#Texas hospitals data breach

[dertaglichedan]

Cybercriminals attacked the computer systems of a California-based health care provider causing emergency rooms in multiple states to close and ambulance services to be redirected.

The ransomware attack happened at Prospect Medical Holdings of Los Angeles, which has hospitals and clinics in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas. Prospect Medical is investigating how the breach happened and is working on resolving the issue, the company said in a statement Friday.

"Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. recently experienced a data security incident that has disrupted our operations," the company said in a statement. "Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists. While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible."

[mariacallous]

National security leaders have long warned that technologies produced by Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese companies could be used as conduits for foreign espionage, hacking, and other nefarious activities. But state and local government agencies across the United States are still purchasing and installing this dangerous equipment. If U.S. policymakers do not construct a more unified defense against foreign technology threats, the country will remain vulnerable to potentially devastating attacks.

U.S. government agencies have been forbidden from using equipment from Huawei, ZTE, and three other Chinese companies designated as national security threats since 2019, and policymakers have been sounding the alarm on these firms since at least 2012. But in a recent report we published with Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, we found state and local officials have continued installing products from these companies in the networks of schools, hospitals, transit systems, utility departments, and other government facilities nationwide.

Eliminating a particular product from any supply chain is no easy feat. The global technology industry is vast, complex, and opaque, which makes it exceedingly difficult for governments to determine the provenance of the products they purchase. Aside from transparency issues, many state and local agencies also have limited funds and technical expertise, and they may reasonably prioritize addressing pressing threats like ransomware over the more abstract risks posed by foreign technology.

Still, this technology poses a variety of national security threats. Huawei has been implicated in data breaches, internet censorship, and espionage campaigns in dozens of countries. FBI investigators recently discovered that the company’s equipment could intercept or disrupt communications related to the U.S. military’s nuclear arsenal. Potential backdoors have also been uncovered in products from other Chinese companies, such as Hikvision. When deployed in government networks, these technologies can serve as possible entry points for hackers looking to damage public services, steal sensitive data, or spy on internal operations.

Our analysis of public procurement records revealed that nearly 1,700 state and local agencies purchased products and services connected to the five Chinese companies on the federal blacklist between 2015 and 2021. The data is incomplete, which suggests the true number is much higher. Still, agencies in every state except Vermont appear in the list.

In addition to security threats, the global dominance of Chinese technology giants also presents broader economic risks, potentially leaving the United States dependent on its biggest geopolitical competitor for access to critical technologies. Jeremy Fleming, director of the United Kingdom’s GCHQ intelligence agency, recently called China’s efforts to dominate the global technology ecosystem “the national security issue that will define our future.”

State and local governments do not face the same risks as, say, the U.S. military, but they should still take foreign technology threats seriously. These governments manage a wide variety of public services and are heavily involved in certain critical infrastructure sectors, such as water management and transportation, and foreign hackers have already shown an interest in targeting them. Even if state and local networks are not the primary targets, hackers can use them as springboards into other critical systems.

Lawmakers in a handful of states—including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, and Vermont—have attempted to block purchases of untrustworthy foreign technology. Although well intentioned, these measures generally fail to address the risks at hand, with some containing loopholes large enough to render the regulations ineffective. Local-level efforts are all but nonexistent.

This is not all that surprising, as the federal government is generally responsible for national security. But the mismatch among federal, state, and local approaches to foreign technology threats underscores the need to develop a more cohesive, nationwide strategy.

The Federal Communications Commission can take the lead here. Commissioners will soon vote on rules that would prohibit new authorizations of equipment produced by companies that pose national security threats. Should it pass, this measure would make it illegal to sell most new products made by Huawei, ZTE, and eight other foreign companies on the agency’s blacklist. Such a policy would lay the foundation for a nationwide defense against untrustworthy foreign tech.

The rest of the federal government has the power to build on this base. Under a 2019 law, federal agencies can ban equipment from foreign vendors on the grounds of national security. A Trump-era executive order also permits the U.S. Commerce Department to review and block any technology-related transaction that it deems a national security risk. This applies to purchases by all organizations—public and private—that fall under U.S. jurisdiction.

But while federal policymakers are empowered to combat foreign technology threats, they have yet to effectively wield that authority. Leaders need to apply political pressure to reinvigorate supply chain security programs. Congress must provide the Commerce Department with the resources to implement its new authorities, increase funding for “rip and replace programs,” and require policymakers to publish a master list of current and future federal bans. State and local agencies should align their own procurement practices with the federal blacklist.

Building a more unified defense against foreign technology threats will secure American networks and bolster the U.S. tech economy. Policymakers have all the right tools at their disposal—it’s time they start using them.

[newstfionline]

Friday, May 7, 2021

60 years since 1st American in space: Tourists lining up (AP) Sixty years after Alan Shepard became the first American in space, everyday people are on the verge of following in his cosmic footsteps. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin used Wednesday’s anniversary to kick off an auction for a seat on the company’s first crew spaceflight—a short Shepard-like hop launched by a rocket named New Shepard. The Texas liftoff is targeted for July 20, the date of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic aims to kick off tourist flights next year. And Elon Musk’s SpaceX will launch a billionaire and his sweepstakes winners in September. That will be followed by a flight by three businessmen to the International Space Station in January.

The U.S. birthrate is falling; other countries have faced the same problem (Washington Post) With the U.S. birthrate declining for the sixth year in a row and undergoing its largest drop in nearly 50 years, according to provisional data released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States is facing a dilemma with which many wealthy nations in Europe and Asia have long grappled. Instead of trying to ramp up immigration, some governments have tried subsidizing fertility treatments, offering free day care and generous parental leave, and paying thousands of dollars in cash grants to parents. But there’s little evidence that these policies have been effective on a large scale. South Korea, for instance, spent roughly $120 billion between 2005 and 2018 to incentivize having children, but its birthrate continued to fall. Singapore began offering new child-care subsidies, more-generous maternity leave policies and grants for new parents that today amount to $7,330 per baby. But those interventions didn’t reverse the trend: Singapore currently has the world’s third-lowest fertility rate. And Japan, Russia, Estonia and other nations have similar problems.

Protest road blockades halt Colombian coffee exports, federation says (Reuters) Road blockades connected to anti-government protests in Colombia, which marked their eighth day on Wednesday, have halted shipments of top agricultural export coffee, the head of the grower’s federation said. The protests, originally called in opposition to a now-canceled tax reform plan, are now demanding the government take action to tackle poverty, police violence and inequalities in the health and education systems. Twenty-four people, mostly demonstrators, have died. “We are stopped completely, exports are stopped, there is no movement of coffee to ports nor internally,” federation head Roberto Velez said in a phone interview.

20 dead in Rio de Janeiro shootout (Reuters) At least 20 people, including a police officer, died on Thursday in a shootout during a police operation against drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro’s Jacarezinho shanty town, O Globo newspaper reported on its website. Two passengers on a metro train were also wounded in the shooting in the northern Rio neighborhood, the newspaper said.

Gunboats and blockade threats as U.K., France clash over fishing (NBC News) The U.K. and France were engaged in a naval standoff on Thursday as a long-simmering dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights escalated in the English Channel. France deployed two maritime patrol boats to the waters off the British Channel island of Jersey, its navy said, after the British Navy dispatched two of its own vessels to the area late Wednesday. The dueling moves came as a flotilla of French fishing trawlers sailed to the Jersey port of St. Helier to protest over fishing rights. The French government has suggested it could cut power supplies to the island if its fishermen are not granted full access to U.K. fishing waters under post-Brexit trading terms. Clément Beaune, the French secretary of state for European affairs, told AFP on Thursday that Paris will “not be intimidated” by the British. On the other side of the Channel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged his "unwavering support" for the island after he spoke with Jersey officials about the prospect of a French blockade. Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands with a population of 108,000, is geographically closer to France than Britain. It sits just 14 miles off the French coast and receives most of its electricity from France via undersea cables.

Ukraine wants aid, NATO support from Blinken’s visit (AP) U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv Thursday, telling him that he was there to “reaffirm strongly” Washington’s commitment to Ukraine’s “sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.” Blinken also assured Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba that the U.S. was committed “to work with you and continue to strengthen your own democracy, building institutions, advancing your reforms against corruption.” By visiting so early in his tenure, before any trip to Russia, Blinken is signaling that Ukraine is a high foreign-policy priority for President Joe Biden’s administration. But what he can, or will, deliver in the meeting later with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is unclear.

India hits another grim record as it scrambles for oxygen supply (AP) Infections in India hit another grim daily record on Thursday as demand for medical oxygen jumped seven-fold and the government denied reports that it was slow in distributing life-saving supplies from abroad. The number of new confirmed cases breached 400,000 for the second time since the devastating surge began last month. The 412,262 cases pushed India’s tally to more than 21 million. The Health Ministry also reported 3,980 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 230,168. Experts believe both figures are an undercount. Eleven COVID-19 patients died as the pressure in the oxygen line dropped suddenly in a government medical college hospital in Chengalpet town in southern India on Wednesday night, possibly because of a faulty valve, The Times of India newspaper reported. Hospital authorities said they had repaired the pipeline last week, but the consumption of oxygen doubled since then, the daily said.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid gains chance to form government, oust Netanyahu (Washington Post) Yair Lapid, a former news anchor and leader of Israel’s centrist opposition, was picked to negotiate a new governing coalition Wednesday, opening the possibility of Israel getting its first government not led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in more than a decade. President Reuven Rivlin tapped Lapid to make the next attempt to form a government one day after Netanyahu failed to assemble a parliamentary majority after 28 days of effort. Under Israel’s system, Lapid also has four weeks to craft a power-sharing plan. If he falls short, the president could open to the process to any member of the Knesset or call for Israel’s fifth election since the spring of 2019. Lapid will face a stiff challenge in trying to find common ground among the range of anti-Netanyahu parties elected in March. As a bloc, they would control enough seats to secure a majority. But ideologically, they range from the far right to the far left of Israel’s political spectrum. They also include Israeli Arab parties that traditionally play no part in supporting governing coalitions but that may be needed this time.

Instagram fuels rise in black-market sales of maids into Persian Gulf servitude (Washington Post) The advent of Instagram in recent years has helped create an international black market for migrant workers, in particular women recruited in Africa and Asia who are sold into servitude as maids in Persian Gulf countries. Unlicensed agents have exploited the social media platform to place these women into jobs that often lack documentation or assurances of proper pay and working conditions. Several women who were marketed via Instagram described being treated essentially as captives and forced to work grueling hours for far less money than they had been promised. “They advertise us on social media, then the employer picks. Then we are delivered to their house. We are not told anything about the employers. You’re just told to take your stuff, and a driver takes you there,” said Vivian, 24, from Kenya. Domestic servants sold on the platform described encountering threats, exploitation and abuse. The agencies which marketed them, meanwhile, made thousands of dollars. In response to a request for comment last month, an Instagram spokesperson asked for the list of accounts identified by The Post so company officials could investigate. Instagram has since deleted these accounts.

Nonuplets: Woman From Mali Gives Birth To 9 Babies (NPR) A Malian woman has given birth to nine babies, in what could become a world record. Halima Cissé had been expecting to have seven newborns: ultrasound sessions had failed to spot two of her babies. "The newborns (five girls and four boys) and the mother are all doing well," Mali's health minister, Dr. Fanta Siby, said in an announcement about the births. Professor Youssef Alaoui, medical director of the private Ain Borja clinic in Casablanca where Cissé gave birth, said the babies were born at 30 weeks. The newborns weighed between 500 grams and 1 kilogram (about 1.1 to 2.2 pounds), he told journalists. The clinic has deployed a team of around 30 staff members to aid the mother's delivery and care for her nine children.

Nigeria reels from nationwide wave of deadly violence (The Guardian) Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari has come under mounting pressure from critics and allies alike as the country reels from multiple security crises that have claimed hundreds of lives in recent weeks. An alarming wave of violence has left millions in Africa’s most populous country in uproar at the collapse in security. Attacks by jihadist groups in the north-east have been compounded by a sharp rise in abductions targeting civilians in schools and at interstate links across Nigeria. Mass killings by bandit groups in rural towns, a reported rise in armed robberies in urban areas and increasingly daring attacks on security forces by pro-Biafran militants in the south-east have also all risen. In April alone, almost 600 civilians were killed across the country and at least 406 abducted by armed groups, according to analysis by the Council on Foreign Relations. The violence has left much of the country on edge and Buhari facing the fiercest criticism since he took office.

[ftworthlawyer]

Change Order | A Clear Construction Agreement Saves Time and Money

When a contractor needs to perform additional work during a project, the contractor should try to get a signed agreement that covers the additional work, often called a change order. Otherwise, the contractor may not be entitled to payment for this additional work.

During the construction process, the parties often either want to make or are required to make changes to the original scope of work. Due to these changes, the contractor or subcontractors may be asked to perform additional work. Unfortunately, this additional work is sometimes performed without a written and signed change order.

In these situations, the question is whether the party performing the additional work is entitled to additional pay and time. Recently, a Texas Court wrestled with this very question as to whether a subcontractor that performed additional work was entitled to more money for this work.

In C3 Communications, LLC v. Gigabit Technologies, LLC, the question was whether the contractor’s and subcontractor’s oral agreements later evidenced by unsigned change orders were legally enforceable. C3 Communications, LLC (“C3”) entered into a subcontract with Gigabit Technologies, LLC (“Gigabit”) to replace data cables at the Shriners Children’s Texas hospital in Galveston. During the project, Gigabit sent C3 a “Budgetary Estimate” and two “Change Orders” describing the work required to complete the project and the price for that work. The Change Orders were issued after the work was already performed. Both Change Orders also contained a line stating, “Acceptance & Notice to Proceed,” followed by a space labeled “Signature.” However, neither Changer Order was signed by C3. C3 later failed to pay the total amount sought under the Budgetary Estimate and Change Orders, and Gigabit filed suit against C3 for breach of contract and fraud.

Gigabit argued it should be paid by C3 because the parties had agreed to the Change Orders, and it had performed all of its obligations under the written agreement and Change Orders. C3 argued that the Change Orders were not enforceable contracts because the evidence conclusively established that (i) C3 did not accept either of the Change Orders, and (ii) the parties did not reach a meeting of the minds on the essential terms of price and scope of work.

Ultimately, the Court of Appeals held that the parties’ oral agreements later evidenced by the Change Orders were not legally enforceable, because it was not proven the parties had a meeting of the minds with respect to the Change Orders’ essential terms. In particular, the evidence failed to show that, when the parties reached these oral agreements, their assent addressed all material and essential terms (e.g., scope of work and price) with “a reasonable degree of certainty and definiteness” as required for them to be deemed enforceable. Therefore, Gigabit was not entitled to recover the amounts allegedly owed pursuant to the Change Orders or the oral agreements regarding the work covered by the unsigned Change Orders. As a result, Gigabit was not entitled to recover payment for its additional work.

Because changes to a project should be expected, the parties should seek to enter into a signed agreement that covers all the issues related to any additional payments and time. Such signed agreements can help avoid expensive legal battles.

If you have any questions, you can reach expert Construction Lawyer Joe Tolbert of Brackett & Ellis, P.C. at 817-338-1700 or contact us here. 

[opedguy]

Biden’s Covid Vaccine Mandates Illegal

DEADWOOD, S.D. (OnlineColumnist.com), Sept. 29, 2When President Joe Biden ordered Sept. 9 some 100 million Americans to take Covid-19 vaccines or lose their federal employment or be forced to take weekly Covid-19 tests, he didn’t know it violated the 1991 Self-Determination Act.  Self-Determination Act gave all patients the right to refuse medical treatment. Forcing millions of patients for public health reasons to take Covid-19 vaccines violates patients right to decide what kind of medicines or treatment they wish to put into their bodies.  Biden thinks that without increasing vaccinations in the population, the Covid-19 crisis will continue indefinitely, hampering the U.S. economy. But beyond a drag on the economy, the U.S. death toll continues to rise now near 680,000 and climbing.  But there’s no guarantee that with more vaccines the country will achieve the herd immunity necessary to ending the Covid-19 crisis.

           Novant Health CEO Carlos Amato announced that the hospital system would fire 175 employees refusing to take Covid-19 vaccines.  Amato says it only represents 1% of the total Novant workforce but feels it’s important to send a message that he backs Biden’s mandates, he’s exposing Novant Health Care of legal challenges.  Whether vaccines are good for public health or not, forcing citizens to get vaccines violates the 1991 Self-Determination Act, giving patients the right to refuse any medicine or treatment at their discretion. Biden’s decision to impose vaccines mandates forces citizens to lose their lose their medical decision-making. Democrats support 1973 Roe v. Wade giving women, regardless of age or ethnicity the right to choose abortion as a birth control option.  Recent laws passed in Texas takes medical-decision making out of women’s hands.

           Biden has done the same thing on a federal level imposing vaccines on millions of citizens without respecting their right, under the Self-Determination Act, to decide what to put in their bodies. Biden and the scientific community cannot answer any questions about what Covid vaccines do the long-term health, not to mention adverse side effects of Covid vaccines. Recent breakthrough infections among double-or-even-triple vaccinated patients raise questions.  Some anti-vaxxers question whether the vaccines are effective, especially against the Delta variant.  Public health officials insist vaccines prevent severe Covid symptom, hospitalizations and even deaths.  But there’s no data that validates the benefits of vaccines.  Biden calls the current Covid crisis an “epidemic of the unvaccinated.” Health officials know that they have no data proving that vaccines prevent the disease or hospitalization.

           Vice President Kamala Harris said yesterday that she wanted to create a global fund to prevent future pandemics.  Harris knows that there’s a very real possibility that the deadly novel corona virus was created in a Chinese bioweapons’ lab, then spread to Wuhan, China and all over the planet.  How’s creating a billion-dollar pandemic fund going a to stop a future pandemic when the current outbreak came from lab-leak.  Biden asked Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines May 26 to get to the bottom of the origin of the novel coronavirus.  Five months later, Haines won’t reveal which scientists she asked their opinion about the origin of the virus.  Haines has refused to reveal her underlying sources, despite reports that she’s relied on scientists tied to Peter Daszak’s EcoHealth Alliance, someone known to oppose the lab-leak theory.

           Mandating vaccines violates the 1991 Self-Determination Act giving patients the right to refuse medical treatments.  It’s not a public health issue when the virus originated in a Wuhan Institute of Virology lab, did not occur naturally as Biden’s chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci has said since the beginning of the pandemic. Fauci knows the SARS CoV-2 is nothing like 2003 SARS CoV-1 that only infected 8,000 worldwide, with only 700 deaths. Only “gain-of-function research, where scientists enhance the lethality of the virus, could account for differences between SARS CoV-1 and SARS CoV-2, where 219 million and 4.55 million deaths have occurred.  Until the Biden administration levels with the public about the origin of the virus, he should not mandate Covid vaccines, knowing that the global pandemic was entirely preventable by containing China’s deadly experiments.

           Biden’s vaccine mandates violate the 1991 Self-Determination Act, giving every patient the right to refuse medical treatment. No one at the FDA or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] can say with certainty that current Covid vaccines prevent the disease or prevent severe symptoms and hospitalizations.  As long a DNI Haines cannot come clean about the origin of the deadly novel coronavirus, no citizen can have confidence with U.S. public health authorities.  Companies like Novant will wind up in court firing employees who refuse Covid-19 vaccines. Biden breached his Article I authority mandating vaccines, when the Self-Determination Act gives all patients the right to refuse medical treatment.  Whatever problems convincing citizens to take vaccines, Biden has no right under his presidential authority to force citizens to take vaccines.  

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of  Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

[covid19updater]

COVID19 Updates: 08/18/2021

World:  Actress Sally Kirkland After Moderna Vaccine: In My 79 Years, I’ve Never Experienced This Level of Pain LINK

California:  The Lambda COVID variant is in California: 5 things you should know LINK

Alabama:  Alabama has “negative” ICU beds free as U.S. hospitals struggle with surge of cases

US:  More than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths recorded as US returns to April levels LINK

India:  COVID-19 Vaccine for Children Will Be Available In India By September, Says Director of ICMR-NIV LINK

UK: Scotland:  Side point: Schools went back in Scotland on Monday, 16 Aug Nightclubs opened 9th Aug. Cases reported: 2021-08-18,2531 2021-08-17,1815 2021-08-16,1567 2021-08-15,1498 2021-08-14,1383 2021-08-13,1542 2021-08-12,1525 2021-08-11,1498 2021-08-10,1032 2021-08-09,851 Highly vaccinated, approx 75% double-pricked.

China:  The Chinese mainland Tuesday reported six new locally transmitted #COVID19 cases in Jiangsu Province, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday.

World:  WHO & @Unitaid express concern over @Roche's warning of a global shortage of tocilizumab, a WHO-recommended IL6 inhibitor for use as a treatment for severe #COVID19.

Tennessee:  In West Tennessee, a class of second graders at Riverwood Elementary in Cordova were sent home yesterday with a letter about the death of their teacher, 31-year-old Ashley Leatherwood. Family and friends say she contracted #COVID19 in the classroom. #GetVaccinatedNow #WearAMask

Texas:  Despite urgent cries from families, Plano ISD is not taking any new action to prevent COVID-19 in schools. LINK

Montana:  The Blackfeet Nation has implemented a mask mandate and the tribe’s offices are closed to the public. This comes as Montana experiences increased spread of COVID-19. Please mask up on Blackfeet land.

US:  U.S. COVID update: Nearly 177K new cases, including Florida backlog, and 1,316 new deaths - New cases: 176,787 - Average: 138,396 (+2,813) - In hospital: 88,481 (+3,742) - In ICU: 21,914 (+1,047) - New deaths: 1,316

Texas:  #COVID19 outbreaks in rural #Texas districts signal a troubled back-to-school season LINK

US:  WASHINGTON (AP) — US health officials recommend COVID-19 booster shots for all Americans to boost their defenses amid delta variant.

UK:  United Kingdom Daily Coronavirus (COVID-19) Report · Wednesday 18th August. 33,904 new cases (people positive) reported, giving a total of 6,355,887. 111 new deaths reported, giving a total of 131,260.

World:  How SARS-CoV-2 Evades And Suppresses The Immune System (Part 4) LINK

Alaska:  Anchorage ICUs at capacity as a surge of COVID-19 patients has hospitals under stress and scrambling LINK

Israel:  In less than a month #Israel may no longer be able to hide the very obvious about the #covidvaccine despite booster doses, #lockdowns and suppression of V data. Leaked yesterday - 95% of deaths in the #vaccinated and a huge jump from June.

Israel:  Israel: in high cases areas, only classrooms in which over 70 % of students are either vaccinated, recovered or pass a positive serological test for antibodies will be allowed to meet in person. Classrooms that fall below that level will be required to switch to home learning. LINK

Texas:  The new Texas COVID-19 surge could be worse than anything the state has seen yet Last week in San Antonio, 26 minutes went by with no ambulances available to respond to 911 calls from the city’s 1.5 million residents. LINK

US:  Booster doses of Covid-19 vaccine will be offered to Americans beginning September 20, pending CDC and FDA approval, US health officials say LINK

US:  There's concerning evidence of waning vaccine effectiveness over time and against delta; the risk of severe infection increasing among those vaccinated early and those with at-risk conditions.

US: CDC DIRECTOR  *WALENSKY: VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS FALLING IN NURSING HOMES.  WALENSKY SAYS  OVERALL VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS IS DECREASED FOR THE DELTA VARIANT

World:  Various people have been raising the variant AY.3 as a potential problem. So here is a quick thread on what we are seeing here (and internationally). TLDR: Definitely the first clear sign of potentially worrying variant here in a while.  First what is AY.3? It's a subtype of Delta and is most prevalent in the US where it is about 9% of their cases. Very early results from India suggest that it is more immune evasive than "original" Delta.   In the US, AY.3 has also increased rapidly, but alongside Delta so it's hard to say if it's outcompeting Delta or just outcompeting previous variants.

NYC:  *DE BLASIO SAYS 'DOESN'T ANTICIPATE' NYC SCHOOL VACCINE MANDATE

Michigan:  Grand Rapids and Traverse City regions are at "substantial" increases in new cases of #COVID19. The rest of the state's regions are classified as "high" numbers of new cases.

World:  Why is Delta so much more contagious than prior #SARSCoV2 variants? It achieves membrane fusion far more efficiently and faster LINK

Mississippi:  Mississippi eighth grader dies of COVID-19 amid escalating mask battle LINK

France:  France reports 2,054 people in intensive care units for covid-19, up by 111 ICU tally above the 2,000 limit for the first time since June 14

South Carolina:  As Delta Spreads Through South Carolina, A Troubling Rise In Breakthrough Cases LINK

New York:  Today's update on the numbers: Total COVID hospitalizations are at 1,888. Of the 156,128 tests reported yesterday, 4,737 were positive (3.03% of total). Sadly, there were 20 fatalities.

Colorado:  COVID-19 vaccine mandate issued for Colorado prison workers, other state employees LINK

Israel:  Israel is now requiring anyone over the age of three to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test before entering many indoor spaces, as it tackles a sharp rise in infections. LINK

Nevada:  The Las Vegas Raiders are the first NFL team to require all fans attending home games to be vaccinated against COVID.

France:  People refusing to get Covid-19 vaccines in France are paying hundreds for fake health passes in an online black market that has flourished since the government imposed mandates for them to enter cafes, intercity trains and other public places;

Singapore:  Singapore court sentenced Brit Ben Glynn to 6 weeks in prison, for repeated breaching covid protocols. Found guilty on 4 charges for: failing to wear a mask on train in May & his July court appearance; causing a public nuisance; & use of threatening words to public servants;

Texas:  Five regions of Texas have zero open ICU beds LINK

Alabama:  Alabama is out of ICU beds amid a COVID-19 surge, with some patients being treated on gurneys in hallways, hospitals chief says LINK

Afghanistan:  JUST IN - Former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani reportedly hospitalized in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

NYC:  Restaurants in NYC sue the Mayor over his vaccine mandate.

US:  The Biden administration will move to require that nursing home staff are vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. LINK

Israel:  Israeli congressman in hospital with covid, Fully vaccinated 47-year old, not yet boosted, describes his experience LINK

Florida:  BREAKING: 3,055 students in Florida's Palm Beach County Schools have been forced to quarantine due to #COVID19 since classes began 7 days ago. There are now 608 confirmed student COVID-19 cases out of 167,000 students enrolled.

World:  Significant reduction in humoral immunity among healthcare workers and nursing home residents 6 months after COVID-19 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination LINK

Israel:  Pfizer COVID vaccine 83% effective after third shot - Maccabi LINK

US:  UPDATE: J&J BOOSTER PENDING—People who received Johnson & Johnson vaccines may need boosters, too, says @Surgeon_General Vivek Murthy. The CDC will have more information about additional J&J shots in **coming weeks**

US:  The Biden admin will cover of 100% of states' emergency COVID costs. LINK

Alabama:  WaPo: An Alabama doctor watched patients reject the coronavirus vaccine. Now he’s refusing to treat them. “'Dr. Valentine will no longer see patients that are not vaccinated against covid-19,' the sign reads." LINK

US:  The COVID-19 Forecast Hub at UMass Amherst, which is utilized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, predicts new COVID-19 hospitalizations could reach 32,000 a day as soon as Sept. 13. LINK

South Africa:  ⁦@USAfricaLive⁩ BrkNEWS: South Africa hit by 14,728 new COVID-19 cases — within 24 hours ⁦@MLKmandelachebe⁩ ⁦@WHO LINK

Alabama:  JUST IN: Alabama now at NEGATIVE 29 ICU beds, according to the Alabama Hospital Association.

US:  BREAKING: Number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 tops 90,000

Kentucky:  More Kentuckians currently in ICU battling COVID than ever before during pandemic LINK

Washington:  BREAKING: K-12 school teachers and staff must be vaccinated in WA by Oct. 18 or face losing their jobs.  The applies to public, private, and charter schools. @GovInslee is live on #KOMONews  right now

Canada:  553 new cases of #COVID19 in B.C., as the rolling average increases slightly, but may be beginning to plateau. Active cases up to 5,580 (highest since May 13), hospitalizations down to 107 but ICU cases to 53, one new death.

World:  Researchers find that COVID-19 patients who only suffered mild infections can be plagued with life-altering and sometimes debilitating cognitive issues LINK

Australia:  Sydney Children's Hospital Network is currently looking after SEVEN HUNDRED kids with #COVID19 Still fortunately vast majority as outpatients, but expecting more to become unwell as time goes on

Hong Kong:  Hong Kong’s granting of quarantine exemption to Nicole Kidman following her arrival from Australia last week has sparked outrage among residents who face some of the world’s toughest pandemic restrictions. LINK

[shirlleycoyle]

Tech Companies Want Schools to Use COVID Relief Money on Surveillance Tools

As vaccination rates rise and schools prepare to reopen, surveillance companies have trained their sights on the billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds being provided to schools across the US, hoping to make a profit by introducing a bevy of new snooping devices.

“$82 BILLION,” reads the huge front-page font on one Motorola Solutions brochure distributed to K-12 schools after the passage of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. “Consider COVID-19 technology from Motorola Solutions for your Education Stabilization Fund dollars.”

Other vendors are using similar language and marketing tactics that attempt to latch on to the amount of money Congress set aside for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities in the COVID-19 stimulus packages.

School administrators are used to receiving constant sales pitches from ed tech vendors. But many of the pricey products now being offered have previously been reserved for cops, or have been spun up over the last year to be marketed as solutions for reopening schools during the pandemic. Privacy experts fear that, if deployed, many of these technologies will remain in schools long after classrooms return to normal.

Image: Motorola brochure

Motorola Solutions' suite of products in its "safe schools solutions" line includes automated license plate readers, watch lists that send automatic alerts when people enter a building, and anonymous “tip” submission apps for students, according to a copy of the brochure shared with Motherboard. The document also advertises artificial intelligence-powered camera systems that purportedly detect “unusual motion,” track individuals using facial recognition as they move around a school, and allow staff to search through hours of video to find footage of a person simply by typing in their “physical descriptors.”

Verkada, a smart surveillance camera company, and its sales partners have been aggressively pushing AI surveillance tools as a response to COVID-19, according to the company’s blog posts and emails obtained by Motherboard through public records requests.

“Whether leveraging features like Face Search for contact tracing or Crowd Notifications to enforce social distancing, schools can proactively protect their students and staff,” a sales associate offering Verkada facial recognition products wrote in a March 8th email to technology staff at the Morgan-Hill Unified School District in California. 

He added that the products qualify for “ESSER II funding,” a reference to the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund created by Congress to help schools cope with the pandemic. It was just one in a long series of emails that district officials received from Verkada and its third-party sellers during the first few months of the year, many of them offering to drop off demonstration products or provide Amazon gift cards and Yeti ramblers in exchange for attending sales webinars.

A day after that email was sent, hackers announced that they had breached Verkada, gaining access to live feeds at hospitals, schools, and company offices.

Motorola Solutions, Verkada, and the other companies mentioned in this article, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A March 8th marketing email from Verkada, which encourages administrators to attend demo sessions for their camera surveillance tool. The company specifically mentions the products qualify for federal emergency funding.

“Unscrupulous vendors are taking every single technology they can think of and offering them to schools as if it’s going to make them safer,” Lia Holland, campaigns and communications director for the privacy group Fight for the Future, told Motherboard. “The push for surveillance of children in every aspect of their lives, especially in schools, just keeps accelerating and it’s an incredible threat to children’s lifetime privacy, their mental health, and their physical safety to deploy these technologies that are often racially biased.”

Neither states nor the U.S. Department of Education have published detailed data on exactly how local districts have spent their relief funding, so it’s unclear just how successful the surveillance vendors’ marketing strategy has been. But the companies have found at least a small number of buyers and convinced them to provide glowing testimonials.

Given the cost of the surveillance equipment being offered, it’s easy to see why the relief funds are so appetizing to the sellers.

The Godley Independent School District in Texas, for example, purchased 51 Verkada cameras and software licenses for a new building in June 2020 at a cost of $82,000, according to records obtained by Motherboard. The original cost would have been more than $100,000, but the district received a discount from the vendor.

While Godley ISD didn’t use relief funds, the purchase demonstrates what a large chunk of the money a single surveillance project can suck up—it was equivalent to 45 percent of the $182,000 in COVID-19 relief funds the district has received so far, according to federal grant records.

The relief money is intended to help districts implement remote learning systems, reopen schools, reduce the risk of virus transmission, and provide extra aid to low-income, minority, and special needs students. Surveillance vendors have interpreted those purposes liberally.

SchoolPass is one of several companies that have taken the opportunity to sell automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems to schools, going so far as to host webinars for district officials during which experts explain how to apply for and access the new federal funds.

The company explains that by tracking cars as they enter and leave school property, schools can ensure that students are physically distanced when they’re dropped off, thus reducing the risk of transmitting the virus.

What’s not clear is what happens to the ALPR data, and who else—including local police and federal agencies—may have access to it. The company and districts that use SchoolPass did not respond to requests for comment.

What’s not clear is what happens to the ALPR data, and who else—including local police and federal agencies—may have access to it. The company and districts that use SchoolPass did not respond to requests for comment.

As Motherboard has previously reported, ALPR data is uploaded into vast databases that are then used by cops, private investigators, and repo companies to track people across the country—in some cases, illegally.

Motorola Solutions owns two of the largest license plate databases through its subsidiaries Vigilant Solutions and Digital Recognition Network. It’s not clear from the company’s marketing material whether the location data scooped up by the ALPR systems it sells to schools are added to those databases.

Despite vendors’ proclamations about student safety and well-being, research shows that the increase in surveillance is likely to have a severely negative effect on students.

A recent study of more than 6,000 high school students conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University and Washington University in St. Louis found that students attending “high surveillance” schools were far more likely to be suspended and have lower math achievement rates than students at low-surveillance schools, and they were less likely to go to college. The study controlled for other variables, such as rates of student misbehavior.

It also found that the burden fell particularly hard on Black students, who were four times more likely to attend a high-surveillance high school.

“There’s actually no evidence that it works,” Rory Mir, a grassroots advocacy organizer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Motherboard. “What there is clear proof for is how this technology is biased and disproportionately impacts more at-risk students, and it creates an environment where students are constantly surveilled. It’s treating students like criminals and making money while doing so.”

Tech Companies Want Schools to Use COVID Relief Money on Surveillance Tools syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[orbemnews]

Colonial Pipeline wasn't the first and won't be the last cyber pirate attack We’ve all read this year about the pandemic threatening supply chains and about climate change causing more freak weather that threatens power grids. Meanwhile, hackers have also gotten more brazen, locking companies key to the US infrastructure. This week it’s Colonial Pipeline. But it’s been hospital systems. Cities. Schools. Everything from the city of Atlanta to the DC Police Department has been hit by ransomware. And while they can’t be tied in all or even most cases to foreign governments, that should not distract us from the fact that the US appears to be under attack. Here are my takeaways: The Colonial Pipeline is a vital piece of US infrastructure. Spanning more than 5,500 miles, it transports about 45% of all fuel consumed on the East Coast. It transports 2.5 million barrels per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and home heating oil. No disruptions have yet been felt from the shutdown of the pipeline, but this is not something that should be able to be shut down. This sounds like an underground criminal syndicate. The ransomware group claiming credit for the Colonial Pipeline attack is called DarkSide, originates from Russia and is thought to rent out its software to other hackers. The US has not specifically tied DarkSide to the Russian government, but rather thinks the group is operating for profit. Related: More on DarkSide This is apparently going to get worse. “All of our industries are going through some form of digital transformation, which means they’re becoming more connected and taking advantage of things like cloud resources. That connectivity allows adversaries to come into those systems and compromise them in these ways,” Rob Lee, the CEO of Dragos, a cybersecurity firm, told CNN ‘s Jim Sciutto on Monday. There are big targets and small targets. A good portion of the country could feel the pinch of higher gas prices and potential jet fuel shortages as Colonial Pipeline races to bring itself fully back online. That is a very big attack. Fewer people were directly hurt when the DC Police Department was targeted and hackers threatened to release information on confidential informants. The range of targets is extensive. “Everybody is vulnerable,” said Lee. “We are going to experience attacks. The real question is how we’re going to be more responsive and more resilient in the face of those attacks so that the consequence doesn’t impact our daily lives.” There’s a lot we don’t know. The exact nature of the Colonial Pipeline attack, whether there were demands or it was discovered, is not clear from the company’s statements. PC Mag reported in April on how communications from ransomware extortionists can read and how they exert pressure on companies to pay ransom rather than have sensitive data released to customers. For every attack you hear about, there are others you don’t. More than two dozen government agencies in the US have been hit this year alone, according to experts. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas raised the alarm about these attacks just last week, in a speech before the US Chamber of Commerce before Colonial Pipeline was hit, calling them an “existential threat” to businesses. More than $350 million in victim funds — ransom, essentially — was paid as a result of ransomware in the past year, and the rate of ransomware attacks increased over the prior year by more than 300%, he said. This will influence the debate over Biden’s plan to update US infrastructure. Look for a coming debate over whether Biden’s $2 trillion plan to update the country’s infrastructure does enough to protect it from cyberattacks. Politico wrote in April about concerns that there was not enough attention in the plan to securing the new infrastructure. On the other hand, the existing infrastructure is clearly susceptible to attack. Government hacks vs. ransomware attacks. Before this Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, the main recent US breach this year had come not from ransomware pirates seeking a payday, but from Russian hackers potentially seeking intelligence, who got in by hacking software from a Texas company, SolarWinds. They infiltrated at least nine US government agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, and scores of private companies. Separately, a Chinese-linked hack of Microsoft Exchange servers across the globe likely compromised data that could lead to more attacks. There’s may be little functional difference between ransomware pirates and foreign governments hacking US systems. Here’s an excellent quote from Chris Krebs, who until last November was director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at DHS. He told CNN that the distinction between a Russian state actor and a crime network operating inside Russia is “increasingly irrelevant.” “Ransomware crews have been operating out of Russia for years, with great effect on our schools, on our state and local government agencies, on our health care facilities,” he said. “They have effectively the tacit approval of the Russian government, and it has to end.” A lot of the infrastructure we rely on is privately owned. I am struck in CNN’s reports at the bright line between Colonial Pipeline, the private company carrying fuel through the pipeline, and the US, whose infrastructure depends on it. The tidbit in Liptak’s story that caught my eye is that Colonial Pipeline has not asked the government for help. “This weekend’s events put the spotlight on the fact that our nation’s critical infrastructure is largely owned and operated by private sector companies,” said Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, the White House homeland security adviser. “When those companies are attacked, they serve as the first line of defense and we depend on the effectiveness of their defenses.” Anne Neuberger, the top official responsible for cybersecurity on the National Security Council, said Colonial Pipeline had not asked for “cyber-support” from the federal government but that federal officials were ready and “standing by” to provide assistance if asked. Neuberger would also not say if Colonial Pipeline had paid ransom, but noted that companies are in a “difficult situation.” Source link Orbem News #attack #Colonial #ColonialPipelinewasn'tthefirstandwon'tbethelastcyberpirateattack-CNNPolitics #Cyber #Pipeline #Pirate #Politics #wasnt #Wont

[terrypearrson]

Debt Agency Settles with 41 Attorneys General Over Data Breach Impacting 21 Million Americans

Medical data collection has hopefully become a little safer. On March 11, 2021, the Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau (doing business as “American Medical Collection Agency” or “AMCA”) entered into a nationwide settlement with attorneys general of 40 states and Washington D.C. concerning a data breach that potentially exposed the personal information of nearly 21 million people. The breach, which occurred when an unauthorized user accessed AMCA’s system in 2018, lasted nearly a year until states were put on notice of the digital intrusion. The settlement agreement’s terms mandate AMCA’s compliance with all applicable state and federal laws concerning privacy. If the company fails to do, it can be found liable for upward of $21 million in payments to the states.

The Data Breach Allegations

American Medical Collection Agency is a debt collection corporation based in Elmsford, New York that contracts with medical providers, hospitals, and laboratories to collect unpaid debt from patients. The company specializes in small debt amounts and has held contracts with national laboratories such as Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp, and BioReference.

On August 1, 2018, an unauthorized user gained access to AMCA’s internal data system and collected swathes of personal information on its customers. This data included Social Security numbers, financial information, and personal health information, such as medical tests and diagnostic codes. The unauthorized user maintained access to the system—and the personal information of nearly 21 million individuals—through March 30, 2019. On or about June 6, 2019, AMCA began mailing notices of a data breach to over seven million consumers, offering them credit monitoring for two years. Quest Diagnostics was the first customer to be alerted, with the hack exposing the personal medical data of 11.9 million of its patients. LabCorp was also significantly affected with 7.7 million patients exposed. An additional 21 medical companies were also impacted by the breach.

AMCA’s Bankruptcy

By June 17, 2019, AMCA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York. In its bankruptcy filings, Russell Fuchs, the CEO of Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, wrote that the company had incurred “enormous expenses that were beyond the ability of the debtor to bear,” noting that he had lent AMCA $2.5 million of the $3.8 million spent to mail the seven million notices. AMCA’s biggest clients ceased all business with the company, furthering the need for the bankruptcy petition.

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Taking Legal Action

A flurry of class action lawsuits was filed throughout the country, alleging negligence, breach of contract, and a variety of state law violations concerning business practices and data security. Data security researchers had found that 200,000 payment card numbers of patients were for sale on a darknet marketplace, and by AMCA’s own admission in its bankruptcy filing, discovered that a large number of patients’ credit cards were connected to fraudulent charges. The data breach sparked the interest of state regulators and members of Congress, with state attorneys general quickly beginning their own investigations.

The Settlement’s Terms

The nationwide investigation with Attorneys General of New York, Connecticut, Texas, and Indiana leading the charge, had reached a potential resolution of its claims by way of a multistate settlement involving 40 states and Washington D.C. On March 19, 2020, AMCA filed a motion to dismiss the bankruptcy proceeding in lieu of the structured settlement, which was subsequently granted and the notice of the proposed settlement terms was approved.

As part of the settlement terms in People of the State of New York v. Retrieval Masters d/b/a AMCA, as well as other jurisdictions, the settlement mandates AMCA’s compliance with all consumer protection acts, personal information protection acts, and HIPAA privacy and security rules in its handling of personal information and protected health information. AMCA has agreed to implement and maintain certain data security measurements to strengthen its system and protect the personal information of the patients.

To the extent that AMCA or its principals currently or in the future, manage or oversee personal information and protected health information, they must develop and implement a written information security program within 60 days that is “reasonably designed to protect the security, integrity, and confidentiality” of the information that they “collect, store, transmit, and/or maintain.” At a minimum, the program must be in writing, tailored to the safeguards appropriate for the business’s size and complexity as well as the sensitivity of the collected information. Users of the program shall only have access to personal information to the extent necessary to perform their jobs. The program also requires the employment of a Chief Information Security Officer, whose primary responsibility would be to implement, maintain, and monitor the program, as well as provide any security updates to the CEO of AMCA, including a quarterly report. Lastly, the program must include a written incident response plan in order to prepare for any future security events.

For the next seven years, AMCA must obtain an annual assessment of its data security program from a third-party assessor who is tasked with documenting AMCA’s compliance as well as their response to any security events. This report will be provided to the Connecticut Attorney General who may provide it to any of the participating states. Although a monetary judgment was entered against AMCA ($1,695,612.52 in the New York filing), collection of the civil penalty is suspended subject to AMCA’s compliance with the settlement terms.

The agreement has been lauded by the attorneys general as a “cautionary tale,” which will hopefully encourage other data collection companies to strengthen their security.

The post Debt Agency Settles with 41 Attorneys General Over Data Breach Impacting 21 Million Americans appeared first on Expert Institute.

source https://www.expertinstitute.com/resources/insights/debt-agency-settles-with-41-attorneys-general-over-data-breach-impacting-21-million-americans/

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Canada Says Another Citizen Detained in China Amid Diplomatic Tensions (Reuters) A Canadian citizen has been detained in the Chinese city of Yantai, a Canadian government spokesman said on Saturday, an incident that comes amid chilly diplomatic relations between the two countries.

New Orleans mayor warns residents as Tropical Storm Barry dumps rain (Washington Post) Hurricane Barry touched down on the Louisiana coast Saturday, weakening to a tropical storm with the potential to linger over this low-lying state and soak it with as much as 15 to 20 inches of rain. By the time the storm hit, many along the coast had either evacuated or sheltered in place. Now, thousands are bracing for days of flooding. The system could take the better part of the weekend to plow through Louisiana, from south to north, unloading wave after wave of flooding rain in some areas.

Tropical Storm Barry Shuts 70% of U.S. Gulf of Mexico Oil Output (Reuters) Nearly 70% or 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd), of crude oil production in the U.S.-regulated areas of the Gulf of Mexico has been cut because of Tropical Storm Barry, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said on Saturday

At Texas detention facility, Pence sees hundreds of migrants crammed with no beds (Washington Post) When Vice President Pence visited a migrant detention center here Friday, he saw nearly 400 men crammed behind caged fences with not enough room for them all to lie down on the concrete ground. There were no mats or pillows for those who found the space to rest. A stench from body odor hung stale in the air. When reporters toured the facility before Pence, the men screamed that they’d been held there 40 days, some longer. They said they were hungry and wanted to brush their teeth. It was sweltering hot, but the only water was outside the fences and they needed to ask permission from the Border Patrol agents to drink. “I was not surprised by what I saw,” Pence said later at a news conference. “I knew we’d see a system that was overwhelmed.” The vice president’s office said it specifically instructed the Border Patrol agents not to clean up or sanitize the facility beyond what is routine so the American people could see the overcrowding and scarce resources, like lack of beds, and see how serious the crisis is at the border.

Trump citizenship plan will face logistical, legal hurdles (AP) After failing to get his citizenship question on the census, President Donald Trump now says his fallback plan will provide an even more accurate count--determining the citizenship of 90 percent of the population “or more.” But his plan will likely be limited by logistical hurdles and legal restrictions. Trump wants to distill a massive trove of data across seven government agencies--and possibly across 50 states. It’s far from clear how such varying systems can be mined, combined and compared. Trump says he aims to answer how many people are here illegally, though there already are recent estimates , and possibly use such information to divvy up congressional seats based on citizenship. It’s also a way for Trump to show his base that he’s not backing down from a battle over the question on his signature topic, immigration.

Man Dead After Attacking Immigration Detention Facility in Washington State: Police (Reuters) A man armed with a rifle attacked an immigration detention facility in Washington state early on Saturday, throwing incendiary devices at the building and cars in the parking lot before dying after police opened fire, authorities said.

Cuba Hopes for Slight Growth as Trump Pummels Caribbean Island (Reuters) Communist-run Cuba put on a brave face Saturday at a mid-year session of the National Assembly, the government insisting it would not let a growing financial crisis and mounting pressure from the administration of President Donald Trump thwart development.

Glenn Greenwald becomes focus of Brazil press freedom debate (AP) Several weeks after publishing explosive reports about a key member of Brazil’s far-right government, U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald was called before a congressional committee to face hostile questions. “Who should be judged, convicted and in prison is the journalist!” shouted congresswoman Katia Sastre, an ally of President Jair Bolsonaro. And by some accounts that wasn’t an empty threat: A conservative website reported that federal police had requested that financial regulators investigate Greenwald’s finances. The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist also says he has been receiving death threats.

New Northern Irish Police Chief Warns of Detrimental Brexit Impact to Peace (Reuters) Northern Ireland’s new police chief warned on Saturday that a hard Brexit could have a “detrimental” impact on two decades of peace in the British-run province and risk his officers becoming targets for militants.

UK Says Seized Iranian Oil Tanker Could Be Released (AP) Britain will facilitate the release of a seized Iranian tanker if Iran can provide guarantees the vessel would not breach European sanctions on oil shipments to Syria, Britain’s top diplomat said late Saturday.

Eight Hospitalized on Last Day of Pamplona Bull-Run (Reuters) Eight runners were hospitalized, three of them with goring injuries, on the crowded last day of the annual San Fermin bull-running festival in the Spanish city of Pamplona, the Red Cross said on Sunday.

Italy Firefighters Battle Wildfires; 1 Dead, Others Evacuate (AP) Firefighters are battling wildfires on multiple fronts in southern Italy, including one blaze in Puglia that left at least one person dead.

Floods Ravage Northeastern India, Killing at Least 12 (AP) Rain-triggered floods and mudslides have left a trail of destruction across northeastern India, killing at least a dozen people and affecting over a million, officials said Saturday.

Hong Kong Protesters Resume Chorus of Opposition to Extradition Bill (Reuters) Thousands rallied in Hong Kong for a second day on Sunday, in an area popular with mainland Chinese shoppers, as deep-seated anger and frustration at the government’s handling of an extradition bill refuses to dissipate.

Kuwait Moves to Protect Its Ports Amid Gulf Tensions (Reuters) Kuwait’s navy and ports authority will prepare security plans to protect the key OPEC exporter’s ports, state news agency KUNA said on Saturday, amid heightened tensions between Iran and the West.

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/the-latest-texas-1st-state-to-surpass-1-million-virus-cases-world-news/

The Latest: Texas 1st state to surpass 1 million virus cases | World News

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has become the first U.S. state with more than 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases.

The nation’s second-most populous state has recorded 1.01 million coronavirus cases and 19,337 deaths since the pandemic began in early March, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Texas registered 10,865 confirmed cases on Tuesday, setting a new daily record in a state led by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. There are 6,170 people hospitalized with the coronavirus and 94 new deaths on Tuesday, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Texas had recently surpassed California, the most populous state, with the most cases. The true number of infections is likely higher because many people haven’t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

Coronavirus cases are surging in the Laredo and El Paso areas. Another 1,292 cases and nine deaths were reported in El Paso County on Tuesday, bringing the death total to 682.

Nationwide, there were 1 million coronavirus cases in the first 10 days of November.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Texas becomes first US state with more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases

— Business travel might never look the same in the wake of coronavirus

— During the early days of the coronavirus, top World Health Organization scientists described some countries’ approaches as “an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus” and a “macabre” opportunity to see what worked, recordings obtained by The Associated Press show. Yet in public, the U.N. health agency lauded governments for their responses.

———

Follow AP’s coronavirus pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

———

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

BERLIN — German pharmaceutical company BioNTech says it could start shipping the first coronavirus vaccines ordered by the European Union by the end of the year if the data proves the vaccines are safe and effective.

Mainz-based BioNTech, which is developing the vaccine with U.S. company Pfizer, says “deliveries are anticipated to start by the end of 2020, subject to clinical success and regulatory authorization.”

The two companies said this week, based on early and incomplete test results, their COVID-19 vaccine may be 90% effective.

The European Union announced Tuesday that it has finalized an agreement with BioNTech to buy 200 million doses of vaccine, with an option of 100 million more. The vaccine uses mRNA technology to train the immune system to recognize and attack the virus.

BioNTech said the vaccine supply for the EU is being manufactured at its site in Germany and Pfizer’s plant in Belgium. Assuming positive data and availability of the necessary safety and manufacturing data, Pfizer and BioNTech officials say they expect to produce globally up to 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Sioux Falls’ mayor cast the tie-breaking vote that defeated a proposed mask mandate in the state’s largest city Tuesday night.

After more than two hours of public comment, Mayor Paul TenHaken rejected the mandate after the City Council tied 4-4 on the ordinance.

The mandate would have required face coverings in most indoor public places where 6-foot social distancing was not achievable. Violations carried a $50 fine.

“I believe the small uptick we’ll see in compliance is not worth the community division that this will create,” TenHaken said. Councilor Greg Neitzert said he didn’t want to live in a city where people are calling the police because someone isn’t wearing a mask.

“It’s not just about health,” Neitzert said. “We also have to look at principles.”

The Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce opposed it, saying there wasn’t enough clarity around potential effects on businesses, the Argus Leader reported. Several faith leaders in the city supported the mask mandate.

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BRUSSELS — Decreasing hospitalizations, fewer confirmed cases and other major public health indicators show that the resurgence of the coronavirus in Belgium is abating.

Virologist Steven Van Gucht of the Sciensano government health group said Wednesday: “The decrease of infections and hospital admissions is continuing. And for the first time, the number of patients in intensive care units is no longer increasing.”

The daily number of deaths caused by COVID-19 “continues to rise, but here, too, the pace seems to slow down,” he said.

It was welcome news for Belgium, which proportionally is among the worst-hit nations in Europe when it comes to confirmed coronavirus cases. Officials had feared that the nation’s maximum intensive care unit occupancy of 2,000 beds would be reached last Friday. ICU bed use is now plateauing and slightly tapering off at 1,470.

Over the past month, Belgium has taken increasingly stringent measures to contain the virus. Bar and restaurant closures were capped by a partial lockdown, which started last week and put further restrictions on gatherings and forced non-essential shops to shut.

Belgium still had 7,834 new confirmed cases a day in the past week, but it amounted to a 46% decline from the previous seven-day period. The daily death toll for the past week stood at 190 people, a 35% increase.

———

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — A security authority in the southern Netherlands says that nearly half of the workers at a meatpacking company are infected with the coronavirus.

The Verhey Vlees company closed its plant in the village of Nuth on Nov. 4 after 41 of the 225 workers at the facility near the Dutch borders with Germany and Belgium tested positive for the virus.

The South Limburg Security Region said in a statement Tuesday evening that the number of confirmed cases has since risen to nearly half of the workers.

The local health authority is attempting to trace all contacts of the infected workers, many of whom are migrants employed by staffing agencies.

Many meatpacking plants and slaughterhouses in Europe and the United States have seen coronavirus clusters during the pandemic.

In May, the German government agreed to ban the use of subcontractors and to increase fines for breaches of labor law in the meat industry starting next year following a series of outbreaks at slaughterhouses.

———

LONDON — Britain is planning a strategy to get hundreds of thousands of university students home for Christmas without sparking a new upsurge in coronavirus cases.

Scientists say students traveling from their hometowns to colleges in September was one of the drivers of the current wave of COVID-19 in the U.K. There have been multiple campus outbreaks, with students confined to residences and group activities canceled.

The British government said Wednesday that it plans to stagger students’ departures at the end of term to avoid a mass exodus. They want universities in England to send students home over a nine-day period after the current four-week lockdown in England ends on Dec. 2.

As many students as possible will get rapid-results COVID-19 tests before they travel, the government said — though it was unclear exactly how many would be tested.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries said “the mass movement of students across the country at the end of term presents a really significant challenge within the COVID-19 response,” but that the measures would reduce the risk.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are likely to bring in similar measures.

———

NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethiopia has more than 100,000 confirmed coronavirus infections, joining a handful of countries across Africa that have surpassed that milestone as COVID-19 cases begin to creep up again in multiple places.

The Horn of Africa regional power faces multiple humanitarian crises and has a growing deadly conflict in its northern Tigray region between federal forces and regional ones.

The United Nations is pleading for humanitarian access to Tigray as trucks with medical and other supplies are stranded outside the regional border.

Other African nations with more than 100,000 confirmed virus cases on Wednesday are Egypt with 109,000; Morocco with 265,000 and South Africa with 740,000. The 54-nation African continent is closing in on 2 million confirmed cases.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Ethiopia has more than 1,500 confirmed deaths.

———

HONG KONG — Hong Kong and Singapore will start an air travel bubble later this month, allowing travelers from each city to visit the other without entering quarantine.

The travelers must test negative for the coronavirus before they leave, when they arrive and before they return. The bubble starts Nov. 22 with one designated flight a day to each city carrying a maximum of 200 travelers each. It will expand to two flights Dec. 7.

The bubble will be suspended for two weeks if either Hong Kong or Singapore reports a seven-day moving average of more than five untraceable coronavirus infections, according to the Hong Kong government.

“Hong Kong and Singapore are similar in terms of epidemic control. Both are regional aviation hubs and international cities, enjoying strong trade, investment, finance, tourism and people-to-people ties,” said Hong Kong’s secretary for commerce and economic development Edward Yau. “The revival of cross-border air travel between the two places is of utmost importance.”

He said that he hopes the aviation, tourism, hotel and retail businesses will benefit from the bubble, and that it would gradually help Hong Kong’s economy to recover.

———

BEIJING — A leading Chinese health official has expressed confidence the country may avoid a second wave of coronavirus infections this winter if it maintains current precautions.

Feng Zijian, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told leading financial magazine Caixin that China “will very likely prevent” a new round of infections given present trends.

China has largely eliminated new local outbreaks by requiring masks indoors and on public transport, requiring two-week quarantines for those entering the country and banning some foreign travelers entirely.

Authorities have quickly moved to address local outbreaks by tracing potential contacts, carrying out widespread testing and sometimes locking down entire communities.

While China was accused of suppressing information initially, its recent data have not been seriously challenged and local officials have moved swiftly to disclose new cases. That has allowed the world’s second-largest economy to largely recover.

———

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Pacific nation of Vanuatu has recorded its first case of the coronavirus after a citizen who had been repatriated from the United States tested positive while in quarantine.

Vanuatu had been among the last handful of countries to avoid the virus.

Health authorities say the 23-year-old man was asymptomatic when he returned home Nov. 4. His infection was confirmed Tuesday after routine testing.

Officials say they plan to keep everyone from the same flight in quarantine and to trace the man’s close contacts, but they don’t plan to impose any broader measures in the nation of 300,000 people.

———

[inkbucket]

The Supreme Court on Civil Disobedience

I’ve been reading Supreme Court decisions about civil disobedience lately, and surprisingly (or not!) this issue has been hashed and rehashed over the last few hundred years. The closest ruling I’ve found to our particular local situation is: Poulos vs. New Hampshire and the ruling was interesting and eloquent enough for me to want to quote it at length.

For starters, the case itself: a Jehovah’s Witness preacher wanted to preach in a park in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and was denied because whatever petty bureaucrat was in charge of granting permission to use the park didn’t like what he was saying.

Mr. Poulos went ahead and preached anyway and was eventually arrested. He claimed that his right to free speech was violated and hence he was justified in his action.

The Supreme Court upheld Mr. Poulos’ conviction, while at the same time stating that the local official was wrong to arbitrarily refuse to grant him a license to preach in the park because the city did allow other groups to use the same park for other purposes. Therefore, the city was not affording citizens equal protection under the law and their actual use of an otherwise valid regulation was preventing free speech.

So why did they uphold his conviction 7-to-2, then, since they obviously believed that what the city did was wrong? There are several quotes from the ruling I’d like to highlight:

The principles of the First Amendment are not to be treated as a promise that everyone with opinions or beliefs to express may gather around him at any public place and at any time a group for discussion or instruction. It is a non sequitur to say that First Amendment rights may not be regulated because they hold a preferred position in the hierarchy of the constitutional guarantees of the incidents of freedom. This Court has never so held and indeed has definitely indicated the contrary. It has indicated approval of reasonable nondiscriminatory regulation by governmental authority that preserves peace, order and tranquillity without deprivation of the First Amendment guarantees of free speech, press and the exercise of religion.

…

There is no basis for saying that freedom and order are not compatible. That would be a decision of desperation. Regulation and suppression are not the same, either in purpose or result, and courts of justice can tell the difference.

…

Appellant’s contention is that since the Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion, the Council’s unlawful refusal to issue the license is a complete defense to this prosecution. His argument asserts that if he can be punished for violation of the valid ordinance because he exercised his right of free speech, after the wrongful refusal of the license, the protection of the Constitution is illusory. He objects that by the Council’s refusal of a license, his right to preach may be postponed until a case, possibly after years, reaches this Court for final adjudication of constitutional rights. Poulos takes the position that he may risk speaking without a license and defeat prosecution by showing the license was arbitrarily withheld.

It must be admitted that judicial correction of arbitrary refusal by administrators to perform official duties under valid laws is exulcerating and costly. But to allow applicants to proceed without the required permits to run businesses, erect structures, purchase firearms, transport or store explosives or inflammatory products, hold public meetings without prior safety arrangements or take other unauthorized action is apt to cause breaches of the peace or create public dangers. The valid requirements of license are for the good of the applicants and the public. It would be unreal to say that such official failures to act in accordance with state law, redressable by state judicial procedures, are state acts violate of the Federal Constitution. Delay is unfortunate, but the expense and annoyance of litigation is a price citizens must pay for life in an orderly society where the rights of the First Amendment have a real and abiding meaning. Nor can we say that a state’s requirement that redress must be sought through appropriate judicial procedure violates due process.

So that’s the highest court in the land’s interpretation of civil disobedience - and this is not the only case where they maintain this position. If you have the time, as background I’d encourage you to read Cox vs Louisiana, Lovell v. Griffin, Hague v. CIO, Schneider v. State, Thornhill v. Alabama, Cantwell v. Connecticut, Cox v. New Hampshire, Largent v. Texas, Saia v. New York, Kovacs v. Cooper, Niemotko v. Maryland, Kunz v. New York, Hamm vs City of Rock Hill and Brown vs Louisiana and draw your own conclusions.

Interestingly, one of those (Lovell v. Griffin) is a very similar case against a woman distributing “Kingdom of Jehovah” tracts without permission. In her case, the Supreme Court overturned both her conviction and the local ordinance! So what was different? In her case, the local ordinance was overthrown because it was not simply house rules to help the local magistrates keep the peace and fulfill their mission to protect public safety - it was too broad and applied even in cases where there was not a legitimate concern that the public peace or safety would be impacted without the ordinance. Over and over, the Supreme Court has maintained a distinction between regulation and suppression.

So Lovell’s conviction was overturned and Poulos’ was upheld.

As Christians, do we really have precedent in Scripture to roll the dice by breaking laws we’re biblically allowed to follow and then hope that we’ll win eventually and so aren’t guilty of lawlessness? Conversely, if we gamble and lose then we’re in sin by resisting the magistrate God’s set over us?

I’d argue that there’s no scriptural precedent for taking that gamble, but even if you do, is there a strong chance of winning? The Supreme Court has consistently upheld that free speech can be regulated (but not suppressed) by things like traffic laws and public safety concerns, and masks are very much a public safety issue.

You can argue, of course, that the mask ordinance is based on bad science and hence is unjustified - and as an American you’re welcome to that opinion. But what you can’t argue against is that the city council has a large number of legitimate authorities to point to as justification for their actions: from our local hospital all the way up to the vast majority of prominent epidemiologists. So you can’t argue that our city council has simply gone crazy or is paranoid… without arguing that the entire world has gone crazy and is paranoid.

And perhaps it has! But either way, you have to admit that you’re holding an extreme minority opinion against the scientific establishment. I’m pretty confident that the majority of Moscow residents support masks, as well - though of course there’s no way to say for sure without a referendum (which would be great, since one way or another that would add some hard data to our messy local situation!). The way our democracy works is that we elect folks and have to put up with them making the best decisions they know how until the next election (unless there’s such a breach of trust that there’s a recall or referendum, of course).

By all means bring on the referendums, the recall petitions, the lawsuits, the handbills, even the protests (as long as your protest doesn’t break the law). Those are the tools our society gives us to fix injustice - and compared to most of human history we’re extremely spoiled in their variety and power.

Taken as a whole over the years, the Supreme Court has ruled that your duty as a citizen is to seek redress through the proper channels. So maybe as Christians - and especially as Christians! - we should do that.

[covid19updater]

COVID19 Updates: 10/23/2020

Germany:  Coronavirus: Germany hits five-figure infections again amid lockdown warning LINK

Philippines:  Philippines reports 1,923 new coronavirus cases, 132 more deaths

Romania:  Romania rose by a daily record of 5,028 in the past 24 hours,

North Korea:  North Korea has warned its citizens to stay indoors over fears that "yellow dust" which blows in from China could bring coronavirus with it. The streets of the capital Pyongyang were reported to be virtually empty on Thursday following the warning. LINK

India:  Autopsy finds Covid patient’s lungs ‘hard as a leather ball’ LINK

Scotland:  Coronavirus in Scotland: Traces of Covid-19 found in waste water from almost every Scottish area LINK

New Mexico:  OVERALL STATE HOSPITAL CAPACITY: As of today, 85 percent of adult general beds at New Mexico hospitals are occupied, and 70 percent of adult ICU beds across New Mexico hospitals are occupied. This includes patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and other illnesses.

Netherlands:  10,007 new confirmed corona infections have been reported to the RIVM until 10:00 this morning. That is 726 more than were reported yesterday.

US:  Santa won't be at Macy's for the first time in 159 years LINK

Poland:  Poland's PM Morawiecki: - highest tier of restrictions - primary schools switch to e-learning (years 4-8) - restaurants, pubs, cafes, bars to close; takeaway only - rule of five for social meetings - seniors 70+ asked not to leave home unless essential (groceries, GP, pharmacy)

Switzerland:  Switzerland 7 day positivity rate: 17.7% LINK

Italy:  Italian governor calls for national lockdown amid coronavirus surge

Belgium:  Belgium reports 16,746 new coronavirus cases, by far the biggest one-day increase on record - Positivity rate: 18.7% (+1.8) - In hospital: 3,649 (+375) - In ICU: 573 (+48) - New deaths: 49

Iowa:  Coronavirus outbreak infects nearly every resident of Amana nursing home LINK

Czech Republic:  Czech Health Minister Roman Prymula has refused calls from the country's prime minister to resign, after being pictured by a tabloid newspaper coming out of a restaurant late at night - despite all such establishments being closed. The affair has thrown the country deep into political crisis, and public confidence in government restrictions has been left in tatters. There was already considerable public grumbling at the latest restrictions, which include closing all pubs and restaurants. So when the man who thought up those rules was caught by a tabloid photographer emerging from a restaurant and without a mask, it appeared his days – perhaps hours – were numbered. However, he now says he was at a meeting in a private room in the building that also houses the restaurant, and that he put on his mask as soon as he got to his car. The country now finds itself in an unedifying and toxic political struggle – right in the middle of the worst health crisis it has ever seen. 

Kenya:    Kenya has reported a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases, with more than 1,000 people confirmed to have contracted coronavirus on Thursday. This is the highest number of single-day cases to be recorded in the country since the first case was reported on 13 March. Critics say the rise in cases is a result of people not adhering to safety measures in open spaces after President Uhuru Kenyatta relaxed restrictions three weeks ago. The health ministry is holding talks with the management of about 20 hotels that will be converted into isolation facilities to ease off pressure in hospitals. Some hospitals are said to have started recording a surge in admissions. Daniel Yumbya, the chief executive of the Medical Pharmacists and Dentists Council, said the country has a total of 18,443 isolation beds - which is not enough. "We’re now back to negotiating with private hotels to charge the bare minimum for patients in isolation. We do not want hospitals to be overwhelmed," Yumbya told journalists on Thursday. 

UK: Rugby: England v Barbarians called off after players breach Covid rules LINK

US:  Coronavirus pandemic is causing 'unacceptable' shortages in US drug supplies, report says LINK

Italy:  Italy: +19,143 

US:    In the United States, 10.9% of detected COVID19 cases are children, according to data from mid-October. They were only 2.2% in April. --(American Academy of Pediatrics) 

France: As millionth case looms, COVID tears through France faster than in spring LINK

World:  WHO's Tedros: We are at a critical juncture in the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in the Northern hemisphere. The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track. "We urge leaders to take immediate action, to prevent further unnecessary deaths, essential health services from collapsing and schools shutting again. As I said it in February and I’m repeating it today: This is not a drill. Too many countries are now seeing an exponential increase in infections, and that is now leading to hospitals and intensive care units running close or above capacity -- and we’re still only in October. 

Spain: The Spanish Health Ministry's "symptoms starting in the last 14 days" figure has skyrocketed this week too. Now up to 60,000. 

US: LINKEDIN EXTENDS WORK FROM HOME TO JULY 12, 2021 

France: French President Macron says coronavirus epidemic in "extremely strong" acceleration, measures could be strengthened if they're not effective enough - BFM 

Russia: Russia says COVID "under control" despite record infections, bodies lined up in hospital basement LINK

UK:  Covid-19: Boris Johnson hopes families can have Christmas together  LINK (The cheese has slid off the poor man’s cracker)

US:  TOP NIH OFFICIAL DR. FAUCI: WE NEED TO DOUBLE DOWN ON WEARING MASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES. US TOP NIH DR FAUCI SAYS WH VIRUS TASK FORCE MEETINGS DOWN TO ONCE A WEEK 

UK:  Coronavirus: 'Uncontrolled epidemic' in young people would have 'dire consequences for NHS', SAGE warns LINK

France: In France, the number of COVID patients in hospital is rising fast (see chart). Nearly 2,100 people were admitted on Thursday, or roughly 1 person every 40 seconds

US: Dr. Eric Ding: My god, I cry so much for North Dakota and the Midwest right now. We are just at the beginning of the wave of deaths that are coming. North Dakota has the highest mortality in the world. Higher than ANY country.

Germany reports 13,405 new coronavirus cases, biggest one-day increase on record - @risklayer - In hospital: 5,175 est. (+377) - In ICU: 1,121 (+87) - New deaths: 46

Italy: S&P: THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS HIT ITALY'S ECONOMY HARD UNDER OUR PROJECTIONS, GDP WILL NOT RETURN TO 2019 LEVELS UNTIL 2023.

Italy: Governor of southern Italian region of Campania calls for national lockdown. PM Conte is resisting a national shutdown, saying it would be a disaster for economy.

Oklahoma: OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – An Oklahoma family is being forced to consider COVID-19 treatment in Texas after one of the state’s top doctors says open COVID-19 ICU hospital beds in Oklahoma are rare. LINK

US: JUST IN: The US reports over 80,000 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily figure since the pandemic began.

Texas: State sends emergency medical personnel, supplies to El Paso as COVID-19 cases rise across Texas LINK

Italy: Protesters in Naples, Italy, take to the street in defiance of curfew after governor calls for total lockdown. Earlier today, the governor said: "The current contagion figures render any type of partial measure ineffective. It is necessary to close everything, except for sectors that produce and move essential goods" - ANSA

Alabama:  Alabama reported 3,852 new cases today on 9,078 tests (42.4% positive).

World: COLD COMFORT Covid second wave spreading FASTER than the first because of the cold, top doc warns LINK

Argentina: Argentina COVID update: - New cases: 15,718 - Positivity rate: 44% (+2.4) - In hospital: 30,405 (+158) - In ICU: 4,696 (+85) - New deaths: 382

US: Total U.S. COVID-19 deaths could hit 500,000 by February, researchers say LINK

Belgium: Belgium reports record 17,568 new coronavirus cases, daily death toll at highest level since May - New cases: 17,568 - Positivity rate: 18.8% (+0.1) - In hospital: 4,061 (+412) - In ICU: 632 (+59) - New deaths: 70

UK: Covid: The NHS workers 'still recovering' as second wave looms LINK

[dataguard365]

Potentially the largest cyberattack in U.S. history on Universal Health Services

A Major Hospital Chain Was Severely Impacted

Computer systems for Universal Health Services (UHS), which runs approximately 400 hospitals and care centers across the United States and the United Kingdom, began to crash over the weekend.  The breach stated NBC News is possibly one of the largest medical cyberattacks in U.S. history.

According to the UHS website, the company served 3.5 million patients in 2019 and employs 90,000 people globally, primarily in the U.S.  UHS employees began reporting problems on Monday via Reddit saying the attack has been shutting down computers at various hospitals, forcing them to turn away patients. One Reddit user working at a UHS facility in the Southeast wrote that multiple antivirus programs were disabled by the attack and “hard drives just lit up with activity.”

UHS hospitals in the U.S. including those from California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and Washington D.C. are reportedly left without access to computer and phone systems. Affected hospitals are redirecting ambulances and relocating patients in need of surgery to other nearby hospitals, as stated by media reports.

According to NBC News sources some UHS hospitals have been forced to resort to filing patient information with pen and paper since Monday. One person familiar with the company’s response efforts said that the attack “looks and smells like ransomware.”

Ransomware Caused The Breach

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that spreads across computer networks and encrypts files, then demands payment for the decryption key that’s needed to gain access to and restore a company’s data and systems.

Kenneth White, a computer security engineer with more than a decade of experience working with hospital networks, said that the delays caused by ransomware attacks can have dire consequences for patients.  He told NBC News that,

“When nurses and physicians can’t access labs, radiology or cardiology reports, that can dramatically slow down treatment, and in extreme cases, force re-routing for critical care to other treatment centers,” he said. “When these systems go down, there is a very real possibility that people can die.”

Ransomware can devastate hospitals. In 2017, a ransomware strain called WannaCry, created by hackers working for the North Korean government spread across the world and infected the U.K.’s National Health System even though it wasn’t a direct target. The attack disrupted at least 80 medical facilities, though there were no publicly reported deaths associated with the incident.

The Ransomware “Ryuk” Is To Blame

BleepingComputer reported that a notorious ransomware strain known as Ryuk appears to be behind the attack. An employee said during the cyberattack files were being renamed to include the .ryk extension. This extension is used by the Ryuk ransomware stated BleepingComputer.

A UHS employee also said one of the impacted computers’ screens changed to display a ransom note reading “Shadow of the Universe,” a similar phrase to that appearing at the bottom of Ryuk ransom notes.  Based on information shared with BleepingComputer, the attack on UHS’ system likely started via a phishing attack.

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack often used to steal user data, including login credentials and credit card numbers. It occurs when an attacker, masquerading as a trusted entity, dupes a victim into opening an email, instant message, or text message.

Key Background

In early April, near the start of the coronavirus pandemic, INTERPOL warned it had detected a significant increase in ransomware attacks against hospitals and medical services engaged in the virus response.

The following month, Fresenius, Europe’s largest private hospital operator, was hit with a ransomware attack on its technology systems. Hackers reportedly utilized the Snake ransomware to attack Fresenius, which employs nearly 300,000 people across more than 100 countries.

“As hospitals and medical organizations around the world are working non-stop to preserve the well-being of individuals stricken with the coronavirus, they have become targets for ruthless cybercriminals who are looking to make a profit at the expense of sick patients,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.

Data-Guard365 Protection Would Have Been Invaluable

Data-Guard365 would have been invaluable in the protection of Universal Health Services company network for the following reasons:

Our vulnerability assessment would have diagnosed potential security threats in the company network.

Security Awareness training would have lessened the chances of a phishing attack from occurring in the first place.

Behavior detection would have mitigated the sophisticated cyberattack to the specific endpoints on the company network

24 / 7 Endpoint monitoring would have detected the suspicious computers in the company network right away and would have quarantined the malicious files immediately.

Our AI machine learning techniques would have established “rollback points” that could have been used to expedite a return to normal operations.

Don’t be a victim of cybercrime!  Take our value assessment today!

By Christian John Sales, Marketing Manager for Data-Guard 365

Data-Guard365 is an MSSP firm headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, with offices in Chicago, Atlanta, and other strategic locations across the globe. The company is a one-of-a-kind business partner whose people, processes, and technology provide invincible cybersecurity for a price point that pays for itself. www.Data-Guard365.com / (317) 967-6767 / info@data-guard365.com 

[qualityhomeworkanswers]

Assessment 2 Instructions: Protected Health Information (PHI): Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Best Practices Prepare a 2-page interprofessional staff update on HIPAA and appropriate social media use in health care. As you begin to consider the assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Breach of Protected Health Information (PHI) activity. The will support your success with the assessment by creating the opportunity for you to test your knowledge of potential privacy, security, and confidentiality violations of protected health information. The activity is not graded and counts towards course engagement. Health professionals today are increasingly accountable for the use of protected health information (PHI). Various government and regulatory agencies promote and support privacy and security through a variety of activities. Examples include: Meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR). Provision of EHR incentive programs through Medicare and Medicaid. Enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules. Release of educational resources and tools to help providers and hospitals address privacy, security, and confidentiality risks in their practices. Technological advances, such as the use of social media platforms and applications for patient progress tracking and communication, have provided more access to health information and improved communication between care providers and patients. At the same time, advances such as these have resulted in more risk for protecting PHI. Nurses typically receive annual training on protecting patient information in their everyday practice. This training usually emphasizes privacy, security, and confidentiality best practices such as: Keeping passwords secure. Logging out of public computers. Sharing patient information only with those directly providing care or who have been granted permission to receive this information. Today, one of the major risks associated with privacy and confidentiality of patient identity and data relates to social media. Many nurses and other health care providers place themselves at risk when they use social media or other electronic communication systems inappropriately. For example, a Texas nurse was recently terminated for posting patient vaccination information on Facebook. In another case, a New York nurse was terminated for posting an insensitive emergency department photo on her Instagram account. Health care providers today must develop their skills in mitigating risks to their patients and themselves related to patient information. At the same time, they need to be able distinguish between effective and ineffective uses of social media in health care. This assessment will require you to develop a staff update for the interprofessional team to encourage team members to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and security of patient information. Demonstration of Proficiency By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria: Competency 1: Describe nurses' and the interdisciplinary team's role in informatics with a focus on electronic health information and patient care technology to support decision making. Describe the security, privacy, and confidentially laws related to protecting sensitive electronic health information that govern the interdisciplinary team. Explain the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to safeguard sensitive electronic health information. Competency 2: Implement evidence-based strategies to effectively manage protected health information. Identify evidence-based approaches to mitigate risks to patients and health care staff related to sensitive electronic health information. Develop a professional, effective staff update that educates interprofessional team members about protecting the security, privacy, and confidentiality of patient data, particularly as it pertains to social media usage. Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication to facilitate use of health information and patient care technologies. Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for citations and references. Create a clear, concise, well-organized, and professional staff update that is generally free from errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Preparation To successfully prepare to complete this assessment, complete the following: Review the infographics on protecting PHI provided in the resources for this assessment, or find other infographics to review. These infographics serve as examples of how to succinctly summarize evidence-based information. Analyze these infographics, and distill them into five or six principles of what makes them effective. As you design your interprofessional staff update, apply these principles. Note: In a staff update, you will not have all the images and graphics that an infographic might contain. Instead, focus your analysis on what makes the messaging effective. Select from any of the following options, or a combination of options, the focus of your interprofessional staff update: Social media best practices. What not to do: Social media. Social media risks to patient information. Steps to take if a breach occurs. Conduct independent research on the topic you have selected in addition to reviewing the suggested resources for this assessment. This information will serve as the source(s) of the information contained in your interprofessional staff update. Consult the BSN Program Library Research Guide for help in identifying scholarly and/or authoritative sources. Instructions In this assessment, assume you are a nurse in an acute care, community, school, nursing home, or other health care setting. Before your shift begins, you scroll through Facebook and notice that a coworker has posted a photo of herself and a patient on Facebook. The post states, "I am so happy Jane is feeling better. She is just the best patient I've ever had, and I am excited that she is on the road to recovery." You have recently completed your annual continuing education requirements at work and realize this is a breach of your organization's social media policy. Your organization requires employees to immediately report such breaches to the privacy officer to ensure the post is removed immediately and that the nurse responsible receives appropriate corrective action. You follow appropriate organizational protocols and report the breach to the privacy officer. The privacy officer takes swift action to remove the post. Due to the severity of the breach, the organization terminates the nurse. Based on this incident's severity, your organization has established a task force with two main goals: Educate staff on HIPAA and appropriate social media use in health care. Prevent confidentiality, security, and privacy breaches. The task force has been charged with creating a series of interprofessional staff updates on the following topics: Social media best practices. What not to do: Social media. Social media risks to patient information. Steps to take if a breach occurs. You are asked to select one of the topics, or a combination of several topics, and create the content for a staff update containing a maximum of two content pages. When distributed to interprofessional team members, the update will consist of one double-sided page. The task force has asked team members assigned to the topics to include the following content in their updates in addition to content on their selected topic(s): What is protected health information (PHI)? Be sure to include essential HIPAA information. What are privacy, security, and confidentiality? Define and provide examples of privacy, security, and confidentiality concerns related to the use of the technology in health care. Explain the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to safeguard sensitive electronic health information. What evidence relating to social media usage and PHI do interprofessional team members need to be aware of? For example: How many nurses have been terminated for inappropriate social media usage in the United States? What types of sanctions have health care organizations imposed on interdisciplinary team members who have violated social media policies? What have been the financial penalties assessed against health care organizations for inappropriate social media usage? What evidence-based strategies have health care organizations employed to prevent or reduce confidentiality, privacy, and security breaches, particularly related to social media usage? Notes Your staff update is limited to two double-spaced content pages. Be selective about the content you choose to include in your update so that you are able to meet the page length requirement. Include need-to-know information. Leave out nice-to-know information. Many times people do not read staff updates, do not read them carefully, or do not read them to the end. Ensure your staff update piques staff members' interest, highlights key points, and is easy to read. Avoid overcrowding the update with too much content. Also supply a separate reference page that includes 2–3 peer-reviewed and 1–2 non-peer-reviewed resources (for a total of 3–5 resources) to support the staff update content. Additional Requirements Written communication: Ensure the staff update is free from errors that detract from the overall message. Submission length: Maximum of two double-spaced content pages. Font and font size: Use Times New Roman, 12-point. Citations and references: Provide a separate reference page that includes 2–3 current, peer-reviewed and 1–2 current, non-peer-reviewed in-text citations and references (total of 3–5 resources) that support the staff update's content. Current mean no older than 5 years. APA format: Be sure your citations and references adhere to APA format. Consult the APA Style and Format page for an APA refresher. Portfolio Prompt: Save your presentation to your ePortfolio. Submissions to the ePortfolio will be part of your final capstone course. SCORING GUIDE Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated. VIEW SCORING GUIDE

Assessment 2 Instructions: Protected Health Information (PHI): Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Best Practices Prepare a 2-page interprofessional staff update on HIPAA and appropriate social media use in health care. As you begin to consider the assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Breach of Protected Health Information (PHI) activity. The will support your success with the assessment by creating the opportunity for you to test your knowledge of potential privacy, security, and confidentiality violations of protected health information. The activity is not graded and counts towards course engagement. Health professionals today are increasingly accountable for the use of protected health information (PHI). Various government and regulatory agencies promote and support privacy and security through a variety of activities. Examples include: Meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR). Provision of EHR incentive programs through Medicare and Medicaid. Enforcement of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules. Release of educational resources and tools to help providers and hospitals address privacy, security, and confidentiality risks in their practices. Technological advances, such as the use of social media platforms and applications for patient progress tracking and communication, have provided more access to health information and improved communication between care providers and patients. At the same time, advances such as these have resulted in more risk for protecting PHI. Nurses typically receive annual training on protecting patient information in their everyday practice. This training usually emphasizes privacy, security, and confidentiality best practices such as: Keeping passwords secure. Logging out of public computers. Sharing patient information only with those directly providing care or who have been granted permission to receive this information. Today, one of the major risks associated with privacy and confidentiality of patient identity and data relates to social media. Many nurses and other health care providers place themselves at risk when they use social media or other electronic communication systems inappropriately. For example, a Texas nurse was recently terminated for posting patient vaccination information on Facebook. In another case, a New York nurse was terminated for posting an insensitive emergency department photo on her Instagram account. Health care providers today must develop their skills in mitigating risks to their patients and themselves related to patient information. At the same time, they need to be able distinguish between effective and ineffective uses of social media in health care. This assessment will require you to develop a staff update for the interprofessional team to encourage team members to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and security of patient information. Demonstration of Proficiency By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria: Competency 1: Describe nurses’ and the interdisciplinary team’s role in informatics with a focus on electronic health information and patient care technology to support decision making. Describe the security, privacy, and confidentially laws related to protecting sensitive electronic health information that govern the interdisciplinary team. Explain the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to safeguard sensitive electronic health information. Competency 2: Implement evidence-based strategies to effectively manage protected health information. Identify evidence-based approaches to mitigate risks to patients and health care staff related to sensitive electronic health information. Develop a professional, effective staff update that educates interprofessional team members about protecting the security, privacy, and confidentiality of patient data, particularly as it pertains to social media usage. Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication to facilitate use of health information and patient care technologies. Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for citations and references. Create a clear, concise, well-organized, and professional staff update that is generally free from errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Preparation To successfully prepare to complete this assessment, complete the following: Review the infographics on protecting PHI provided in the resources for this assessment, or find other infographics to review. These infographics serve as examples of how to succinctly summarize evidence-based information. Analyze these infographics, and distill them into five or six principles of what makes them effective. As you design your interprofessional staff update, apply these principles. Note: In a staff update, you will not have all the images and graphics that an infographic might contain. Instead, focus your analysis on what makes the messaging effective. Select from any of the following options, or a combination of options, the focus of your interprofessional staff update: Social media best practices. What not to do: Social media. Social media risks to patient information. Steps to take if a breach occurs. Conduct independent research on the topic you have selected in addition to reviewing the suggested resources for this assessment. This information will serve as the source(s) of the information contained in your interprofessional staff update. Consult the BSN Program Library Research Guide for help in identifying scholarly and/or authoritative sources. Instructions In this assessment, assume you are a nurse in an acute care, community, school, nursing home, or other health care setting. Before your shift begins, you scroll through Facebook and notice that a coworker has posted a photo of herself and a patient on Facebook. The post states, “I am so happy Jane is feeling better. She is just the best patient I’ve ever had, and I am excited that she is on the road to recovery.” You have recently completed your annual continuing education requirements at work and realize this is a breach of your organization’s social media policy. Your organization requires employees to immediately report such breaches to the privacy officer to ensure the post is removed immediately and that the nurse responsible receives appropriate corrective action. You follow appropriate organizational protocols and report the breach to the privacy officer. The privacy officer takes swift action to remove the post. Due to the severity of the breach, the organization terminates the nurse. Based on this incident’s severity, your organization has established a task force with two main goals: Educate staff on HIPAA and appropriate social media use in health care. Prevent confidentiality, security, and privacy breaches. The task force has been charged with creating a series of interprofessional staff updates on the following topics: Social media best practices. What not to do: Social media. Social media risks to patient information. Steps to take if a breach occurs. You are asked to select one of the topics, or a combination of several topics, and create the content for a staff update containing a maximum of two content pages. When distributed to interprofessional team members, the update will consist of one double-sided page. The task force has asked team members assigned to the topics to include the following content in their updates in addition to content on their selected topic(s): What is protected health information (PHI)? Be sure to include essential HIPAA information. What are privacy, security, and confidentiality? Define and provide examples of privacy, security, and confidentiality concerns related to the use of the technology in health care. Explain the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to safeguard sensitive electronic health information. What evidence relating to social media usage and PHI do interprofessional team members need to be aware of? For example: How many nurses have been terminated for inappropriate social media usage in the United States? What types of sanctions have health care organizations imposed on interdisciplinary team members who have violated social media policies? What have been the financial penalties assessed against health care organizations for inappropriate social media usage? What evidence-based strategies have health care organizations employed to prevent or reduce confidentiality, privacy, and security breaches, particularly related to social media usage? Notes Your staff update is limited to two double-spaced content pages. Be selective about the content you choose to include in your update so that you are able to meet the page length requirement. Include need-to-know information. Leave out nice-to-know information. Many times people do not read staff updates, do not read them carefully, or do not read them to the end. Ensure your staff update piques staff members’ interest, highlights key points, and is easy to read. Avoid overcrowding the update with too much content. Also supply a separate reference page that includes 2–3 peer-reviewed and 1–2 non-peer-reviewed resources (for a total of 3–5 resources) to support the staff update content. Additional Requirements Written communication: Ensure the staff update is free from errors that detract from the overall message. Submission length: Maximum of two double-spaced content pages. Font and font size: Use Times New Roman, 12-point. Citations and references: Provide a separate reference page that includes 2–3 current, peer-reviewed and 1–2 current, non-peer-reviewed in-text citations and references (total of 3–5 resources) that support the staff update’s content. Current mean no older than 5 years. APA format: Be sure your citations and references adhere to APA format. Consult the APA Style and Format page for an APA refresher. Portfolio Prompt: Save your presentation to your ePortfolio. Submissions to the ePortfolio will be part of your final capstone course. SCORING GUIDE Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated. VIEW SCORING GUIDE

Assessment 2 Instructions: Protected Health Information (PHI): Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Best Practices Prepare a 2-page interprofessional staff update on HIPAA and appropriate social media use in health care. As you begin to consider the assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Breach of Protected Health Information (PHI) activity. The will support your success…