Dynamic Tech IT

Gen Digital Acquires MoneyLion In business news, Gen Digital, the owners of several of the most popular antivirus products, bought MoneyLion for $1 billion in cash. The fintech company is getting a 6.5% premium on its last closing price of $82 per share. How does this exactly fit in with other Gen Digital holdings like Avast, Norton, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender, and CCleaner? CEO Vincent Pilette said, “Gen has a family of consumer brands that's dedicated to protecting people's privacy, identity and financial assets so they can live their digital lives securely and without worry… By bringing MoneyLion into the Gen family, we're not only helping people protect what they already have, we're extending our capabilities to enable people to better manage and grow their financial wealth."

AI's Election Impact: Minimal Disruption Generative AI did not significantly disrupt global elections in 2024—or so says Meta Global Affairs President Nick Clegg. Despite concerns about AI-enabled disinformation and deepfakes, Meta’s data shows AI-related election content accounted for less than 1% of all fact-checked misinformation. Clegg credited existing policies and processes with mitigating risks, even as over two billion people participated in elections across major democracies throughout the year. Meta rejected 590,000 requests to generate images of political figures during the US election. And hostile actors, primarily from Russia and Iran, achieved only minor gains using generative AI for influence campaigns. To enhance transparency, Meta required labels on AI-generated posts and ads and introduced tools like AudioSeal to mark AI-generated speech. While AI's role in disrupting elections was minimal this year, Clegg cautioned that its growing prevalence could pose future risks.

This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for your continued support and loyalty. Thank you for being part of our family. We’re excited to continue serving you with great products and exceptional service. Wishing you a joyful and memorable Thanksgiving filled with warmth, love. #Everyone,#Thanksgiving,#Dynamictech

Critical Cyber Risks in Water More than 300 drinking water systems in the US are affected by cyber vulnerabilities, according to an Environmental Protection Agency (EOA) report (PDF). The assessment looked at 1,062 drinking water systems, which serve a combined 193 million people. They found that nearly a third were wide open to denial-of-service issues, functionality loss, and data breaches. The report looked at five different security categories: IT hygiene, vulnerabilities, adversarial threats, email, and malicious activity. 97 of the water systems (serving 27 million people) surveyed were found to have critical and high-severity issues, while 211 more (serving 83 million) had issues of a lower order. Making matters more precarious, while the EPA overlooks the safety of water systems, it does not have a cybersecurity incident reporting system in place for water and wastewater systems. Instead, the EPA relies on the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to gather these complaints—but there isn’t even a document set of policies and procedures to coordinate between the two agencies.

The Role of Private Equity in Cybersecurity Private equity firms like Thoma Bravo play a crucial role in the cybersecurity sector by providing the necessary funding and resources for companies to scale their operations and innovate. Thoma Bravo's investments enable cybersecurity firms to accelerate research and development, expand globally, and enhance their product offerings to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats. Beyond financial support, Thoma Bravo offers strategic expertise, operational improvements, and access to a broad network of industry contacts. This holistic support helps portfolio companies navigate complex market dynamics, regulatory environments, and technological advancements, positioning them for long-term success.

Medcrypt Expands Healthcare Cybersecurity Partnerships Medcrypt, a leader in proactive medical device security, has announced expanded partnerships with BioT, Extra Security, Real-Time Innovations (RTI), and Stratigos Security to bolster cybersecurity across the healthcare ecosystem. This collaboration addresses growing demand for secure, interoperable medical technologies by providing advanced capabilities, including cryptography, vulnerability management, penetration testing, and FDA compliance support. The partnerships enhance Medcrypt’s offerings, ensuring secure device connectivity, threat detection, and regulatory alignment. BioT extends vulnerability analysis into actionable risk mitigation, Extra Security delivers FDA-focused security assessments, RTI integrates secure communication solutions, and Stratigos Security supports comprehensive regulatory readiness. “By collaborating with these industry leaders, we provide end-to-end cybersecurity solutions tailored to healthcare technology,” said Om Mahida, VP of Product Management at Medcrypt. Founded in 2016, Medcrypt has raised over $36M, including from Johnson & Johnson Innovations and Intuitive Ventures. The company continues to empower medical device manufacturers with secure, FDA-compliant technologies.

Their dedication, resilience, and sacrifices inspire us and remind us of the strength found in service and commitment. **HAPPY VETERANS DAY** #VeterantsDay #HonoringService.

CrowdStrike: Windows 11 Bug Causes Hangs CrowdStrike says a Windows 11 issue, not its own software, is to blame for recent app hangs in the latest OS build, 24H2. In a statement, CrowdStrike clarified that "this is not a CrowdStrike issue. An issue in Windows 11 24H2 is causing specific applications to hang." The cybersecurity company reported the bug to Microsoft and is awaiting their solution. Microsoft acknowledges the problem, stating it affects both first- and third-party apps when specific antimalware features are enabled. The issue appears linked to CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor software when paired with a certain policy setting. To mitigate, CrowdStrike has temporarily disabled its Enhanced Exploitation Visibility Prevention Policy on impacted hosts. While Microsoft and CrowdStrike work together on a long-term fix, users with the Falcon sensor may notice disruptions in Office applications like Word and Excel. Windows 11’s 24H2 rollout hasn’t been seamless, leaving some to wonder if sticking with 23H2 might be a safer bet.

The FBI warns on a potential attack: https://lnkd.in/gxrjSYS4 #everyone