Egan, who took the helm of See’s Candies in the spring of 2019 and is the third CEO in the company’s history, described the past year as “the longest decade” of his life, when the famous candy retailer survived the COVID-19 crisis.

Full coverage of Berkshire Hathaway 2021 2021 Annual General Meeting

When the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States last March, See closed all of its 245 stores in a matter of days, and shortly after closed its e-commerce fulfillment center in southern California.

“From that point on, we just said, ‘We’re not going to reopen any stores or our factories until we can create a safe operating environment for all of our employees.’ That took a while and when we restored at the end of summer we saw customers come back. But it was pretty tough for that time, “added Egan.

PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 25, 2019: A man pushing a stroller stops outside a See’s Candies shop in Palm Springs, California. Founded in Los Angeles in 1921, the company is now headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company has been owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corporation since 1972. (Photo by Robert Alexander / Getty Images)

Amid pandemic bans and stay-at-home orders, See’s Candies’ e-commerce business grew by about 70% in total packages shipped last year. In addition, online sales have remained robust even with reopenings.

“”[What] you might expect that when the stores open again [e-commerce] would wear off a little. It has not. In our first quarter, we were up nearly 160% from the first quarter of last year. ”

Egan noted that in-store traffic was gradually decreasing, but the company was “almost back to 100%”.

The story goes on

“But our e-commerce, which has more than doubled, has actually stayed at that level, and we are okay with it not coming back to earth. It presents some other operational challenges, but we have definitely expanded our customer base. ”Egan added.

Julia La Roche is a correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Follow her up Twitter.

Read more from the Daily Journal Meeting:

Berkshire Hathaway rerun

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As lawmaker, Rob Bonta co-sponsored a proposed election measure that would have given Californians another chance to overturn the death penalty, a repeal they narrowly opposed in 2012 and 2016.

As California’s attorney general, Bonta is still against the death penalty and believes the state is moving in the same direction.

“I think the death penalty is inhuman. It doesn’t deter. Studies show that it had different effects on defendants of color for a long time, especially when the victim is white, “Bonta said in an interview. Three weeks earlier, his former legislative colleagues had confirmed Governor Gavin Newsom’s nomination of the Alameda Democrat to succeed Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is now the US Secretary of State for Health and Human Services.

Bonta said the death penalty was both irreversible and “fallible,” citing the exoneration and release of numerous death row inmates across the country – 185 since 1973, including five in California, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The nonprofit says it has also found “strong evidence” that at least 20 prisoners executed since 1989, all in southern states, were actually innocent.

Despite the nationwide votes over the past decade, Bonta said he thought California was “on the way to ending the death penalty. I think this is the way to get there, away from mass imprisonment, over-criminalization and over-condemnation.

“The Californians said that about the people who voted them into office,” he said.

One of them was Newsom, who announced a moratorium on executions shortly after taking office in 2019. Others included Bonta’s three attorney general predecessors, Becerra, Kamala Harris, and Jerry Brown, all of whom stood against the death penalty.

But when the Californians voted directly on the death penalty, they approved it: in 1972, when they overturned a Supreme Court ruling declaring it a violation of the state constitution; 1978, when they expanded a death penalty law that legislature passed over Governor Brown’s veto; and in 2012 and 2016, when majorities of 52% and 53% rejected initiatives to reduce the maximum sentence to life imprisonment without parole.

Although Newsom and a group of prosecutors have asked the state Supreme Court to make it harder to obtain death sentences by tightening standards for jury deliberation and voting in capital cases, there is no pending death penalty appeal in California. So the only current path to a repeal seems to be another electoral measure, which proponents say won’t happen until at least 2024.

Things could change if Newsom was recalled and replaced with a Republican who would almost certainly lift its moratorium and seek execution dates for more than 20 convicted prisoners who have lost all appeals against their convictions and sentences. This would revive a legal challenge to California’s lethal injections procedures, which 15 years ago a federal judge found so flawed that they posed an unreasonable risk of prolonged and excruciating death.

The state, which has 704 inmates on death row, has not executed anyone since January 2006, while 103 convicted inmates have died in prison, mostly of natural causes – 22 since the coronavirus pandemic began last spring. Bonta said he needed more study before deciding whether to defend the current method of executing individual drugs.

“Part of my role is to be the administrator of the law,” he said, “but I will not defend something that is unconstitutional.” It has nothing to do with my personal convictions ”but rather whether there is evidence that the injection procedures could cause an“ unnecessarily slow and painful death ”.

Bonta will appear to be a more confident opponent of the death penalty than others in high office. Harris and Brown, for example, were publicly silent on the 2012 and 2016 overturn initiatives, and Harris appealed to restore the state’s death penalty law in 2015 after a federal judge ruled that the law was no longer constitutional due to arbitrary delays of 25 years or longer in crucial cases.

Bonta’s appointment “bodes well for the state and those of us who are interested in this issue,” said Mike Farrell, former “MASH” star, president of Death Penalty Focus, a Sacramento-based anti-death penalty -Group, is.

Anne Marie Schubert, District Attorney for Sacramento, is a challenger in next year’s attorney general election and says voters shouldn’t expect a strong defense of the death penalty or its implementation from an opponent like Bonta.

“Voter will should matter,” and “attitudes can have an impact,” said Schubert, a former Republican who became independent and advocated the death penalty. “You say, ‘We are going to defend the death penalty,’ but are you going to delay cases and divert resources away from the Capital Disputes Department?”

She said she was particularly concerned about a bill pending in the Legislature, AB1224, by Congregation Member Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, that would allow for a review of an inmate’s previous death or life sentence without parole. Levine was the lead author of the proposed constitutional amendment to repeal the death penalty, which Bonta endorsed in 2019.

AB1224 would allow a judge to reduce any of these sentences to life with the option of parole after considering the inmate’s age, mental health, and records of the inmate in prison. If the inmate has served at least 20 years without violence, the judge would have to reduce the sentence unless prosecutors can show that the inmate would commit violent acts in the future. Backed by public defenders and rejected by prosecutors, the move would require two-thirds approval in the Assembly and Senate and the governor’s signature to become law.

By overturning existing death or life sentences without parole, “you are destroying families who were promised by judges that these people would never get out,” said Schubert. She said such a reversal of longstanding state policy appears to be part of Bonta’s agenda.

Bonta did not take a position on AB1224, but said he would be willing to ask judges to reconsider individual death sentences – as long as all sides agree on a case.

He said he plans to “work with prosecutors and family members of victims who want to go to court together to punish an accused of the death penalty for anything else, such as life without parole or some other sentence.”

“I will show ways to advance reforms in the criminal justice system in general and in relation to the death penalty in particular,” said Bonta.

Bob Egelko is a contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko

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