In our latest OT/IoT Security Report, Nozomi Networks Labs brings together an in-depth analysis of industry trends and our own security research findings. The 2021 2H report is designed to help security teams and researchers protect their ICS and OT/IoT environments. It focuses on three main areas: trends in attacks, vulnerability research and best practices in remediation efforts and technology. We include a deeper dive into ransomware attacks over the past six months, and our own research into security camera and supply chain vulnerabilities. You’ll also learn more about remediation measures including attack surface reduction, the role of Zero Trust in modern OT/IoT networks, and techniques for analyzing device firmware for vulnerabilities. Read on to learn about some of the highlights in our semi-annual report.
Supply chain attacks offer greatest opportunity to spread damage quickly
Supply chain attacks have the potential to disrupt thousands of organizations, depending on how broadly a common software component is used, and the ease with which a vulnerability can be exploited. The first widely reported supply chain attack occurred over a year ago when a SolarWinds vulnerability compromised dozens of critical network operations across industries and the federal government. Since then, we have seen more attention in this area, along with growing concerns and actual vulnerabilities and exploits in open-source code. When vulnerabilities are announced in open-source software, which can be used by many applications, the damage can be just as, or even more, extensive than single-vendor software. It depends on how widely used the library component is. This was the case with the December disclosure of the Log4Shell vulnerability. Log4Shell was found in the Apache Log4j (pronounced log-forge) open-source logging library, widely used in commercial applications and large online platforms. Due to the simplicity of this exploit, attackers were able to quickly launch attacks ahead of remediation and patch efforts across the globe. One of the largest ransomware groups was able to use the exploit within a week, executing an attack against VMware vCenter deployments. Our research on Log4j is a key focus area in the latest OT/IoT Security Report, along with other notable ransomware and supply chain attacks that occurred in 2021 2H.
Continue reading: https://www.automation.com/en-us/articles/february-2022/ot-iot-security-report-trends-critical

The time has come: You’re ready to deploy IoT technology. You know what you want to do, but you need help to execute your vision. You need help figuring out how to make your vision come to life. You’re not sure what roadblocks you may encounter. You want to make sure that your deployment is as successful as possible. You’re looking for an enterprise IoT consultant to be your service partner. This article covers how to find the right service partner to help you successfully deploy your IoT technology.
Do You Know What You Need?
Let’s start with the easy questions – the ones you ask yourself. Before you’re ready to work with a service partner, you need to understand your own project. (Yes, we realize that sounds a bit like a self-help book, but it’s true.)
Ask Yourself:

• Does the proposed project solve a business problem? (If the answer is “no,” you may want to step back and engage with a partner on a more strategic level, then later engage for implementation. )
• Does your organization have a strategic roadmap for deploying IoT?
• What’s the budget?
• What will success look like? What are the key performance indicators?
• Is the project industrial or commercial? Who is the end user?
• What’s the timeframe?
• Is there a hardware design in place?
• What’s your internal expertise around IoT? What will you require from a vendor?
• Do you have hardware design expertise, or will you need a full-service (hardware and software) engagement?
• Will you need some intelligent automation? Is machine learning part of the project? (Tip: Unless your system is simply shuffling data around, the answer to at least one of these questions is “yes.”)
• Do you have an interdisciplinary team that can focus on IoT? Even if you outsource the heavy lifting, you need to own the project.

Here’s one final question to ask yourself: Is leadership on board with IoT? It’s a little late in the game to be asking this question, but better to ask it now than after you’ve inked a contract. Before deploying IoT technology, it is vital that your board and C-suite give it their blessing – and see the value.
“Making sure stakeholders from all affected areas are involved in the buying decisions and implementation is critical to ensuring that the project is successful. It may work 100 percent correctly once deployed, but if the information isn’t useful to the people who paid for it or are expected to use it, then the project will likely fail,” James Falkner, technology evangelist and technical marketing manager at Red Hat, told TechTarget.
Of course, that takes us back to the first question about solving a business problem.
After you answer these questions, then it’s time to start looking for a partner. Many vendors call themselves IoT companies, IoT providers, IoT consultants, IoT experts, etc. To find the best IoT consultant service partner – the ideal one for you – you’ll need to ask a lot of questions.
Let’s start with the basics.
Start With Pre-Qualification Questions
Before you spend time deep diving with potential service partners for your enterprise IoT deployment, make sure they belong on your shortlist. You want a partner that knows how to implement IoT and has a history of success. 
Start with these questions:

• What’s your experience working with companies like ours?
• Who are your satisfied customers? (Be sure to assess if the use cases match what you have in mind.)
• What’s your timeframe for completing our project?
• Do you have a track record for staying on time and on budget? (You may want to confirm this with one of their customers.)
• Who owns the data generated by the connected products? (Tip: If the answer isn’t “you do,” walk out.)

Now Ask Some Deeper Questions
That should narrow your list. From there, you can begin to dig more deeply.
 
Continue reading: https://www.iotforall.com/how-to-evaluate-consultant-service-partners-for-enterprise-iot

The traditional supply chain is slowly receiving a makeover, thanks to Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies that are bringing connectivity, and scalability, to more participants. For retailers, especially small and midsized ones, to remain engaged with the various moving parts of the supply chain and shifting consumer demands, that connectivity is becoming more important than ever.
“It is forever changed because people are buying anything and everything, and it is making it more difficult for the SMB retailers to keep up,” explained Brandon Black, senior vice president of supply chain for Ivanti Wavelink, an IIoT provider. “But it’s also created a little more opportunity for SMBs.”
Black’s grandfather founded Wavelink, which was eventually bought by Ivanti. He has spent more than 25 years in the supply chain and is excited about the possibilities of IIoT.
“It allows these retailers … to implement their technology and move faster [around e-commerce],” he said.
Continue reading: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/industrial-internet-of-things-is-remaking-the-retail-supply-chain

The varied applications of edge computing have been beneficial for most industries
Edge computing is a distributed, open AI architecture that features decentralised processing power by enabling mobile computing and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. This minimises the need for long-distance communications between client and server, which reduces latency and bandwidth usage.
 
Edge computing is adopted by various industries. Some of its applications stand out in the following areas
Oil and gas industry– Real-time remote monitoring plays a pivotal role in the oil and gas industries. Advanced machinery powered by IoT sensors is deployed at isolated sites to safeguard critical machinery and systems against disaster.
Smart cities– Smart cities will be nothing without computing technology. The edge computing devices are collecting information to do fundamental processing tasks, which is the core of smart city development.
Autonomous vehicles– The future of automotive and technology is autonomous vehicles. Edge technologies can help autonomous vehicles to communicate frequently by sending data on accidents, weather conditions, traffic, etc.
Security– Installed edge computing devices identify and flag unusual behaviour in real-time which eventually leads to counter actions as soon as possible. The technology acts as a security surveillance system.
Cloud gaming– Cloud gaming is the new kind of gaming that streams live feed directly to devices. Cloud gaming companies use edge computing technologies to build edge servers close to gamers in order to reduce latency and provide a responsive and immersive gaming experience.
Continue reading: https://www.analyticsinsight.net/edge-computing-and-its-varied-implications-on-advanced-systems/

When the term ‘Internet of Things’ was first coined perhaps a decade ago, the ‘things’ referred to inanimate objects which could be fitted with sensors to transmit data so they could be managed as part of a wider eco-system.
One of the other outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions is that the ‘thing’ in IoT can now often refer to a human. It has opened a new field in proximity tracking to promote social distancing and health and safety in workplaces.
Where we might have become used to the novelty of a football player wearing a tracking device during a game so the fans can learn about their speed and distance traveled, with COVID-19 whole workforces and populations are being tracked in an attempt to understand human density in public places better and manage workplace contact.
It is not simply COVID-19, of course. Location-based marketing is also a significant factor, but in a technology sense, it is not unrelated. Many companies are now sending push notifications to users in-store for promotional offers. The retail and transport industries have also used increasingly sophisticated cameras to understand crowd movement and density for planning purposes.
All of this is giving momentum to what is now called the ‘Indoor Location Market,’ which is now expected to grow at better than a compound 20% in the five years to 2026.
More than 40% of the world’s population now have smartphones, which are also sensors. There are an expanding number of applications powered and enabled by beacons and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags, the increasing use of beacons in cameras, Light Emitting Diode lighting, at the Point of Sale, and the now ubiquitous QR code. 5G technology is often mentioned in COVID-19 conspiracy theories, but its main benefit lies in enhanced creativity, which can drive these capabilities.
While this pervasiveness has raised issues around data ownership and consumer privacy, some of this has been overlooked in the emergency of the COVID-19 moment. Workers, in particular, are being asked to submit to unprecedented levels of monitoring which is being justified by concerns over health and safety. Many are also agreeing with them.
Continue reading: https://www.cdotrends.com/story/16178/your-next-iot-device-you

Today's enterprise networks are complex environments with different types of wired and wireless devices being connected and disconnected. The current device discovery solutions have been mainly focused on identifying and monitoring servers, workstation PCs, laptops and infrastructure devices such as network firewalls, switches and routers, because the most valuable information assets of organizations are being stored, processed and transferred over those devices, hence making them the prime target of security breaches and intrusions.
However, a new trend has been emerging in the past four years, where attackers have been targeting purpose-built connected devices such as network printers and video conferencing systems as an entry point and data exfiltration route.
These devices cannot be identified properly by the current IT asset discovery solutions for the following main reasons:

• Proprietary protocols are often used for managing and monitoring such devices that are not known to the asset discovery solution.
• Agent-based asset discovery is not possible because most of the connected devices are resource-constrained systems with proprietary operating systems that do not allow the installation of discovery agent software on them.

Firmalyzer's IoT vulnerability assessment solution (IoTVAS) overcomes these limitations and provides:

• Accurate identification of connected device manufacturer, model name, device type, device end of life status, firmware version, and firmware release date
• Real-time Firmware bill of materials (BOM) report that lists software components and libraries inside the firmware code of each device without requiring the user to upload device firmware files.
• Identification of publicly unknown vulnerabilities of the device that includes vulnerable 3rd party components, default credentials, crypto keys, certificates, and default configuration issues
• Identification of the publicly known vulnerabilities (CVEs) of the device

IoTVAS can operate as a standalone IoT discovery and risk assessment solution or be integrated into existing IT asset discovery, network port scanners, and IT vulnerability scanning tools via IoTVAS REST API.
Continue reading: https://thehackernews.com/2022/02/iotconnected-device-discovery-and.html

I've lost track of the number of times I've written about or have read about the critical need to operate drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) for commercial purposes. Many have positioned BVLOS operations as the key enabler for commercial applications of the technology because without BVLOS operations, there is no scale. Without scale, then predictions and hype about the billions of dollars that the technology might be worth are just that.
BVLOS drone operations are a technical and regulatory challenge and while changes to rules around the world are easing those regulatory challenges, companies like SKYTRAC are focused on solving the technical ones. The satcom company is committed to using satellite communications to enable BVLOS communications, real-time Command and Control (C2), video streaming, data transmission and more. All of this is possible thanks to their Iridium Certus connectivity services.
As the Director of Business Development, Jeff Sherwood takes this commitment very seriously. By enabling BVLOS operators in industries that range from oil & gas to search & rescue to cargo delivery, operators can fly their UAVs from anywhere in the world thanks to SKYTRAC BVLOS communication solutions. But what does it actually mean for these operators to do so? How simple is it for drone operators to get up and running with one of their BVLOS-enabling products? Sherwood answered these questions and many more.
 
Jeremiah Karpowicz: SKYTRAC’s initial challenge was to provide aviators with connectivity where none was previously available, so can you tell us a bit about how and when the company identified this need?
Jeff Sherwood: The company was founded in 1986 so we've been around for quite a long time. SKYTRAC was formed by aviation enthusiasts who saw the benefit of equipping aircraft with satellite-based tracking technology. As the technology has evolved we've similarly expanded our capabilities.
In the early 2000s, SKYTRAC began to harness the capabilities of Iridium’s global satellite network to deliver voice and data connectivity services to aircraft operating in a variety of different industries. Over the years, SKYTRAC built upon Iridium’s core technology to develop advanced avionics solutions that increased the safety, communications, and operational efficiency of flight operations around the world. That’s everything from secure voice and data communications between aircraft and air traffic control to monitoring aircraft engine performance to alerting operators of any potential issues. As the aviation industry strives to become safer and prevent disasters such as MH370 and AF447, SKYTRAC has responded by developing a Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS) that provides real-time tracking and alerting during all phases of flight.
 
So that's technology that can essentially ensure someone can know exactly what is happening with an aircraft at all times and in any situation, correct?
Yes, and that sort of tracking is still critical, perhaps more so than ever. MH370 was lost from ATC radar not long after it took off in 2014 and the search for that plane ended up being one of the most expensive in aviation history.
It underscores the challenges of industry adoption because for a very long time, airlines had been relatively slow to procure new technology or procedures into their operations. Generally, the airline industry evolves based on decisions by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the various aviation authorities, such as the FAA and EASA. After the deadly MH370 and AF447 disasters, ICAO and the global airline industry sought to develop a new set of standards and requirements to prevent these accidents from happening.
With that being said, different segments of the aviation industry began to adopt this type of technology at different times. , Helicopter operators  flying offshore for the oil and gas industry,  air medical services, and a variety of other  commercial operations have been using this type of tracking for a long time, really ever since it became available. Those operators have benefited from our global connectivity services, especially since their unique operations are often in environments that do not always support the traditional methods of flight following and voice communications. Over the years, these connectivity services have evolved into taking the “big data” concept to the next level with aircraft and the safety of flight operations.
Continue reading: https://www.commercialuavnews.com/infrastructure/command-and-control-c2-capabilities-from-skytrac-define-what-it-means-to-operate-drones-bvlos-at-scale

DroneDeploy, the leading enterprise-grade drone data company, has released its first ever Annual Social Impact Report, documenting the impact its social impact program has made over the course of 2021. Aiming to ensure that the company has a lasting positive impact on the world, the social impact program operates through several programs including nonprofits, crisis response, education, volunteering & giving, and diversity & inclusion.
“Over the past year we have expanded and deepened our impact through meaningful and reciprocal partnerships in the robotics industry, charitable community, and beyond,” said Rebecca Lehman, DroneDeploy’s Social Impact Program Manager. “But technology is only a tool. Ultimately, it’s individuals, relationships, and communities that will make impactful, lasting change in our world. Our work is to enable these leaders.“
Nonprofits
Drone data has played a key role in helping scientists, local governments, and top institutions monitor the world around us. DroneDeploy.org has partnered with numerous organizations to help combat climate change through the use of drone technology. One of these organizations, The Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS), incorporated a drone program into their standard operating procedures, monitoring the Great Barrier Reef by surveying lagoons and the reefs themselves. The team, which previously had to collect samples manually, is now able to regularly capture data using DroneDeploy, monitoring changes throughout the reef and tracking them over time.
Drones have also proved useful as a tool for community empowerment and sustainable change, and DroneDeploy has partnered with leading nonprofits and community organizations, aiding them  in mapping undocumented populations and planning infrastructure.
UNDP Colombia utilized DroneDeploy in its response efforts following Hurricane Irma, with the platform, drones, and 360 cameras enabling early response crews to document damage and share the impacts, assisting in long-term recovery efforts.
Crisis Response
In response to the increasing frequency of natural disasters, emergency response teams are able to utilize DroneDeploy software to quickly scale operations in times of crisis.
Canadian-based nonprofit GlobalMedic used DroneDeploy to assess damages caused by the volcano eruption in Saint Vincent last April, and nonprofit ADF Haiti employed drone mapping for damage assessment following the recent earthquake in Haiti
Continue reading: https://dronelife.com/2022/02/06/drone-mapping-company-dronedeploy-releases-social-impact-report/

It’s likely that commercial drones will be further integrated into daily use to prevent outbreaks moving forward
The global drone market’s revenue was worth $18.28 billion in 2020, and it’s projected to skyrocket to $40.90 billion by 2027. This growth is largely due to the increasing number of product offerings in the market. DJI drone models, for instance, recently incorporated assessing and mapping features, which can prove highly useful for many industries. During the pandemic, drones also served various critical functions.
As we mentioned in a previous article, Shenzhen-based company MicroMultiCopter deployed over 100 drones to broadcast information across a large area, while Japan-based commercial drone service company Terra Donne operated drone deliveries for medical supplies. Because these drones are immune to infection, drone products helped respond to mobility challenges. It’s likely that commercial drones will be further integrated into daily use to prevent outbreaks moving forward. Here’s how:
 
Social distancing
Amy Webb, the founder of Future Today Institute, has suggested that we’re entering a Bioinformation Age in human history. Rather than focusing on privacy and personal choice, new social, government, and economic structures now require our data to operate. And we have seen how drones — equipped with object- and face-recognition, audio analytics, and motion detection features — are powerful tools, in terms of visualizing expansive areas and identifying people, particularly in search and rescue missions.
In the future, more countries will utilize drone capabilities to scan dense urban areas and broadcast messages through drone loudspeakers. Aside from social distancing surveillance, drones can allow governments to issue instructions or provide information to minimize physical contact. With better audio quality than a microphone, they can increase public awareness towards social distancing measures for even people without communication devices.
Continue reading: https://www.analyticsinsight.net/commercial-drone-technology-in-a-post-pandemic-world/

The association recently issued its 1 millionth sUAS airspace authorization.
Check those NOTAMs carefully—drones may be nearby. 
The FAA issued its 1 millionth airspace authorization for a small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS)—also known as drones—to use busy airspace. 
The authorizations are issued by the FAA’s Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC). LAANC is an automated process for drone pilots who need to quickly gain authorization for flying in controlled airspace. LAANC provides air traffic with information about the location of drone operations.
Drones, once the purview of hobbyists, are becoming increasingly popular in the industrial sector where they are used to inspect tall buildings, construction sites, reseeding forests and for the observation of animal migration. Law enforcement and the military also use drones for surveillance and search and rescue, as the drones can cover terrain much faster than a person on foot.
Continue reading: https://www.flyingmag.com/faa-drone-pilot-numbers-hit-milestone/

After years of anticipation, the drone delivery ecosystem is finally beginning to take shape in many parts of the world. But even as progress is made on the rules and infrastructure side, a singular factor wields the power to dash the hopes of drone deliveries en masse: the weather. Thankfully though, researchers are testing how 5G, mobile edge computing, and artificial intelligence can help drones detect, interpret, and respond to changing weather conditions in real time.
We’ve previously reported on a study that underscores why the weather is an important and poorly resolved factor that may affect ambitions to expand drone operations. More recently, Carol Tomé, the CEO at UPS, brought up the weather to downplay her company’s drone delivery ambitions, stating this at an American Chamber of Commerce event:

You can’t fly them when it’s windy. You can’t fly them when it’s rainy. There are lots of issues with drones.

Click to expand...

The problem is indeed real. And it’s one that’s got researchers from Caltech Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST) and Verizon hooked – though the implications of this project are not restricted to aerial logistics alone.
Researchers are testing how the low latency, high speed, and massive capacity of 5G and edge computing can be used to offload the heavy lifting that that onboard drone hardware is expected to do. Success could allow for near real-time interpretation of weather data and near-instantaneous in-flight adjustments.
So, for the next year, engineers would be cooped up in a lab that features a three-story-tall aerodrome with more than 2,500 tiny computer-controlled fans. This aerodrome will simulate everything from a gentle breeze to a powerful gale, while also being tilted 90 degrees to simulate vertical take-offs and landings.
It’s worth highlighting that this custom fan wall has been designed and built by Caltech graduate students. Even more impressively, its design was used as the blueprint for building the fan wall that tested the Mars Ingenuity helicopter at JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA.
Verizon, with its skin in the game, is providing funding for the research along with several 5G devices and consultation on 5G technology and hardware.
Continue reading: https://dronedj.com/2022/02/07/5g-drone-delivery-weather/

If you could fly a drone in the skies of Mars, you could cover a lot more territory far more quickly than with a rover. But designing one is an enormous challenge.
On 19 April 2021, a tiny experimental helicopter named Ingenuity lifted off the Martian ground and into the history books. The autonomous machine’s rotors spun furiously in the thin atmosphere to produce enough lift, propelling the craft to the height of a single-storey building. Ingenuity hovered and then landed safely, delivering humanity’s first controlled flight on another planet. The site where it landed was named Wright Brothers Field, after the aviation pioneers.
In the mid-2030s, a rotorcraft the size of a small car, called Dragonfly, is scheduled to take the next step. It will land on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, to begin humanity’s first mission to explore it. In one hour, Dragonfly will fly further than any surface-based rover has ever travelled on another planet. The multi-rotor drone-like vehicle will fly across the surface of Titan, landing for one Titan-day (16 Earth days) to carry out experiments before flying on to its next destination.
But the greatest challenge – and maybe the greatest opportunity – for extraterrestrial aviation is the hellishly hot planet Venus, with its extreme heat, pressure and acidic atmosphere. No lander has survived for more than 127 minutes on its cracked, slate-like surface.
Instead, scientists are proposing to send two aircraft to Venus. One is a solar-powered glider-like aircraft which can fly indefinitely through the planet’s more benign upper atmosphere, the other a flying wing design that will fly through the hostile conditions close to the surface.
"Developing the technology to be able to land on Venus is difficult," says Dr Eldar Noe Dobrea, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, California, who is developing the mission concepts for Venus. "The only alternative is to fly through the atmosphere."
Teddy Tzanetos, a robotics technologist in the Aerial Mobility Group and team lead for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, is already working on the designs for the next generation of Martian helicopters. “We know what the Wright brothers’ first flight did for humanity here on Earth, and I think we’ll follow that same model on other planets,” he says.
"I hadn’t thought of an analogue comparison like that, but the Dragonfly is the next step after Ingenuity’s first flight," says Elizabeth "Zibi" Turtle, the principal investigator at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. “It will be the first [aerial] vehicle to carry its entire scientific payload from place to place."
Continue reading: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220207-the-drones-that-will-fly-in-alien-skies

Singapore-based drone technology player H3 Dynamics is joining forces with Sitemark – a specialist AI-analytics company from Belgiu – to launch a new robots-as-a-service solution for autonomous solar farm monitoring and inspection.
The partnership combines a drone-in-a-box solution from H3 Dynamics with visual and thermal analytics from Sitemark to automate and scale up remote monitoring operations in large solar farm installations. The solution can be enticing for many solar farms that have grown beyond human scale, often in remote locations, making a number of on-site operations increasingly difficult.
Sitemark brings a ton of experience in the field to the table. Its solutions have been deployed by companies like Total, Bouygues, EDF, Engie, and Orix to inspect over 30,000 ha of solar PV parks in 35 countries.
Meanwhile, H3 Dyanamics has recently launched a new product called DBX G7 – an agnostic drone-in-a-box platform – to automate drones from any manufacturer.
Continue reading: https://dronedj.com/2022/02/07/autonomous-drone-inspection-solar-farms/

Black and Latinx women make up only 5% of tech workers and a coalition of nonprofits and for-profits is working to change that low number. Accenture, Broadridge, Girls Who Code, the Girl Scouts of America and Workday have been added to NPower’s Command Shift Coalition, a project of New York City-based NPower.
Command Shift Coalition is a consortium of business leaders, community organizations, corporations and nonprofits that promote young women of color for technology careers. Since May 2021, the Command Shift Coalition has sought to break down biases and institutional barriers that prevent women of color from engaging in tech careers, as well as provide original research that measures the success of its efforts along with those of other entities. 
The reason Command Shift Coalition was launched was to trigger a seismic shift — with founding partners such as Citi, AWS, Guardian Life Insurance, World Wide Technology and Comcast, among others — that increases representation of women of color in the tech sector and in tech-enabled industries. The plan includes: 
Continue reading: https://www.thenonprofittimes.com/technology/women-in-tech-coalition-gains-new-strength/

The technology workforce is changing.
As coding classes get younger and younger, it’s becoming commonly understood that you’re never too young to start in tech. It’s also true that you’re really never too old to work in tech, or even to start a new career in the field. But that’s something that seems to be less easy to understand, to the detriment of technologists who break into tech in their 40s or later.
It’s something the industry is going to have to deal with. By 2026, workers 65 and older are projected to have the fastest growth in the US labor force. And yet, a 2018 AARP survey found that three in five workers aged 45 and over have either witnessed age discrimination or experienced it themselves.
What does ageism in tech look like? Technical.ly talked to some over-45 technologists about their experiences, and why the industry needs to respect its elders.
Assumptions about older tech students
Most nonprofit coding cohorts are pretty diverse by design, and while they may skew to include learners in their 20s and 30s, it’s common for cohorts to include a couple of students age 45 and older. These students may be pivoting in their careers, starting new careers in the empty nest phase of their lives, or, as is especially common in the pandemic era, have found themselves unemployed and in need of a jump start in their tech skills.
Continue reading: https://technical.ly/2022/02/07/ageism-in-tech/

ith notable exceptions—thank you, Madam Vice President—the glass ceiling is a reality across all workplaces. And perhaps there are few with such glaring gender disparities as the industries in STEM—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. In fact, although women make up half the workforce in the United States, they occupy just 27% of STEM jobs, according to the United States Census Bureau.
Such stats inspired OLAY to launch #FacetheSTEMgap campaign. The social initiative, which debuted in 2020, aims to help double the number of women and triple the number of women of color working in STEM by 2030. "For more than 65 years, superior science has been at the core of all we do at OLAY. But it also goes beyond the lab—women from all STEM disciplines are critical to our brand—from IT to business analysts and more. OLAY recognizes the importance of gender equality in STEM, and as a brand of our size, we have a responsibility to help make this change," explains Nicole Draznik, communications director at OLAY.
To champion this cause, OLAY is highlighting four remarkable women. Here, they share their stories, passions, and insights into working in STEM. Here, they talk to us.
Continue reading: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/a38815542/how-these-four-women-have-made-their-mark-in-stem/

I have hesitated to write about this for years. Mostly because the people who push the agenda of attracting more women into tech and STEM mean well. This issue is also extremely personal for me as I was explicitly told by an authority figure as a young adult that I could not study engineering because I am a woman. You can hear me tell that story here. Because it is so close to my heart, I reflect often as to whether I am bitter about the initiatives because they weren’t around when I needed them. And surely, there is some of that trauma mixed into the feelings I have about the topic. Nevertheless, here are 5 reasons why the “Women in Tech” narrative needs more nuance.

1. Most jobs in tech are not technical
   [/LIST=1]
   There is another post on LinkedIn. It is a man trying to show allyship by encouraging women to apply to the technical jobs he has posted. He really does want to have more women in these roles, he just can’t find them. Seems that all the qualified ones are taken. The simplistic conclusion is reached, “We need more women in tech.” And yes, we do. But there are other reasons the women who are in tech are not applying for these jobs.
   I have worked with ERP systems for 14 years and I almost always have to laugh when I read job ads for ERP related roles. Senior ERP project manager roles looking for people with degrees in computer science. Or they want a leader of the entire program to be an expert in one particular module of one particular type of ERP. This is perhaps the very reason these programs fail at such a high rate.
   To lead an ERP project, you need to understand causal relationships. Sure, we need technical experts who can code in certain languages and can configure what is needed. But we do not need technical experts running the projects. Instead, we need people who understand complex networks and understand enough about the technology to ask the right questions. This obsession with specialization is causing our technology projects to be driven by people who do not understand how things are connected.
   Continue reading: https://sarahannefreiesleben.medium.com/how-the-women-in-tech-narrative-needs-more-nuance-3b883bf0eb23

In the United States, an estimated 63 million Americans are unbanked, underbanked or lack access to the traditional financial system. That is a stain on our democracy and economic structure. Today, urban, rural and native communities that continue to be locked out of centralized finance are looking to cryptocurrencies as a pathway to economic empowerment.
Recent data shows that Black and Latinx communities are driving national mainstream adoption. A Harvard-Harris poll noted that “while only 11% of white Americans report owning cryptos, 23% of Black Americans and 17% of Hispanic Americans own such assets.”
This op-ed is part of CoinDesk’s Black History Month series. Cleve Mesidor is an adviser to the Blockchain Association and leads the National Policy Network of Women of Color in Blockchain. She previously worked in Congress and served as a presidential appointee in the Obama Administration.
The more options individuals have, the more inclusive money becomes.
This is a positive trend, but it also signals a greater need for financial literacy and skills training. The rising interest in new technological instruments is an opportunity to prepare key demographics for the next-gen workforce. Federal, state and local governments must be more proactive when it comes to future-of-work strategies to position historically disadvantaged groups to compete in the global innovation economy and foster digital equity.
Continue reading: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/how-crypto-can-power-the-future-of-work-for-people-of-color

Email marketing is one of the best ways to reach your target audience, but it’s getting more and more difficult to stand out.
There is a problem with email marketing in that it is hard to stand out in a crowded inbox. Emails can be difficult to create in such a way that they look great on all devices and are personalized for each customer. According to The Radicati Group, there will be 4.2 billion email users worldwide by 2022. That’s a lot of competition for your message. 
AI Lines can help you make sure your message gets through by using machine learning algorithms that personalize each email based on what recipients want. By using AI, you can create unique experiences for each recipient, making them more likely to act on your message. 
Are you curious about how artificial intelligence can be used in email marketing? In this blog post, we’ll look at what is AI in email marketing and how AI can be used in email marketing?
Continue reading: https://www.influencive.com/how-ai-can-be-used-in-email-marketing/

When I graduated from medical school and took the Hippocratic Oath, I vowed to not just treat the illness on a patient’s medical history form but to treat the person behind the diagnosis. To do this well, clinicians need to understand the whole person and the context in which they live — their race, gender identity, native language, socioeconomic status, or zip code, among other things — to ensure equitable care. According to the CDC, health equity is reached when every person has the opportunity to attain his or her full health potential regardless of social position or other socially determined circumstances. 
Yet, health inequities abound in our healthcare systems. Research says that those Americans who live in rural communities have less access to care and subsequently worse health outcomes than those who live in non-rural communities. African American adults are more likely to report they cannot afford to see a doctor, leading to worse health outcomes. African Americans ages 18-49 are twice as likely to die from heart disease than whites. Beyond race and community, even employment status has a great effect on one’s health. Members of the LGBTQ community are twice as likely to be unemployed and uninsured than their straight counterparts, reporting lower health and quality of life. 
Healthcare inequities are also a drag on our economic systems. Medicare and Medicaid have an obligation to taxpayers who are paying into the system to help as many people as possible. When there are inequities in the healthcare system, it means that taxpayer dollars aren’t being well spent to impact the people they need to. If a health insurance company’s risk pool is warped toward people who are very sick and don’t have decent access to healthcare, it’s going to make that health plan a lot less profitable, increasing premiums for everyone.
Continue reading: https://hitconsultant.net/2022/02/08/3-ways-artificial-intelligence-can-be-used-to-improve-health-equity/#.YgKPGerMI2w

My mission for more than two decades has been to help artificial intelligence (A.I.) work for the masses, and I truly believe in A.I.'s potential to make our lives healthier, happier, and more productive.
Of course, A.I. comes with certain challenges (like any emerging technology), especially as companies more fully operationalize it. In fact, there are at least three significant A.I. trends already on the move this year -- and I'm closely watching how these shifts will help businesses continue to navigate A.I. hurdles like removing bias and building trust.
Trend 1: Actioning A.I. ethics and governance 
For years, there's been discussion about eliminating bias from A.I. models. These concerns are not only prominent among industry professionals -- they're increasingly arising in mainstream media outlets as well. For example, NBC recently aired an episode of American Auto that centered on a self-driving car's failure to recognize and brake for people of color.
In 2022, we're seeing conversations about A.I. ethics and bias mitigation transition from abstract frameworks into real-world practices. This evolution is largely powered by emerging startups that provide A.I. monitoring and governance solutions for businesses. Now, a big question mark for A.I.-driven companies is whether to outsource machine learning performance monitoring to companies like Credo, Fiddler and Arize AI, or build out internal capabilities to validate, monitor and analyze machine learning models.
Continue reading: https://www.inc.com/rana-el-kaliouby/3-ai-trends-to-watch-in-2022.html

1. What is Harmony(ONE) crypto?
Harmony (ONE) is a blockchain-based platform that aims to address the conundrum of achieving both scalability and decentralization without sacrificing either.
Harmony (ONE) was launched as part of the Binance Launchpad's initial exchange offering (IEO) in May 2019. It is aimed to be a bridge between scalability and decentralization efforts. It was built with the motto "decentralization at scale" in mind, emphasizing data sharing and the construction of fungible token and nonfungible asset marketplaces.
Furthermore, Harmony promises to give high throughput with two "lows": latency and costs. They're expected to put the platform at the center of efforts to establish the groundwork for future decentralized trustless economies when they're combined.
Harmony began as a company in 2018 before the IEO. But, who is behind Harmony (ONE)? Multiple investors, including Silicon Valley's Consensus Capital, Hong Kong's Lemniscap VC, and others, were interested in its fundraising endeavor, which raised $18 million in April 2019. Investors bought almost $2.8 billion of the company's ONE tokens, with $12.6 billion put aside for pre-mining. 
Harmony gives investors access to an ecosystem that will enable the company's adoption across a variety of businesses, with a focus on data sharing, decentralized marketplaces, supply chain monitoring, ad exchanges, credit rating systems and gaming.
2. What is ONE?
The ONE token is utilized as a stake in the Harmony consensus model. Holders can earn block rewards and be rewarded for keeping the system running smoothly.
Harmony, like many other layer 2 (L2) platforms, has its community token, Harmony ONE, which stresses the protocol's objective of assisting open consensus procedures for billions of individuals throughout the world.
Continue reading: https://cointelegraph.com/explained/what-is-harmony-one-blockchain-and-why-it-is-getting-so-much-traction

Savvy undergraduates know the path to a career on Wall Street: Lock down summer internships by sophomore year — maybe junior at the latest — for a top firm to even consider an offer after graduation. Then contend with years of long nights, countless PowerPoint presentations, Excel jockeying and junior vice presidents with a tendency to say things like, “Don’t think, just do.”
Crypto is turning that track askew. The space is luring away strivers from conventional finance — and successful candidates need to play by an entirely different rulebook.
Here, it’s not about the right contacts, a polished resume, a standout LinkedIn profile or even a portfolio of work. What can count even more in the eyes of a hiring manager are projects that are run by an online community and can usually be done from anywhere with an internet connection: Working for a DAO.
DAO stands for “decentralized autonomous organization.” It calls to mind the Dao of the ancient Chinese religion organized around it, in which it means “the path.” The Dao is the source of all things. Living in harmony with it leads to happiness and success. For now, at least, the story is similar with DAOs in the crypto job market. 
Continue reading: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-05/are-crypto-daos-the-new-wall-street-jobs-seekers-try-blockchain-over-banking

Automated everything, a global economic expansion in the trillions of dollars and, of course, robots everywhere. The AI revolution was – is – supposed to accomplish all this, and more.
But it turns out that the revolution is more of an evolution, especially in traditional sectors like manufacturing, maintenance and insurance, where physical objects play a key role. AI has had an important impact on numerous industries, but it has yet to reach its full potential – either because the technology is still under development, or businesses are not quite ready for it.
The commercial progress and success of AI has indeed been slower than many expected - but that “delay” can actually work in favor of business. As machine learning, neural networks, and other AI technologies improve, more businesses will be implementing them – and that gives businesses time to get in on the ground floor of technology that is already making itself felt – and will make itself felt even more in the coming years.
Businesses that haven't jumped onto the AI bandwagon yet can still begin implementing AI technologies and business strategies – and ensure that they stay abreast, or even ahead of their competitors. And there is still plenty of opportunity to do so; a US Census Bureau study shows that AI technologies have yet to catch on in most industries. The study of nearly 600,000 US businesses shows that only a few percent were using advanced AI technologies like machine learning, machine vision, natural language processing, and others.
Continue reading: https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/opinion/article-695662

Over time the world of technology is becoming smarter but more dependent on the internet. With the advancement one thing that is also becoming more smart and hard to fight are the cyber attacks. The cyber attackers are finding unique ways of attacking companies and individuals through ‘Internet of Things’ or you may call them smart devices. Some of us aren’t very tech savvy or simply don’t know what IoT devices are. If you are someone in the same boat then we will update you on this terminology. Every device which connects to the internet or Wi-Fi is called IoT (internet of things). These IoTs can perform tasks, from everyday tiny needs to large scale business management. It can be anything from an automatic coffee machine maker to an industrial robot. In its study, Palo Alto Networks points out how these IoT devices can be a very easy source of cyber attacks. According to them, the global market of IoT devices will reach approximately over one trillion by 2026. The Palo Alto Network conducted a survey with 1,900 IT decision makers of 18 different countries. These IT specialists were from the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Australia etc. All these specialists have agreed on one point that these IoT devices (especially non business devices) can be a very easy source of cyber attacks. 78% of these 1900 IT specialists saw a very huge surge in non business IoT devices in the last 12 months.
Continue reading: https://www.digitalinformationworld.com/2022/02/as-working-from-home-is-becoming-common.html