Infrastructure

With thousands of construction workers and contractors needing long-term housing, the world’s largest hotel franchisor is launching a new brand for the booming boots-and-hardhat market. G eoff Ballotti is staring at a map on his office wall and likes what he sees. Nearly two dozen dots sprinkled across the United States represent future semiconductor factories. Outside of the microchip sector, few executives would seek out such a stodgy map from the Semiconductor Industry Association, let alone hang it on a wall. But for the CEO of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (2022 revenue: $1.56 billion), each dot on that map represents a giant, flashing-light opportunity. Ballotti quickly rattles off examples of locations where new chip factories are slated to appear. Intel is building two plants in Chandler, Arizona, at around $30 billion a pop. In Texas, plants have been announced by Texas Instruments in Sherman ($30 billion) and by Samsung in Taylor ($25 billion). In Indiana, they are … [Read more...] about Wyndham Hotels Grabs A Windfall From America’s Infrastructure Agenda

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Co-Founder and CEO of Varonis , responsible for leading the management, strategic direction and execution of the company. In the movie Apollo 13 , three astronauts returning to Earth are unaware of their perilous reentry. Back in Houston at Mission Control, chief flight director Gene Kranz (played by Ed Harris) comments on the unfortunate events, saying: "Is there anything they can do about it?" No one dared to speak. "Then they don't need to know." If Kranz was in IT security, he'd probably have a thing or two to say about actionable information and how there's sometimes too little and many times far too much. In this article, I'll share how automation can help turn the right information into action, helping to defend against cyberattacks, mitigate risk, shore up compliance and improve productivity. You Can't Unbreach Data The biggest security risk businesses face is lasting damage, which … [Read more...] about What Automation Means For Cybersecurity—And Your Business

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Global technology and business solutions provider NTT and its subsidiary NTT DATA have strengthened its partnership with IndyCar. NTT and IndyCar announced on March 27 its entitlement extension will begin in 2024 after completion of the current agreement. NTT and NTT DATA will continue as the official technology partner of the NTT IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500, and the IndyCar/NASCAR Brickyard weekend. It will increase its involvement through its Smart Venue application at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as well as enhancements to its mobile app and continued data integration and transformation of the sport. The multi-year agreement also includes official technology partner status. “NTT is an excellent partner across our enterprise with strongexpertise and a deep commitment to our sport,” said Roger Penske, Chairman, Penske Corporation. “From Smart Venue technology at the … [Read more...] about IndyCar, NTT And NTT DATA Sign Multi-Year Agreement

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Ameesh Divatia is co-founder & CEO of Baffle, Inc ., with a proven track record of turning innovative ideas into successful businesses. Cloud computing has changed how organizations think about security. Instead of focusing resources on protecting the perimeter of an on-premises database, a cloud-first environment requires organizations to consider how to protect the data itself. However, cloud computing brings with it additional security concerns. Encryption solutions have helped keep data secure, whether at rest or in motion. Still, many companies struggle with encryption key visibility and ownership, which typically belongs to the cloud service providers (CSP). It's difficult to assure customers that their data is secure if someone else can access their encryption keys. In recent years, the bring-your-own-key (BYOK) approach, which allows organizations to maintain control over data encryption keys, … [Read more...] about Incorporating BYOK Into Your Company’s Data Security Strategy

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Justice Stephen Breyer warned in 1993 that “well-meaning, intelligent regulators, trying to carry out their regulatory tasks sensibly, can nonetheless bring about counterproductive results” by trying to exorcise the “last ten percent” of a pollutant, even as the costs of doing so soar. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent proposal setting National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particles (PM 2.5 ) may be the poster child for that warning. It chases diminishing marginal returns while constraining investments in activities important for other goals, including modernizing infrastructure and combatting climate change. Section 109 of the 1970 Clean Air Act requires EPA to set primary NAAQS at a level that is ‘‘requisite to protect the public health” with “an adequate margin of safety.” The statutory language Congress penned more than 50 years ago is less than 700 words long, but it has spawned … [Read more...] about The Diminishing Returns Of Tighter Fine Particle Standards

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Change is brewing in the Middle East. The region’s political landscape transforms as rapprochements emerge. In a turn startling observers, China has brokered a détente between Iran and Saudi Arabia, whose enmity has long been a cornerstone of Middle Eastern strife. Within mere days under Beijing’s watch, the reconciliation between these regional powerhouses altered the political landscape’s main contours. Yet, the Saudi-Iran reconciliation is not the only instance of regional realignment — efforts are also underway to rehabilitate the Assad regime back into the regional fold. As new alliances crystallize, winners and losers emerge in their wake. These developments have far-reaching implications for the region's actors, and understanding their roots and consequences is essential for any observer. Gaining momentum, the China-brokered Saudi-Iran normalization progresses, as reopening embassies and increasing … [Read more...] about Middle East Rapprochements: Who Is Standing To Lose?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Senior Vice President for Proofpoint, overseeing global cybersecurity strategy. By now, you've heard of ChatGPT—or more likely, you've heard that it's coming to take your job whether you're a programmer, journalist, musician or almost anything else. The OpenAI chatbot has been accessible to all for mere months, yet it has already amassed millions of users , impressing with its ability to write everything from code to essays and lyrics. You may have also heard that ChatGPT is about to set a fire under an already bubbling-hot cyber threat landscape, helping scammers write engaging, convincing and grammatically correct phishing emails or perfect malware code in seconds. While ChatGPT is certainly impressive, do we really need to worry about it upping the ante on already menacing threats? In short, the answer is no—but there's little to celebrate about that. ChatGPT's AI Adds Little—For Now ChatGPT … [Read more...] about Is ChatGPT A Silver Bullet For Cybercriminals?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin By Satta Sarmah Hightower Identity theft can upend someone’s life, both financially and emotionally. It’s a reality facing customers daily. Someone becomes a victim of identity theft every four seconds , reports the National Council on Identity Theft Protection. With increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats on the rise, companies have a responsibility to protect their consumers—and a big opportunity to deepen trust and loyalty if they get it right. To help businesses navigate this, we talked to Erik Nienaber, CTO and head of product at Iris Powered by Generali , a leading provider of identity and personal cyber protection solutions for businesses to offer to their customers. Below, he shares five tips to help companies bolster identity protection efforts and ultimately enrich the customer experience, build trust and boost business outcomes. 1. Assess Your Plan What’s your company’s approach to … [Read more...] about This Cybersecurity CTO Shares 5 Tips To Better Protect Your Customers

After a 10-month wait, the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11659, the law that redefines the meaning and scope of public utility services, are now in place. The law amended the 85-year-old Public Service Act, which was the foundation of the 1987 Constitution’s provision that limits the operation of public utilities to Filipino citizens or organizations that are 60-percent owned by Filipinos. Henceforth, the term “public utility” shall apply only to persons or entities that operate, manage or control the following services: (a) distribution of electricity (b) transmission of electricity, (c) petroleum and petroleum products pipeline transmission systems, (d) water and wastewater pipeline systems, (e) seaports and (f) public utilities vehicles. The length of time it took to prepare the 43-page IRR is understandable because it involved 21 government offices and the modification of seven laws on the supervision of businesses engaged in public-oriented … [Read more...] about New definition of public utility

FIRST SECTION DONE The Caloocan-España segment of the P23-billion North Luzon Expressway Connector that will link to South Luzon Expressway was inaugurated ahead of the peak summer travel months. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA  -North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) Corp., a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), inaugurated the Caloocan-España segment of the 8-kilometer (km) toll road—designed to cut travel time between Caloocan and España to about five minutes—on Monday and targets to open the entire NLEx Connector in June. J. Luigi Bautista, NLEx Corp. president and general manager, told reporters on Monday they were hoping to secure all the right-of-way (ROW) requirement of the remaining segment—España to Sta. Mesa—of the expressway by next month to proceed with the construction. “Provided that we get all the right of way from DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highway), we think they will be able to complete it by end of June,” he said. ROW requirement About 20 percent of … [Read more...] about Caloocan-España segment of NLEx Connector inaugurated