Week InReview
Friday | Aug 21, 2020
How to hold a safe in-person meeting
Video of the Week
The 'Get Smart' Cone of Silence
let's recap...
Startups and hedge funds are one step away from potentially tapping a bigger pool of investors for money with the SEC’s backing. The Securities and Exchange Commission will vote Aug. 26 on whether to adopt regulations that would expand the accredited investor definition, which dictates who can invest in private markets, according to an open meeting notice posted Wednesday. (Bloomberg Law | Aug 20)

U.S. central bankers backed off from an earlier readiness to clarify their guidance on the future path of interest rates when they met in July, according to minutes released Wednesday. It’s a subtle change from the previous set indicating policy makers were keen to sharpen their so-called forward guidance “at upcoming meetings.” Since the last meeting a number of Fed officials have indicated there is less need to offer new guidance so long as the Covid-19 pandemic is significantly holding the economy back. (Bloomberg Economics | Aug 19)

Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s new fee could be just a taste of what is to come as the two giants’ role in the housing market evolves. Even if critics were to win a reversal on this particular issue, we could see much more of this type of conflict in the future. (The Wall Street Journal | Aug 18)

The U.S. dollar’s plunge last month jolted currencies so profoundly that a gauge of expected swings in the market no longer moves in tandem with a similar measure for U.S. equities. This could mean big trouble ahead. (Bloomberg Markets | Aug 18)

The Department of Labor has proposed a rule requiring retirement plans to give participants an annual estimate of how much monthly income would be produced by their savings. If given final approval, the rule would apply to the 660,000 defined-contribution plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. (Financial Advisor | Aug 18)
the cyber cafe
'Duri' makes use of HTML smuggling to deliver malware
An active campaign has been spotted that utilizes HTML smuggling to deliver malware, effectively bypassing various network security solutions, including sandboxes, legacy proxies, and firewalls. The campaign, uncovered on Tuesday, has been ongoing since July.

CISA: Phishing eMails used to deploy KONNI malware
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has observed cyber actors using emails containing a Microsoft Word document with a malicious Visual Basic Application (VBA) macro code to deploy KONNI malware. KONNI is a remote administration tool (RAT) used by malicious cyber actors to steal files, capture keystrokes, take screenshots, and execute arbitrary code on infected hosts.
— CISA

Microsoft Defender ATP adds new malicious behavior blocking feature
Endpoint detection and response (EDR) in block mode is currently in public preview and it uses behavioral blocking to block and contain malware, malicious attacks, and malicious artifacts following post-breach detection or if they're missed by the main antivirus solution.
MORE CYBER SECURITY NEWS HERE:
binge reading disorder
The season of nostalgia
With most flights canceled, some would-be fliers are longing for a taste of a trip that could have been. To re-create the experience, they’re buying airplane food online.

At last: Scientists think they've found a cure for hangovers
A group of Finnish researchers have successfully tested a hangover cure on drunk subjects in Finland. A dose of 1,200 milligrams of amino acid L-cysteine was found to reduce alcohol-related nausea and headache, while a dose of 600 milligrams helped alleviate stress and anxiety

Cognitive hacking as the new disinformation frontier
Persuasion doesn’t need to influence the majority of the public to be effective. It’s enough to convince just one percent of a population to destabilize a democracy pretty effectively with protests, rioting, and a collapse in institutional trust. So the question that really needs asking is: how hard is it to radicalize one per cent of the public with modern, weaponized forms of persuasion?
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