Melting reality, private cameras, ransomware payments, false preparedness
Welcome to this week's Benchmarker newsletter
AI is getting better at faking just about anything. Just take a look at this photo-realistic image (above) generated by the?latest version of Midjourney.?When fakes look more real, that makes it easier?to claim that anything is fake. That's the topic of?one of the stories?in this week's?Benchmarker.?
Have ideas for links? Job postings? Email us at?[email protected].
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Above the fold
The real reasons stores such as Walmart and Starbucks are closing in big cities - Nordstrom, Whole Foods and other big chains have closed stores in major US cities recently, raising alarm about the future of retail in some the country’s most prominent downtowns. (CNN Business)
San Francisco DA releases video of Walgreens security guard shooting - The DA reaffirmed her decision to not charge the guard after being unable to find evidence to refute his "reasonable self-defense claim." (Fox News)
Trans Starbucks worker fired over viral argument - Southampton police are investigating the exchange with a customer that was caught on video. (Vice)
Capitol Police seek increased presence outside DC to handle threats - The attack on Rep. Connolly's office fuels concern of Congressional security.
Privacy or safety? U.S. brings 'surveillance city to the suburbs' - The spread of a police technology platform that merges public and private cameras with predictive policing?is sparking debates in US cities. (Context)
Appetite for geopolitical risk management is growing - Consultancies are offering access to former top military and government officials to provide guidance on volatile events. (Financial Times)
How can we encourage collaboration between different disciplines to support supply chain resilience within an organization? - Events have pushed the importance of supply chain resilience to the forefront of many an organization’s priority list, resilience professionals will be considering how to use this window of opportunity to increase supply chain resilience. (BCI)
John Shing-wan Leung, American citizen, sentenced to life in prison in China - Washington and Beijing have just ended an unofficial pause in high-level contacts over the United States' shooting down in February of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon. (CBS News)
China consultancy crackdown sends jitters across foreign business - Overseas business lobbies in China said on Tuesday they were unnerved by a sweeping crackdown on consultancy and due diligence firms that is damaging investor confidence in the world's second-largest economy. (Reuters)
White House considers ban on ransom payments, with caveats - Experts suggest the effort, a reversal from the administration's previous stance, is fraught with complications that could cause unintended consequences. (CIO Drive)
Why you can't trust Twitter's encrypted DMs - A promised audit hasn't actually happened, sources say. PLUS: Twitter's Turkey problem, and a new CEO (Platformer)
China reports first arrest over fake news generated by ChatGPT - A man in China's Gansu province has been detained for allegedly using ChatGPT to generate a fake story about a train crash, marking China's first arrest in an AI-related probe as Beijing tightens deepfake technology. (CNA)
Reality is melting as lawyers claim real videos are deepfakes - Generative AI-powered tools are making it easy to create deepfakes — and lawyers are trying to seize the moment as an opportunity. (Futurism)
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Data point: Top 10 events of concern
- These are the events that organizations are most concerned about, according to BC Management's 2023 Event Impact Management Report (pdf).
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Quote of the week
"Suddenly, there's no more reality."
- Hany Farid, a digital forensics expert and professor at UC Berkeley, about how AI will make it?easier to claim that anything is fake.
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In other news
There’s a bigger threat than the Proud Boys - The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders are going away. Their bigger plan isn’t. (Slate)
Monster tornado in Rolling Fork laid bare a grim reality: Many had no hope of finding safety - Fourteen people were killed when a tornado hit Rolling Fork this spring. It's one of many Mississippi communities without a public tornado safe room. (NBC News)
Dust?storms?have killed hundreds, growing problem in parts of the U.S. - Fast-moving winds can suddenly whip dirt and debris into the air, leading to fatal accidents. It's an issue worsened by drought, climate change and land management.?(NBC News)
Weather intelligence?company aims to revolutionize forecasting - Tomorrow.io has launched what it claims is the world's first commercially built weather-radar satellite. (CNBC)
US Marshals 'spied' on abortion protesters using intelligence vendor - Twitter’s official partner?monitored the precise time and location of post-Roe demonstrations, internal emails show. (The Intercept)
A 10-year reflection on the Boston Marathon Bombing and a call for a National Emergency Management Strategy - Similar to the National Cybersecurity Strategy, a unifying National Emergency Management Strategy would align “roles, responsibilities, and resources” to bolster efforts on the local level to better prepare and respond to crises. (Homeland Security Today)
‘Nearshoring’ push is fueling tech job demand in Latin America - Post-pandemic interest in reducing reliance on Asia is benefiting IT workers from Chile to Guatemala. (Bloomberg)
Geopolitics for security professionals - How many times has this happened during an intelligence briefing? The analyst puts up a slide or distributes a report with utterly banal statements. They are accurate but ultimately meaningless for the security professionals consuming the information. (Treston Wheat on LinkedIn)
Business continuity plan testing scenarios that can save a business - Hearing servers are down or backups failed is terrible. But with the right business continuity plan testing scenarios, you may never need to. (Invenio IT)
4 ways for security to support mental health - Mental health support and awareness initiatives can help security leaders proactively mitigate threats and ensure the success of their teams. (Security Magazine)
Finding geolocation leads with bellingcat's OpenStreetMap search tool - Bellingcat's new tool for searching OpenStreetMap data helps geolocate images and identify starting points for geolocation investigations. (bellingcat)
SVB’s former CEO says Fed, social media contributed to bank’s collapse -The fastest pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in decades combined with negative social media sentiment contributed to the failure of SVB Financial Group’s Silicon Valley Bank, said Greg Becker, former chief executive officer of the company.?(Bloomberg)
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领英推荐
Industry jobs
Global Security Operations, GSOC Manager?–?EA, Redwood City, California
Senior Analyst – Events, Amazon Web Services Intelligence?–?Amazon Web Services, Herndon, Virginia
Regional Security & Access Director?–?Relief International, Nairobi or hybrid in same time zones
Senior Manager, Safety and Security?–?GiveDirectly, Kenya
Intelligence Analyst – Executive Protection(hybrid)?–?Citi, Tampa, Florida
Caribbean/LATAM Security Program Manager?–?Global Support and Development, Charlotte, North Carolina
Assistant Director for Global Safety & Security?–?Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
VP, Safety and Security?–?LA28, Los Angeles, California
Director of Business Continuity and Resilience Management?–?Phillips, Cambridge, Massachusetts and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Director, Crisis Management?–?McDonald’s, Chicago
Other jobs listed on?Factal's Industry Jobs page?include opportunities with the CAA, Honeywell, TikTok?and more. Factal members can also list their job openings in the Factal Chat?Industry Jobs channel.
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Industry events
May 18, 12pm ET - This session will provide participants with valuable insights on how best to keep the public and media informed immediately after a mass casualty event, including releasing information and the role of social media.
May 22, 2pm ET - Learn more about rescue task force medical care and how factors like immediate intervention, bystander care and method of transport impact survivability.
May 25, 3pm ET - Factal?editors and?Emergent Risk International?analysts cover the latest threats to businesses around the globe. The GSB is also available as a?podcast.
May 25, 1pm ET - This panel session will explore this growing threat and discuss the role of security and intelligence professionals when it comes to risk mitigation.
May 31, 11am ET - You know Russian disinformation is abundant, but do you understand the risks it poses to your business? Join ERI’s Training Director Thea Gioe to learn about the key themes and targets of Russian disinfo campaign.
May 31-June 1 (Bozeman, Montana) - This event will bring together the best speakers and teachers that the threat assessment discipline has to offer and promises amazing networking opportunities.
June 6-7 (Newport, Rhode Island) - This year’s conference will take us on a journey as we look at why organizations fail at Crisis Management and the path they should take to improve and go beyond being better.
June 7-9 (Kansas City, Missouri) - ESOC is a conference designed to address a wide range of critical topics impacting individuals who provide high-level personal protection services.
June 12-13, (Nashville, Tennessee) - Security LeadHER will connect you with impactful keynotes, lively networking, small group breakouts and many opportunities to help you develop your security leadership skills and grow your tribe! Simply put, this is the event for Security LeadHERs – present and future!
AIRIP’s 6th Annual Global Intelligence Forum, Analyst Roundtable All Hands Meeting,?OSAC Women in Security Summer Seminar?(OSAC sign-in required)
June 12-16 (Bloomfield, Colorado) - These three events will be co-located for the first time this year.
July 8–11, 2023 (San Diego, California) - This year’s summit will focus on how a geographic approach can be used to identify emerging threats and determine the actions and partnerships needed to increase safety and security for all.
July 20, 12p ET - One of the hardest challenges to overcome in the aftermath of a mass casualty event is reestablishing a sense of safety and normalcy. As difficult as it may be, returning and reopening is necessary for most businesses. This session will guide participants through the process of returning to business following a mass casualty event.
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1 年That "photo" stresses me out.