Category Archives: Technology

The end of passwords

For decades, weve needed passwords to do things online. New forms of authentication will finally let us get rid of them for good. Instead, well use a link sent via email, a push notification, or a biometric scan. Not only are these methods easieryou dont have to remember your facebut they tend to be more secure.

The pandemic brought unprecedented investment in genomic sequencing and dramatically expanded the capacity for this type of monitoring around the world. Better surveillance has allowed scientists to track the spread of the covid virus and to quickly spot and warn about new variants.

Were using more renewable power than ever. But what happens when the sun sets or the wind stops? Grid operators need a way to store electricity for later. New iron-based batteries may be up to the task. Theyre made using abundant materials and could be cheaper and more practical than other types of grid storage.

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10 Breakthrough Technologies 2022 - MIT Technology Review

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: LYV), the worlds leading live entertainment company, announced today that Joe Berchtold, Live Nation Entertainments President and Chief Financial Officer, will be presenting at Morgan Stanleys Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on Thursday, March 10, 2022 at 2:25 p.m. PT and at Deutsche Banks 30th Annual Media, Internet and Telecom Conference on Monday, March 14, 2022 at 10:35 a.m. PT.

A live webcast of both events will be accessible from the "News / Events" section of the companys website at investors.livenationentertainment.com.

About Live Nation Entertainment

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the worlds leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts and Live Nation Media & Sponsorship. For additional information, visit http://www.livenationentertainment.com.

Contacts

Investors: IR@livenation.com; Media: Media@livenation.com

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Live Nation Entertainment To Participate In Morgan Stanley's Technology, Media And Telecom Conference And Deutsche Bank's Media, Internet And Telecom...

WASHINGTON -U.S. Senators Roy Blunt (Mo.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.) today announcedthe introduction of their No Facial Recognition at the IRS Act,a bipartisan bill to ban the use of biometric recognition technologyby the IRS. The introduction of Blunt and Merkley's bill comes less than amonth after the senators sent a letter to the agency demanding it immediatelystop the use of biometric recognition and data collection on Americantaxpayers.

"It is completely unacceptable for the IRS to demandAmericans submit sensitive biometric data to access basic government servicesand tax information," said Blunt. "Given the IRS's past failures toprotect taxpayer data, Americans should be rightly concerned about trusting theagency with their facial recognition data. I appreciate Senator Merkley'spartnership and encourage all of our colleagues to join us in our effort topermanently protect taxpayers' privacy and security."

"The IRS's decision to walk back its use of facialrecognition technology was the right decision to make, but a decision thatshouldn't have to be made," said Merkley. "Facial recognitiontechnology is not perfect. There are reports that this technology oftenmisidentifies women and people of color. This process is burdensome, invasive,inconsistent, and unnecessary--taxpayers deserve to have their privacyprotected. I look forward to continuing my work with Senator Blunt to ensurethe IRS will be permanently banned from using this intrusive technology."

The No Facial Recognition at the IRS Act will:

Blunt and Merkley have also led bipartisan efforts to ensureAmerican citizens know their right to opt out of federal programs that usesensitive biometric data. Last month, the two senators led a letter addressingthe right for Americans to opt out of the use of facial recognition technologyduring the U.S. Customs and Border Protection entry/exit process.

The full text of the bill can be found here.

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Blunt, Merkley Introduce Legislation Banning the Use of Facial Recognition Technology at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) | US Senator Roy Blunt of...

MINNEAPOLIS, February 28, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR), a leading investment bank is pleased to announce a record year for the technology investment banking group with strong results driven by robust M&A advisory and equity capital markets transactions. To further capitalize on the momentum in our business, Piper Sandler is proud to announce the addition of managing director, Joe Morgan, and director, Jack Robbins. The team will report to Steven Schmidt, head of technology investment banking and will be based in Piper Sandlers Orange County office.

"We are thrilled with the momentum in our technology investment banking group and remain focused on providing the highest quality investment banking services for the worlds leading technology growth companies. Our success is being widely recognized and helping us attract top talent on an ongoing basis. We look forward to welcoming Joe and Jack to the team," said Steven Schmidt, head of technology investment banking at Piper Sandler. "The addition of these talented and long-tenured bankers will add even more momentum to the significant growth we have seen over the past two years."

Joe Morgan was previously the co-head of technology investment banking at D.A. Davidson. In his time at D.A. Davidson, he executed on the firms growth initiative in technology increasing headcount and revenue more than five and ten-fold respectively. Additionally, while at Davidson, Morgan completed over 60 M&A and capital raising assignments for public and private companies comprising nearly $26 billion in value. Morgan has long had a focus and passion for vertical market software, and he will be narrowing his focus to service his clients in this important segment. He earned a bachelor of arts from the University of California, Berkeley.

Jack Robbins has been a technology banker for nearly a decade and was most recently a director at D.A. Davidson in Orange County where he worked closely with Joe across a range of vertical software mandates. Prior to D.A. Davidson, Robbins spent time at both CriticalPoint Partners and Goldman Sachs TMT Group. Prior to his banking career Robbins spent four years in the Marine Corps as an infantry officer. Robbins earned a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Arizona and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia.

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"We have always admired the Piper Sandler brand and platform and have a great deal of respect for the quality of companies that choose to work with them. Piper Sandler is a full-service firm with strong capabilities in M&A advisory, equity capital markets, debt capital markets and restructuring services," said Joe Morgan. "We are excited to join a team and platform with a strong focus on delivering the highest quality services and senior attention our clients deserve."

Piper Sandlers technology investment banking group advises clients in application, infrastructure and vertical-market software, internet and digital media, communications, networking and security technologies, gaming, services, transportation technology and financial technology.

ABOUT PIPER SANDLERPiper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is a leading investment bank driven to help clients Realize the Power of Partnership. Securities brokerage and investment banking services are offered in the U.S. through Piper Sandler & Co., member SIPC and NYSE; in Europe through Piper Sandler Ltd., authorized and regulated by the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority; and in Hong Kong through Piper Sandler Hong Kong Limited, authorized and regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission. Alternative asset management and fixed income advisory services are offered through separately registered advisory affiliates.

2022. Since 1895. Piper Sandler Companies. 800 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402-7036

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220228005767/en/

Contacts

Pamela SteenslandTel: 612 303-8185pamela.steensland@psc.com

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Piper Sandlers Technology Investment Banking Group Realizes Record Year and Further Expands with the Addition of Joe Morgan and Jack Robbins - Yahoo...

Several AI-driven innovations are scheduled for release this year.

"Agio is not only keeping up with the changing managed IT and cybersecurity landscapewe're leading a transformation of the category to deliver a more secure, reliable, and resilient service to our clients," said Bart McDonough, Founder and CEO at Agio. "We always strive to be better than yesterday, and that mentality has propelled us to where we are today. Receiving this award two years in a row is proof of that."

Agio utilizes applied artificial intelligence and machine learning to remove friction and improve service quality in client technology experiences. By pairing predictive intelligence with human brilliance, Agio is building an MSP that emphasizes identifying and fixing issues before they become operational (or impact clients) versus how many service tickets are opened and closed.

"When we examined the traditional MSP business model, we saw that providers were incentivized by the number of support tickets that closed," said Jean McCabe, Chief Innovation Officer at Agio. "Clearly that isn't the best model from a client's perspective, so we're flipping the model to minimize tickets and maximize availability."

McCabe added that the firm has several AI-driven innovations scheduled for release this year that are designed to remove service delivery friction from the client experience and improve system security across the entire Agio client base. Read more about how Agio is transforming the traditional MSP model to deliver more secure, reliable, and resilient information systems to their clients.

About AgioAgio is a hybrid cybersecurity and managed IT organization equipping financial services with next-generation cyber protection and technology support. Specifically, across the alternative investment space, Agio has extensive experience building, maintaining, optimizing, and securing IT infrastructure for the world's most prestigious hedge fund, private equity, and asset management firms. With more than 300 employees, our culture prioritizes frequent and timely communication to provide unrivaled, highly personalized service across all our solutions including managed detection and response, 360 cybersecurity programs, virtual CISO (vCISO) support, technology hosting, monitoring, management, global service desk, desktop as a service, disaster prevention, and recovery. Agio is headquartered in New York, NY, with additional offices around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.agio.com.

Media Contact:Christine DetrisDirector, Content Marketing+1 610.762.4643[emailprotected]

SOURCE Agio

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Agio Named Most Innovative Technology Firm for 2nd Consecutive Year by HFM US Technology - PRNewswire

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) have taken the internet world by storm over the past year or two. When we think of NFTs today, we mostly think of the digital cartoons that have saturated our social media screens apes, punks and everything in-between. There have also been massive NFT art sales, epitomized by this eras answer to Damien Hirst: Beeple, who famously sold an NFT art work for $69 million in March 2021.

However, there is a sense that NFT technology has only scratched the surface of its true potential. The fact that some NFTs are apparently worth millions of dollars is all part of the financial bubble around cryptocurrencies that were currently living through. Speculation and status are driving the NFT market today. The bubble will likely burst at some point, though, so the question is: what else can NFTs do? Do they have legitimate use cases beyond digital collectibles and art investment?

To answer these questions, we first need to understand how NFTs are built.

NFTs are largely based on a single protocol: ERC-721. Its an Ethereum standard that was released in early 2018, based on code written by Dieter Shirley, the founder of a digital collectibles product called CryptoKitties. From about December 2017 on, CryptoKitties set the template for the NFT craze of today, with the non-fungible felines selling for up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The non-fungible part of NFTs simply means that each NFT is unique unlike, say, a cryptocurrency like ETH, which is fungible (one ETH is exactly the same as another ETH). This uniqueness is only specified on a blockchain though, it is not necessarily legally binding. ERC-721 is how NFT ownership is claimed on the Ethereum blockchain, via a smart contract.

ERC-721 is not the only Ethereum standard that developers can use, but it is the one most suitable to build NFTs with. Other standards include ERC-20 (to keep track of fungible tokens), ERC-777 (another standard for fungible tokens, but this one enables more complex interactions), and ERC-1155 (a multitoken standard that is fungibility-agnostic).

After ERC-721, ERC-1155 is the next most suitable for NFTs but it tends to be used more for gaming applications. For example, in a game you might spend money to buy a mix of fungible and non-fungible digital assets (a magic sword, a piece of clothing, etc).

What ERC-721 does is implement an API for tokens within smart contracts, which specifies ownership for each unique NFT and allows it to be bought and sold. ERC-721 is a fairly basic protocol and has limited functionality. As the NFT marketplace OpenSea described it, it [ERC-721] provides a mapping of unique identifiers (each of which represents a single asset) to addresses, which represent the owner of that identifier, as well as a permissioned way to transfer these assets, using the transferFrom method.

The limited functionality of ERC-721 has prompted some crypto critics to note that the standard risks being marginalized by platform players, like OpenSea. Moxie Marlinspike, the founder of encrypted instant messaging service Signal, recently experimented with NFT development and pointed out that OpenSea has already begun to add proprietary features that extend ERC-721. Protocols cant move as quickly as platforms, he commented on Twitter, so opensea iterates as a platform to enable all the things missing from erc721 (royalties, bids, auctions, social features, etc).

This, of course, is the same pattern that we saw in Web 2.0 where open protocols like RSS were eventually pushed aside by proprietary technologies (Facebooks news feed, Twitters feed, etc).

Regardless of whether OpenSea and other centralized NFT platforms eventually take control of the NFT market (if they havent already), NFTs seem poised for expansion. Four years ago, OpenSea described itself as a peer-to-peer marketplace for rare digital items. CryptoKitties and CryptoPunks (the first popular set of NFT profile images for social media) were among the leading NFT collections at that time.

Incidentally, the original CryptoPunks were created before ERC-721 existed, so they were developed by modifying the ERC-20 code just enough to produce non-fungible items. Theyve since been wrapped into ERC-721 tokens, allowing them to be traded in marketplaces like OpenSea.

Fast forward to February 2022, and OpenSea describes itself as the NFT marketplace with everything for everyone. In an introductory video, OpenSea defines NFTs as any digital unique thing that can be bought, sold, or traded online. Examples include art, virtual experiences, your favorite bands demo, virtual property.

Despite expanding the definition of NFTs over time to include everything, OpenSeas top five collections as of today are all collectibles.

So when will we see a breakthrough non-collectible NFT? One person more qualified than most to answer that question is William Entriken, the project lead when ERC-721 was created and now an independent consultant for blockchain projects. In a recent interview, Entriken said that the next wave of NFT growth will be driven by influencers of non-technology things makeup, fashion, art, [] musicians. He thinks these new NFTs wont get caught up in a speculative frenzy.

Right now, everythings like talking about dollars and Coinbase and money and trading, he said. Trading doesnt really apply so much to some of these new NFTs that were going to see, because theres not really monetary value.

He didnt mention specific examples, but one I can think of is NFTs from musicians. Buying an NFT from a musician youre a fan of might confer certain benefits to you that only you and other super-fans are interested in advance tickets to their concerts, a behind-the-scenes blog, etc. As Substack author Dan Fowler nicely put it, in this scenario an NFT is predominantly a vehicle in which to sell rights.

This is already starting to happen with early adopter musicians. Steve Aoki, a popular DJ, is launching an Ethereum NFT membership club called A0K1VERSE. According to crypto news site Decrypt, holders of Aokis NFT Passport will gain access to various benefits, including live and metaverse concerts and events.

Its a fascinating time for NFTs. Firstly, because there is a threat of centralization by NFT platforms like OpenSea (I put that word in air quotes only because Web3 proponents claim to be anti-centralization). Secondly, and in my view more importantly, the true market for NFTs would seem to be more of a rights-based use case rather than the speculation-based one were experiencing right now. Creators selling an NFT to confer rights makes a lot more economic sense to me than buying a digital cartoon or artwork and hoping you can on-sell it to another sucker for more money.

NFTs need substance by offering real value to really take hold in our online culture. The speculation were seeing now in NFTs is hopefully a temporary sideshow.

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Can NFT Technology Expand Beyond Digital Apes and Punks? The New Stack - thenewstack.io

Tenable's comprehensive OT security solution offers full visibility, asset management, threat detection, and vulnerability management and configuration control. It helps companies at different stages of the visibility, security, and control model understand what is in their OT environment. It provides complete visibility into a converged attack surface, enabling organizations to gain situational awareness. Tenable.ot provides holistic visibility across OT, IT, and IoT assets in an environment and groups them according to workstation, controller, site, make, and model, and shows their communication paths. Its comprehensive OT security solution:

Senior industry analyst Sankara Narayanan said, "Tenable.ot integrates with IT security tools from other companies to create a best-in-class ecosystem of trust. As a result, it disrupts attack paths on the IT and OT side and offers better security, access, and more investment value and visibility, anywhere."

Tenable's active querying technology looks at the network and safely and effectively queries devices in their native languages without disrupting them or industrial operations. The technology also gathers more than network monitoring information, identifies devices not communicating on a network, and reveals the details on the health of each device. Tenable.ot and Tenable.ad identify Active Directory misconfigurations and threats to stop ransomware attacks in OT environments.

"Tenable's comprehensive, unified IT-OT security can now stop the lateral creep of attacks from happening in converged OT infrastructures that require protection beyond OT," explained Sankara Narayanan. For its strong overall performance, Tenable earned Frost & Sullivan's 2022 North American Technology Innovation Leadership Award in the industrial cybersecurity market.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed a product with innovative features and functionality that is gaining rapid acceptance in the market. The award recognizes the quality of the solution and the customer value enhancements it enables.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analystscompare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & SullivanFor six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:

Claudia ToscanoP: 1.956.533.5915E: [emailprotected]

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

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Frost & Sullivan Commends Tenable for Enabling Comprehensive Operational Technology Cybersecurity in Rapidly Converging IT-OT Environments with...

Mitsuo Iso already presented some fascinating and unusual uses of technology in his previous anime "Den-noh Coil," but Iso also takes advantage of the advancements of technology and the rise of social media these past 15 years to make "the Orbital Children" a painfully accurate portrayal of our relationship with technology. For one, there's the commercialization of space and the ton of sponsors seen on the space station. Like "Ad Astra" putting an Applebee's on the Moon, "The Orbital Children" features a McDonald's vending machine, a space station sponsored by Google, and space suits from Uniqlo.

Likewise, the show heavily explores how technology has become socially ingrained in our lives one of the kids is an influencer with an obsession of reaching 100 million followers at any cost, even filming herself suffocating to death because it would be very exciting and even physically ingrained in us, showing wearable smart technology that turns the palm of your hand into a phone, and microchip brain implants that help the moon-born kids survive in orbit.

While many anime and live-action shows and films deal with our dependence on technology, "The Orbital Children" stands out by not focusing on the toxicity of things like commercial space travel or the use of social media as an inherently bad thing. Rather, they are tools with both positive and negative sides to them. Likewise, the show makes an effort to gradually explore how these pieces of tech are still bound to human fallibility. No matter how cool or revolutionary, they are not without flaws, and a big part of what makes the show fun is seeing the kids have to deal with the limitations of the tech. Even the way the kids interact with social media and other technology (everyone has a personal drone in the future) feels natural and relatable without ever feeling the need to mock them. Even the protagonist, a little edgelord wannabe hacker, is relatable and easy to root for.

It is truly a joy to see the way "The Orbital Children" manages to encompass dozens of themes and plots into a tight six-episode narrative without ever feeling disjointed or overwhelming. It goes from being a disaster film about surviving in space and having to manually decompress space suits, to more sci-fi concepts like creating an AI superintelligence and even philosophical extradimensional ideology battles against AI about the difference between humans and humanity, all while still delivering a fun kids-centric adventure that offers legitimate thrills without feeling cheap or overwhelming. The result feels like a classic Spielberg adventure mixed with the philosophical science writing of Carl Sagan, aided by spectacular Zero-G movement animation, as well as a rousing score by Rei Ishizuka which feels evocative of John Williams.

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The Orbital Children Is A Complex, Thrilling Sci-Fi Adventure About Technology And Transhumanism - /Film

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned intrusive worker surveillance technology and artificial intelligence risk spiralling out of control without stronger regulation to protect workers.

According to research conducted by the TUC, most workers say they have experienced surveillance in the past year and overwhelmingly support stronger regulation.

The computer scandal that saw some sub-postmasters wrongly jailed must be a turning point on uncritical use of worker-monitoring tech, the union organisation said.

The Post Office scandal must be a turning point, said TUC general secretary Frances OGrady. Nobody should have their livelihood taken away by technology.

The TUC also warned technologies could lead to widespread discrimination, work intensification, and unfair treatment if left unchecked.

Employers are delegating serious decisions to algorithms, such as recruitment, promotions, and sometimes even sackings, OGrady said.

The TUC said surveillance can include monitoring of emails and files, webcams on work computers, tracking of when and how much a worker is typing, calls made, and movements made by workers.

According to the TUC, the creeping role of AI and tech-driven workplace surveillance is now spreading beyond the gig economy into the rest of the labour market.

AI-powered technologies are even being used to analyse facial expressions, tone of voice, and accents to assess candidates suitability for roles, the report said.

The TUC is calling for a statutory duty to consult trade unions before an employer introduces the use of AI and automated decision-making systems, alongside digital rights to improve transparency around the use of surveillance technology.

Workers must be properly consulted on the use of AI and be protected from its punitive ways of working, OGrady insisted. Its time for ministers to bring forward the long-awaited Employment Bill to give workers a right to disconnect and properly switch off outside of working hours.

A Government spokesperson said: The Government is wholeheartedly committed to improving and upholding workers rights.

The UK has world-leading data protection laws, and the Information Commissioner has tough powers to investigate and fine companies which breach an employees right to privacy.

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Unions call for regulation to protect workers from surveillance technology - E&T Magazine

Partnership brings clients total SaaS-based solution at reduced cost, minimal manual processes, better ESG compliance and anywhere workspace via financial data structuring, process automation and big data analytics.

ARTA: Break Barriers for Greatness

HONG KONG, Feb. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- ARTA TechFin (00279.HK) ("ARTA") and Atlanfic Technology ("Atlanfic"), a FinTech solution provider, today announced a strategic partnership which will offer licensed investment managers and family offices a SaaS-based total, automated, anywhere asset management solution.

ARTA TechFin (00279.HK) and Atlanfic Technology today announced a strategic partnership which will offer licensed investment managers and family offices a SaaS-based total, automated, anywhere asset management solution. (Left: Mr. Eddie Lau, Chief Executive Officer of ARTA TechFin; Right: Mr. Guo Dan from Atlanfic Technology)

logo

The partnership aims to standardize current fragmented financial data structures and automate labour-intensive and manually-based front-to-back business workflow. The product will enable investment managers to save cost and time on business management and reporting, focusing on what they do best: investment management and capital raising. Key advantages will include:

Cost-efficient: full front-to-back-office workflow in one SaaS solution; goodbye to multiple systems and fees

Automated: replace manual and repetitive processes, earn more from instant savings on working time, office space, staff headcount

Anytime/Anywhere: access real-time reports and workflow status for managers, investors, stakeholders; no more delays in update and reporting

ESG: reduce carbon-footprint, enhance investor transparency, make starting fund management business more accessible

Technology research, development, and engineering at Atlanfic will be led by Mr. Guo Dan ("Guo"). Mr Guo was one of the founding members of Baidu, Inc in 2000, having served as Senior Director heading Baidu's Engineering Department. Guo said today: "Atlanfic aspires to resolve clients' pain points and improve the user experience through technology innovation such as data structuring, process automation and big data analytics".

Mr. Eddie Lau, Chief Executive Officer of ARTA TechFin said today, "ARTA TechFin aspires to build the next generation of financial services. This ARTA-Atlanfic partnership forms the foundation of revolutionary transformation for our clients. ARTA initiatives will also include blockchain development and applications across brokerage, asset management and insurance. We hope to offer our clients a ludic and immersive experience in managing their wealth".

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The service is expected to be officially launched in the second quarter of 2022.

ARTA TechFin. BREAK BARRIERS FOR GREATNESS

ARTA TechFin aspires to build the next generation of financial services, artfully combining traditional business whilst using technology to create a new financial experience for our clients. From automation to blockchain, ARTA TechFin will use technology to transform the traditional financial industry and expand into new services, products and experiences. By placing Technology in Finance ("TechFin") at the heart of everything we are building, we will consistently change, disrupt, challenge and innovate the financial services industry. In the process we will deliver richer, more creative, more immersive and more valuable client experiences.

For more information, please visit https://www.artatechfin.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn.

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ARTA TechFin partners with Atlanfic Technology to revolutionize licensed investment manager, family office business operations, resolve pain points -...