Monthly Archives: August 2021

COVID-19 vaccine requirements are on the rise.

Major cities including New York City, New Orleans, San Francisco and Los Angeles now require proof of vaccination to dine indoors, but the new mandates have raised questions about how restaurants can accurately ensure their diners are, in fact, vaccinated.

Reservations app OpenTable hopes to streamline that process through a new partnership with Clear, the identity verification platform typically seen at airports. Although the partnership won't include Clear's famous eye-scanning technology, it will allow users to create a free digital vaccine card to prove their vaccination status.

"The whole motivation here is to allow restaurants to do things the easy way," OpenTable President and CTO Joseph Essas told Yahoo Finance.

Digital vaccine card (Source: OpenTable)

Essas said diners using the app won't have to worry about bringing a physical copy of their CDC vaccine card to the restaurant.

For an added layer of verification, the Clear app lets users link to their vaccination record through its network of vaccine providers and pharmacies, including Walmart (WMT).

The integration, expected to launch in September, comes on the heels of a number of new safety features OpenTable has launched amid the pandemic.

Restaurants can now tag diners as "Verified for Entry" once requirements are met, in addition to listing "Proof of Vaccination" as a safety precaution on their profiles and communicating directly with diners through direct messaging.

As of Wednesday, 450 restaurants on OpenTable require proof of vaccination. OpenTable says it hosts over 60,000 restaurants, bars, and eateries on the platform, but it is already seeing "hundreds of restaurants" opt in to the new features.

"Some of it is a reflection of mandates," Essas said, adding that restaurants in vaccine-mandated cities like New York and San Francisco are more eager to participate.

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A sign is viewed at a restaurant in New York's Upper West Side on August 17, 2021, the first day where you have to show proof of having a Covid-19 vaccination to participate in indoor dining. The vaccine mandate also includes indoor gyms, and all indoor entertainment in New York City. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

For diners, it means "the expectation is set that I have to show the vaccination record, and there's no kind of unpleasant surprises as you walk in," he said.

In a new OpenTable poll, which surveyed 20,000 diners, 72% of respondents said theyre very willing to dine at a restaurant that requires proof of vaccination or consider that requirement a must."

Those results differ sharply from a recent Yahoo Finance Twitter poll where over 31,000 users responded to the question, "Would you avoid going to a restaurant if proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for entry?" More than 80% of respondents answered "yes," while nearly 20% responded "no."

Overall, restaurant demand has been decreasing compared to the positive numbers last seen in May.

Seated diners in the U.S. are down 11% in August compared with July, according to the latest OpenTable data, with dining demand in the U.S. dropping about 1% in the past week alone.

"In some cities, there's definitely somewhat of a drop in demand," Essas said. "In other cities, there's not as much hard to say if it's related to these new mandates or not." Other factors like bad weather on the East Coast could have led to the recent dips.

"We'll watch [the data] carefully, and we'll know in the following weeks what's working and what's not working," said Essas.

OpenTable says it will not store personal health information or vaccination card data, but recent data hacks of a number of COVID-19 contact-tracing apps and vaccine portals have worried consumers and even the White House.

"Clear is a company that is the true expert in identity, security and connecting secure information to your identity," Essas said when asked how the company plans to keep users' health data secure.

"[OpenTable] does not want to store health sensitive information...so all of this viewer health information is being stored on the Clear side," he added.

Alexandra is a Producer & Entertainment Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193

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OpenTable partners with Clear to verify diners' vaccination status - Yahoo Finance

Masks mandates are on the rise as the Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread across the United States amplifying divisions between supporters of anti-coronavirus protocols and opponents who emphasize personal freedom.

On Thursday at midnight, L.A. County enacted an outdoor mask mandate for large events with over 10,000 attendees, including concerts, festivals, and sporting venues regardless of vaccination status. This comes after the L.A. County Public Health Department reported nearly 2,500 new COVID-19 cases earlier this week.

Los Angeles, which recently reinstated an indoor mask mandate for most public spaces, has been aggressive in its pandemic approach with other major cities following suit. Washington, D.C., Chicago, and San Diego have enacted similar indoor masking requirements of their own, while New York City just began requiring vaccination proof for key indoor activities.

On the East Coast, New York City hosted a star-studded outdoor concert on Saturday with Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Paul Simon, and others performing live in Central Park. The free concert required proof of vaccination to attend but, given the fact that it was also outdoors, masks were optional.

The Big Apple was the first major city to require vaccination proof in order to enter bars, gyms, restaurants, and concerts. Broadway, which is set to reopen next month after over one and a half years of shutdown, will require both proof of vaccination, along with masks.

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 20, 2021: Masked Dodger fans walk in the concourse behind the outfield to get to their seats as tonight is the beginning of a new LA County health mandate requiring venues with more than 10,000 people to require masks at Dodger Stadium on August 20, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Still, questions remain over how city officials plan to enforce the mandate with black-market alternatives springing up online for those unwilling to get a proper vaccination. The more aggressive policies have sharpened the divisions between those willing to comply, and those who are pushing back for a variety of reasons.

In a new Yahoo Finance Twitter poll, over 31,000 users responded to the question, "Would you avoid going to a restaurant if proof of COVID-19 vaccination is required for entry?"

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80.3% of respondents answered "yes," whereas 19.7% responded "no."

The overwhelming amount of "yes" votes suggests some businesses may see a direct impact to operations as a result of the increased mandates, especially in major cities like NYC, where vaccine proof is already required. Others have pointed out the unintended consequences of such policies that may exclude vaccine-hesitant people of color and the working class.

Meanwhile, states like Texas and Florida, which have large pockets of unvaccinated individuals, have banned mask mandates a stark contrast compared to New York and California.

Public school boards have been at the center of the debate, with some defying governor orders by making masks a requirement. In South Florida, officials have made masks mandatory for both students and faculty in the public school system despite the state's overarching order.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis told Yahoo Finance in a recent interview that, if given the chance, he'd urge Florida Governor Ron Desantis to rethink the mask ban, explaining that "people are willing" to use them.

"If there is an alternative political agenda trying to appeal to some sort of outlier group thinking that's going to advance a person politically I think they're misjudging what people really want," the mayor continued.

Similarly, the Texas public school system saw a big win on masking last week. According to a public health guidance letter penned by the Texas Education Agency on Thursday, enforcement of Governor Greg Abbotts mask ban will be dropped temporarily due to ongoing court challenges to the ban.

So far in Texas, seven counties and 48 school districts have defied the governor by ordering mask mandates, according to The Associated Press.

Alexandra is a Producer & Entertainment Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193

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Mask mandates, vaccine proof is on the rise but not everyone is on board - Yahoo Finance

The commissioners from the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 formally announced an alliance Tuesday.

The Alliance will center on a shared vision for the future governance of college athletics. For now, the Alliance will mean the three leagues can, among other things, form a voting block that will blunt the growing influence of an expanded SEC. It also allows three leagues that consider themselves like-minded to gain voting power on issues as the NCAAs influence diminishes.

Discussions at the university presidential level have been significant and give the alliance the potential to be much more meaningful. Those talks have included both regular-season scheduling and how an expanded College Football Playoff would operate.

The Big Ten appears to be manuevering to blunt the growing might of the SEC. (Photo by David Berding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

With 40 different schools, three league offices and multiple television partners stretching from coast to coast, a consensus on significant issues may be difficult to reach. But as the leagues dive further into discussions, the Alliances most ambitious reaches could include the following:

An agreement where each football team in the three conferences would play one opponent from each of the other two leagues on an annual basis. In most cases, the opponents would rotate. This could help maximize revenue in upcoming television deals for the Big Ten and Pac-12, which have expiring media rights deals in upcoming seasons. (The Big Ten deal is through the 2022 football season and the Pac-12 through the 2023 football season.)

Under such a plan, the Big Ten could drop its conference schedule from nine games to eight, and require each school to play one game against an ACC and a Pac-12 team each year. Wisconsin, for example, would play Virginia and Oregon one year, Florida State and UCLA the next. Big Ten schools would be allowed to schedule the additional non-conference games as they see fit.

If adopted, the Big Tens conference season would consist of six games within either the East or West Division and two crossover games. There are currently three crossover games.

ACC teams, which already play eight conference games, would schedule a Big Ten and a Pac-12 opponent annually.

The ACC adding value to its television rights is the tricky part, as it is stuck in a lopsided deal with ESPN until 2036 that it signed in order to obtain a television network. The Alliance is not expected to help the conference get out of the ESPN deal.

The Pac-12, which currently has nine league games, would consider dropping down to eight as well, or just use two of the three non-conference games in the Alliance.

Any Big Ten or Pac-12 team already playing Notre Dame, which has its own scheduling deal with the ACC, would be able to count the Irish as its ACC opponent.

Pac-12 members USC and Stanford have annual series with Notre Dame. Big Ten programs Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Purdue also have future series scheduled with the Irish.

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 30: Ricky Aguayo #23 of the Florida State Seminoles kicks a field goal during a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 30, 2019 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

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The new scheduling should create additional marquee games and perhaps increased television money, while potentially squeezing the SEC in non-conference scheduling.

Four ACC teams have annual games with in-state SEC rivals Clemson-South Carolina, Georgia Tech-Georgia, Florida State-Florida and Louisville-Kentucky. Those games would continue, but there would be a decided lack of available non-conference dates for other SEC teams seeking major opponents.

In terms of the College Football Playoff, the leagues appear to prefer a 12-team field like the one that has been proposed, but the Alliance wants more of a say in how that model unfolds. That current plan, which has not been agreed upon, was devised over a two-year period by a four-person group consisting of SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick. The ACC/Big Ten/Pac-12 now want more of a voice in how a 12-team playoff is built.

A possible wrinkle the group could propose would be a push for some playoff games to be controlled by conferences, not necessarily bowl games.

That would allow, say, the Big Ten to stage a playoff game at a neutral site within its footprint. That could happen inside the domed stadiums of Indianapolis and Detroit, or maybe outdoors in Cleveland or Chicago. This would replace using only traditional bowl games, which are located in the South or West.

How the playoff's television rights would be put out for bid, how many networks would be allowed to carry the games and how the teams are selected could also be addressed. The Alliance is wary of ESPN, who has exclusive rights to all SEC games starting in 2024, also having full control of the playoff. ESPN has rights to the playoff through 2025 and an exclusive negotiating window. There has long been a strong feeling within the sport that multiple networks broadcasting the playoff would be better financially and for exposure.

Exactly how much of the above becomes the official position of the Alliance remains to be seen. With this many teams and this many opinions, any plan is likely to be altered.

However, just over a month after word broke in the Houston Chronicle of Oklahoma and Texas seeking to join the SEC, the three remaining major conferences are working together and thinking boldly about what they can do going forward.

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With college football Alliance near, what could it ultimately mean for Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC? - Yahoo Sports

Retirees who limit retirement account withdrawals to RMDs could be making a mistake, according to JPMorgan Chase.

Though retirees are only required to take a certain portion of their retirement savings out as distributions each year, a study from JPMorgan Chase shows that there is likely good reason to take out more.

A withdrawal approach based solely on required minimum distributions (RMDs) not only fails to meet retirees annual income needs but can also leave money on the table at the end of their lives, the financial services firm found.

A financial advisor can help you right-size your retirement income. Find an advisor today.

Using internal data and an Employee Benefit Research Institute database, JPMorgan Chase studied 31,000 people as they approached and entered retirement between 2013 and 2018. The vast majority (84%) of the retirees who had already reached RMD age were only withdrawing the minimum. Meanwhile, 80% of retirees still had not reached RMD age were yet to take distributions from their accounts, the study found, suggesting a desire to preserve capital for later in retirement.

Retirees prudence surrounding withdrawals may be misguided, though.

The RMD approach has some clear shortcomings, JPMorgan Chases Katherine Roy and Kelly Hahn wrote. It does not generate income that supports retirees declining spending in todays dollars, a behavior that we see occurs with age. In fact, the RMD approach tends to generate more income later in retirement and can even leave a sizable account balance at age 100.

What Are RMDs?

Retirees who limit retirement account withdrawals to RMDs could be making a mistake, according to JPMorgan Chase.

An RMD is the minimum amount the government requires most retirees withdraw from their tax-advantaged retirement accounts at a certain age. In 2020, the RMD age was raised from 70.5 to 72. The JPMorgan Chase study examined data that predated this change.

While most employer-sponsored retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are subject to RMDs, owners of Roth IRAs are exempt from taking minimum annual distributions.

The following retirement accounts all come with required minimum distributions:

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An RMD is calculated by dividing a persons account balance (as of Dec. 31 of the previous year) by his current life expectancy factor, a figure set by the IRS. For example, a 75-year-old has a life expectancy factor of 22.9. If a 75-year-old retiree has $250,000 in a retirement account, he would be required to withdraw at least $10,917 from his account that year.

RMD Approach vs. Declining Consumption Strategy

Retirees who limit retirement account withdrawals to RMDs could be making a mistake, according to JPMorgan Chase.

Using an RMD approach, a retiree simply sticks to the minimum required distributions each year. This strategy does have several notable advantages over a more static technique, like the 4% rule. For one, using actuarial statistics, the RMD approach factors in a persons expectancy based on his current age; the 4% method does not. Also, by only withdrawing the minimum each year, the account owner will lessen his tax bill for the year and maintain maximum tax-deferred growth.

However, Roy and Hahn of JPMorgan Chase note that a more flexible withdrawal strategy tied to actual spending behaviors of retirees is more effective for meeting income needs and lowering the possibility of dying with a considerable account balance left over.

Assuming people spend more earlier in retirement than during their latter years, a withdrawal strategy should match this declining consumption, even if it means taking more than the required minimum distribution, Roy and Hahn wrote.

On the consumption front, we believe the most effective way to withdraw wealth is to support actual spending behaviors, as spending tends to decline in todays dollars with age, they wrote. Unlike the RMD approach, reflecting actual spending allows retirees to support higher spending early in retirement and achieve greater utility of their savings.

In comparing the RMD approach to the declining consumption strategy, JPMorgan Chase found that a 72-year-old with $100,000 in retirement savings could spend more money each year using the declining consumption strategy approach until age 87 when the RMD strategy would support higher spending.

Meanwhile, the same retiree would still have more than $20,000 in his account by the time he turns 100 if he limited his distributions to the minimum amount. A 72-year-old using the declining consumption approach would only have a couple thousand left over by age 100.

Though RMD approach may increase a retirees odds of being able to leave money to loved ones, a retiree whos more concerned with meeting his own needs would likely benefit from an option tied to his declining consumption later in life.

Bottom Line

A whopping 84% of retirees who reached RMD age were limiting their retirement account withdrawals to the minimums that are required, a JPMorgan Chase study found. This method may leave a retiree with not enough annual income than what is needed. A withdrawal approach more closely aligned with a retirees spending needs will provide more retirement income and lessen the chances that retirement funds will outlast the retiree.

Tips for Retirement Saving

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84% of Retirees Are Making This RMD Mistake - Yahoo Finance

A new survey from MissionSquare Research Institute reveals the amount of strain COVID-19 has put on the education system 37% of the K-12 workforce says that the pandemic has them considering changing jobs.

The teachers are not okay, thats for sure, Rivka Liss-Levinson, senior research manager at MissionSquare, told Yahoo Finance. She says that many U.S. teachers are at their breaking point.

Key findings from the survey show how much impact working through the COVID-19 pandemic has on teachers compared to their non-teaching counterparts in government jobs.

The K-12 workforce is more likely than other government workers to feel stressed (52% vs. 35%), burnt out (52% vs. 34%), and anxious (34% vs. 29%).

K-12 employees are significantly more likely than other government workers to say that the pandemic has negatively impacted their finances (50% vs. 35%).

59% percent of the K-12 workforce say the risks of working during the COVID-19 pandemic are not on par with their compensation. This sentiment is higher than among the overall state and local workforce (43%).

K-12 employees are significantly more likely than other government employees to say that COVID-19 has impacted the nature of their job (83% vs. 71%) and that it has been difficult to adjust to these changes (42% vs. 22%).

39% percent of K-12 employees are working more hours than before the pandemic because of extra time required for online/remote work (73%), social distancing protocols/limitations on class size (45%), and increased meetings and communications with parents/students (42%) or with other school staff (41%).

90% of K-12 employees are concerned about students falling behind due to the pandemic, with 34% extremely concerned.

77% of K-12 employees say that internet access/speed for students learning from home has been an issue during the pandemic, whereas 69% say school technology capabilities have been an issue.

Liss-Levinson describes the statistics as alarming, given that teacher shortages have prevailed for years in an industry that can ill afford resignations.

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Even if half of those teachers actually did [leave the profession], that is a really alarming number given that we already have all of these shortages already, said Liss-Levinson. We were dealing with [a] storage as we already were dealing with teachers being on strike before the pandemic and not feeling like they were being fairly compensated. And its like, you have to wonder, is this the breaking point? she asks.

FILE - Teachers and staff protest outside Franklin D. Roosevelt High School as they call for more and better COVID-19 testing and precautions, Oct. 2, 2020, in New York. All New York City public school teachers and other staffers will have to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, officials said Monday, Aug. 23, 2021, as the nation's largest school system prepares for classes to start next month. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Despite the ongoing challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, Liss-Levinson tells Yahoo Finance that teachers are still incredibly proud of their work during these difficult times.

They feel like that people are understanding more about the importance of what they do. So that was really nice to see, she said.

The survey consisted of commentary from more than 1,200 state and local government employees fielded by Greenwald Research. It is the third in a series done on the impact of COVID on the state and local government workforce.

Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.

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37% of the K-12 workforce is considering a job change: Survey - Yahoo Finance

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has become one of the NFL's biggest COVID-19 vaccine supporters. He wants his team to lead the NFL in vaccination percentage, not just because being vaccinated is a smart, safe thing to do, but because it makes it a lot less likely that Cowboys players will miss significant time due to the league's COVID-19 protocols. And that gives the Cowboys a better chance to win.

Jones is continuing to speak freely about the vaccine, which he did during his weekly interview with 105.9 The Fan on Tuesday. He emphasized that he wants the Cowboys to be an example of teamwork in the NFL and in society as a whole.

Jones was also asked what he would say to players like Cole Beasley, who are adamantly refusing to get the vaccine and say that the NFL is forcing the vaccine on them.

Via the Dallas Morning News:

I dont really say anything here. To me, this is a team game. We rely on each other to play. We rely on each other to win. We have to have each other. Theres 11 guys out there at any one time to be trite about it. And you have to count on the other guy being available. And you certainly dont want to be doing anything that causes your teammates to not be available. All of that comes to the same conclusion as far as what you agreed to be as far as a player, be a part of a team."

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants all of his players to get vaccinated. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

Jones made it clear that for him, getting the vaccine is about making sure you're there for your team when they need you. But if training camp has been any indication, teams will be having problems with that all season.

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For example, the New England Patriots have been without QB Cam Newton this week due to a "misunderstanding" with his daily COVID-19 testing, which is only required for unvaccinated players. The Buffalo Bills will reportedly be without four players, including Beasley, for five days this week because they had close contact with a team trainer who tested positive. Unvaccinated players who have close contact with someone who tests positive are required to have five days of negative tests before they're allowed to return to the team facility.

Not even the Cowboys have been immune. They're missing CeeDee Lamb and three other players, as well as a coach, due to COVID-19 protocols. The entire team has been operating virtually since the weekend.

The Cowboys announced Saturday that 93 percent of their players are vaccinated. Jerry likely won't rest until that number climbs to 100.

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Jerry Jones says getting COVID-19 vaccine is about team accountability: 'We rely on each other to win' - Yahoo Sports

Karim Hijazi is CEO of Prevailion, a cyber intelligence company that monitors and detects active threats by infiltrating hacker networks. Hijazi is also a former director of intelligence for Mandiant and a former contractor for the US intelligence community.

Ransomware has taken the spotlight lately following a string of brazen attacks on major U.S. companies.

And as bad as this kind of malware is, businesses and investors can expect to face a growing number of sophisticated cyber threats that could be even more disruptive and difficult to prevent.

Here are five emerging threats to watch:

Tani Currin holds an "anti-selfie" mask during the Black Hat USA 2014 hacker conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, August 5, 2014. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Wipers are a type of malware that can be even more destructive than ransomware because they are designed not for extortion they're for the sole purpose of erasing data.

Wipers havent been widely used up to today, but that is likely to change. As nation-states become more active and emboldened in cyberspace, we can expect to see more digital clashes that involve destructive cyber attacks.

There is nation-level precedent: Iran has been implicated in an ongoing series of wiper attacks against Israel amid an outbreak of cyber skirmishes between the two countries that escalated in 2020.

Iran has also been implicated in other wiper attacks over the years, including the 2012 Shamoon attack on Saudi Aramco, which destroyed over 30,000 computers, and the 2014 wiper attack on Las Vegas Sands Corp. North Korea also used wiper malware in its infamous attack on Sony Pictures back in November 2014.

And wiper malware is an equal playing field, meaning that it will not be limited to state actors. While wipers have less financial value for criminals, they are a potent weapon for terrorists, political activists, and lone wolves who are only interested in causing damage.

The logo of Aramco is seen as security personnel stand before the start of a press conference by Aramco at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia November 3, 2019. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

The emerging field of artificial intelligence (AI) could be a future gold mine for cybercriminals and nation-state hacking groups.

AI will lead to smarter and autonomous malware that can adapt to changing circumstances and learn how to improve its tactics to pull off more advanced attacks.

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Researchers have also recently demonstrated that early-stage AI is already significantly better than humans at launching phishing attacks and crafting viral tweets and social media phishing that can infect users.

It will also make it easier for hackers to hijack online accounts by predicting passwords and beating CAPTCHAs.

While deepfake videos are well known by now, an even more compelling use case for cybercriminals will be audio deepfakes which impersonate CEOs to trick employees into sharing sensitive information or authorizing payments.

Furthermore, deepfakes could potentially trigger political crises and incriminate innocent people.

A woman in Washington, DC, views a manipulated video on January 24, 2019, that changes what is said by President Trump and former president Obama, illustrating how deepfake technology can deceive viewers. (Photo by Rob Lever/AFP)

For the last 25 years, most cyber attacks have targeted software rarely venturing below the operating system level of a device.

That is now beginning to change.

Hackers are figuring out how to target firmware with malware in order to gain God-level access to these devices and even physically sabotage them. A recent survey found that 83% of enterprises have already started to experience firmware attacks.

So what is firmware?

For high-functioning electronics, like a computer or smartphone, firmware is the code that runs beneath the operating system and is the bridge between the software and the hardware.

However, it is even more critical for lower-functioning embedded devices (i.e., the Internet of Things or Industrial Internet of Things) where firmware is often used in place of an operating system.

In a nutshell, if a hacker can gain control over the firmware, they can control the device. That is especially alarming for the embedded devices and industrial controllers that are used in safety-critical systems like the power grid, water treatment plants, nuclear plants, manufacturing, oil and gas pipelines, etc.

Downtown Los Angeles is seen behind an electricity pylon through the morning marine layer in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 20, 2019. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson)

An attack on the firmware of those devices could lead to dramatic incidents of physical sabotage. For instance, this is how a hacker could trigger a months-long power outage, disrupt the water supply, cripple manufacturing plants, and even brick gas station pumps, ATMs, hospital ventilators, and office buildings.

These types of attacks are not as far-fetched as they may sound: In 2016, Russian hackers used a special malware called CrashOverride to disrupt Ukraines power grid.

Supply chain attacks have become a buzzy term as of late, thanks to the high-profile breaches of SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange, Kaseya, and Codecov.

The reality is that we are still in the early stages of supply chain exploitation, and these attacks will become more frequent, sophisticated, and brazen in the coming years.

Advanced nation-states like Russia and China will go further by breaching more sensitive, backbone IT services think ISPs, chipmakers, app stores, security tools, source code libraries, etc. to better infiltrate and persist inside of critical companies and organizations in the U.S.

Microsoft President Brad Smith testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 23, 2021. Drew Angerer/Pool via REUTERS

Cybercriminals will do the same with lower-hanging fruit, such as retail systems and e-commerce platforms, and have already been busily exploiting supply chains: Various Magecart gangs have wreaked havoc on e-commerce sites by exploiting the open-source Magento platform.

In the coming years, hackers will also infiltrate millions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices (from smart thermostats to cars) by exploiting their software/firmware supply chains, such as source code libraries or the update processes of key vendors.

Far from being a minor inconvenience, these attacks could lead to widespread physical disruption if the hackers use that access to disable the devices.

While many consumers may be somewhat underwhelmed by the current 5G rollout, internet connectivity is undergoing dramatic changes that will take time to develop.

This is just the beginning of a new future where wired-connection Internet speeds will be available via wireless delivery methods, ranging from cellular towers to satellites and high-altitude vehicles.

The capacity for higher, faster wireless speeds also has a downside: Hackers will learn to exploit the higher bandwidth, and we can expect to see a wide range of attacks such as increasingly powerful botnets, data theft at a massive scale, and device-on-device attacks.

Botnets are large networks of enslaved devices which a hacker uses to disrupt services and Internet connections by overwhelming them with a flood of bogus data requests. In 2016, a college student was able to knock out a huge slice of the Internet by creating a simple botnet consisting of thousands of insecure IoT devices.

And since future data transfer speeds will only continue to multiply (5G is already expected to be 10 times that of 4G speeds), these botnets will become exponentially more powerful.

Future botnet attacks could be used to disrupt Internet services for a large percentage of the population. They could endanger public safety by blocking emergency services throughout a state. They could even hold entire countries for ransom, similar to the 2016 attack on Liberia.

An example of a botnet operation. (FBI.gov)

Data theft will also get a boost. The higher data transfer speeds will make it easier for hackers to harvest and exfiltrate large quantities of stolen data before victims are able to shut them down. This means data breaches will become significantly more expensive for companies and harder to recover from.

As devices become smarter and more autonomous in the wake of these greater connection speeds, hackers will also leverage these capabilities to attack other devices. For instance, a hacker who breaches a smart traffic light could then use that access to hack into every car that passes by.

Similarly, an infected self-driving car could be used to infect other vehicles within range of its radio signal. A compromised drone could be weaponized to sniff out other connected devices as it flies overhead and spread an infection over vast distances.

A prototype of Goodle's own self-driving vehicle is seen during a media preview of Google's prototype autonomous vehicles in Mountain View, California September 29, 2015. (REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage)

This tactic could also be used by hackers for targeting high-level executives and government officials as well as for carrying out more sophisticated island hopping attacks to breach corporate networks through overlooked transient connections between various smart devices.

The bottom line is that cybersecurity will become increasingly complicated in the coming years, as hackers develop greater capabilities to launch attacks. Ransomware will continue to be a serious problem for the foreseeable future, but there are many new attacks that are equally concerning and are likely to catch many companies off-guard.

Karim Hijazi is CEO of Prevailion, a cyber intelligence company that monitors and detects active threats by infiltrating hacker networks. Hijazi is also a former director of intelligence for Mandiant and a former contractor for the US intelligence community.

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5 emerging cybersecurity threats facing the U.S. - Yahoo Finance

Citi strategist warns of a 10% September plunge why he could be right

Wall Street experts are starting to worry about the surging stock market.

While investing is as easy these days as using a smartphone app, the markets record-high hitting price action is prompting observers like Citigroups chief US equity strategist, Tobias Levkovich, to warn about difficulties ahead.

For months, Levkovich has been confident the current situation isnt sustainable. But now, hes predicting an imminent fall. If hes right, investors are sure to feel some pain in the coming months.

And if some act fast, there could be plenty of opportunities as well.

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Levkovich has been warning about a correction for months now.

Hitting new highs, leading to new highs means markets never correct, which doesnt quite make sense, Levkovich told the hosts of CNBCs Closing Bell in June.

That same month, Levkovich wrote a note to Citi clients expressing that the company would be maintaining its cautious view over the short term.

In the letter, he adamantly stuck to his year-end target of 4,000 for the S&P 500, which was 5% below the indexs level at the time. At current levels, that target represents downside of up to 10%.

And hes not the only one worrying about the future. Just a few months before that note, Suze Orman was predicting a slide, too.

But now, Levkovich is anticipating the correction could come as soon as September.

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Whats got Levkovich so concerned about the markets near future?

There are four factors at play, he says: the Federal Reserves discussion on tapering, rising inflation, pressure on profit margins and corporate tax hikes.

The Fed has been purchasing Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities rapidly at about $80 billion per month and $40 billion per month, respectively.

It said back in June that it would continue that practice until substantial further progress had been made toward the Feds employment and price stability goals.

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Some analysts are anticipating that may happen sooner than later.

This worries Levkovich because a significant part of the S&P 500s move back to record highs is due to the Feds easy-money policies and abundance of capital flooding the market.

The Fed had previously committed to keeping interest rates close to 0% until March 2024, but with the threat of inflation rising higher than previously anticipated, observers are now preparing for as many as two rate hikes in 2023.

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President Joe Biden has proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, which opponents worry could disrupt the countrys fragile economic recovery and a big cut to earnings as much as 13% according to some estimates.

While evidence suggests that corporate tax increases have been far from disastrous to U.S. stock performance historically, profits will certainly be constrained.

Finally, companies are facing even narrower margins these days as consumer prices continue to bump up against 13-year highs. And as legendary investor Warren Buffett once said, Inflation acts as a gigantic corporate tapeworm.

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The combination of those four risk factors has Levkovich calling for a double-digit slide stock market slide in the coming weeks.

That being said, he adds that not every industry will be as impacted by a downturn.

Investors cant afford to be complacent about their stock choices. When deciding between an asset that promises value or growth, Levkovich suggests investors should prioritize value.

Its a strategy that the Oracle of Omaha Warren Buffett relies on even in a bull market.

And while Levkovich does anticipate growth will see a resurgence later this year, hes not entirely sold on it as a well-rounded long-term investing strategy.

If you think of the last decade or so, youve had growth outperforming value tremendously so investors are conditioned to buy growth, Levkovich told the Closing Bell in July. And as a result, one of the things I worry about is the idea that value is kind of a dalliance, its a fling, and then they go back to their true love: growth.

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All this means is that a red-hot stock market has made it easy for investors until now.

Going forward, youll have to be more intentional about where you invest.

Borrowing Buffetts strategy, look for companies that offer clear value, regardless of the state of the economy.

One asset Bill Gates is partial to is investing in farmland. Over the years, agriculture has even been shown to perform better than stocks and real estate.

Levkovich has warned that while the overall index may take a hit, individual stock pickers can still do well. But individual stocks can get expensive. With the help of a popular investing app, you can buy fractional shares of big-name stocks to get a slice of their profits.

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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