So the IT support leader’s name is Francois-Henri Pinault. He’s pledging over 100 million Euros if his own money to rebuild the Notre-Dame. Pinault will use his investments, like Artemis, to fund this mission. He’s also using his voice to raise awareness and funding for this cause. In fact, French President Emmanuel Macron calls for international funding to get this cathedral back together again.
So who is Francois-Henri Pinault? In European circles, they know him as a fashion luxury guru. But he’s more than that. During his interview with TechCrunch, he talked about his love for and contribution to IT service and computer technology. One time, he served as a software developer at Hewlett Packard. That led to the founding of Soft Computing. In the 1980s, he helped found it in Paris. It became a powerhouse in the French and European tech community. In fact, last year, Soft Computing merged with a tech ad company Publicis. Pinault even helped funded a smart headphone company in LA.
So this is how this French techie helps rebuild Notre-Dame. So often, we talk about tech leaders doing negative things. Maybe we do this too much. It brings me joy to talk about how tech billionaires are doing positive things. This is one example. Thankfully, there were no deaths or severe injuries. But there is speculation. Yes, they told us it wasn’t terrorism, or any other crime. However, some people aren’t buying it. But does it matter now? Maybe we should follow Pinault’s example and instead of pointing fingers, maybe we should do something else. Maybe we should ask: What are we going to do about it?
So a few months ago, most of media, including us at this computer repair firm, announced Jeff Bezos’ divorce. Now, the results are in. Here is the Bezos’ divorce settlement.
So they filed the petition Thursday. According to a SEC document, the divorce grants MacKenzie Bezos 4% of Amazon. This also includes 25% of Amazon stocks. In cash terms, MacKenzie will get $36 billion. MacKenzie Bezos herself tweeted her satisfaction in the deal. Also in the tweet, she said she’s giving up her interest in the Washington Post and Blue Origin. She also thanks family and friends for their support and looks forward to the next chapter in her life.
According to the filings, the Bezos’ divorce settlement will be official in about 90 days. Furthermore, it says Jeff will have authority of all shares. But of course, MacKenzie will have equal authority of her 25%. How are Amazon stocks taking this news? Apparently, it’s going pretty good. Yes, they lost some ground after the divorce announcement. The other shareholders didn’t know where this was headed. But since this turned out to be more civil than many thought, stocks are going up. In fact, as of 11:30am Friday, April 5, 2019, stocks gained 12 points in just this day alone.
I am proud of Jeff and MacKenzie of how they handled their divorce. I know I made comments like, “Wait until his soon to be ex-wife gets through with him”. But now, I take that back. They settled this thing with peace and dignity. And yes, Jeff Bezos is still in the centi-billionaire club with Bill Gates. And of course, MacKenzie came out of this doing very well. I was cynical at first because we all know of stories, from IT support billionaires to Hollywood celebrities, where it got very dirty and messy. But thank goodness, the Amazon story didn’t end up like that. How will this further affect the Amazon empire?
So most of us know that Venezuela is in a crisis state. In fact, the people rarely have enough to eat and their lights cut off at any moment. Also, they live under constant fear, from their own leadership. But there’s another devastating blow. Technology and Venezuela’s crisis: the tech pool leaves.
So this is perhaps the biggest resource that this troubled nation is losing: Their IT service and IT support pool. In fact, in recent years, over three million people left Venezuela. Nearly half of those got permits from other countries to immigrate to their land. One tech leader in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital and largest city, already sees this. In fact, he really sees the departure senior level tech talent.
For example, someone smaller might stay for the experience. But as soon as they get to the next level, they take their talent to Chile, or another South American nation. Venezuela ranks in the global bottom 10% for keeping their tech talent around and recruiting international talent.? Their Internet connection is very poor. In fact, it’s less than half that of other South American countries. While they’re collapsing, their neighbors are thriving. Argentina’s software companies are rising. And now, 10% of their employees come from Venezuela. Columbia’s tech ecosystem is flourishing. They can thank Venezuela refugees for that.
Imagine working so hard for $18 a month. That’s now a Venezuela employee’s average salary. But I have to wonder. Did Chavez do this by design? Is Muduro still doing this by design? There is something they call ‘brain drain’. In most oppressive systems, the rulers will take the smartest and most educated people out of the system. One way they do this is by driving them to other nations. For example, Chavez made bad changes for their oil companies. This caused many scientist and others to move to the US. It’s a shame because 20 or 30 years ago, Venezuela was the wealthiest nation in South America. It had so much potential. But look at it now. This includes technology and Venezuela’s crisis. How does the affect the rest of the tech world?
So in California, there is Meditab. Meditab is a software company that keeps medical records for medical employees and facilities. They also process e-faxes in the medical field. But a problem came up. According to tech media sources like TechCrunch,? a security lapse breaches medical records.
So according to these sources,? it started with a server. This server didn’t have a password. This server leaked thousands of medical records. This includes everything from prescriptions to diagnosis, and then some. If this isn’t enough, then keep in mind Meditab is the best at what they do. At least that’s their reputation. However, in this case, someone failed to fully secure the fax server, with no password. And as the saying goes, “When the cats are away, the rats will play.”.
Since March 2018, Meditab processed over six million medical records. But because somebody didn’t give this server a password, anybody can break in and read other people’s records. So I guess we can be thankful that the breach leaked only thousands of records, instead of millions. Like I said, these faxes included lots of medical information. And I mean intimate information. But they also include things like names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and payment info. What is even scarier? Some of the info was on child patients. Then to add on to the scary, none of this info was encrypted.
That is how this security lapse breaches medical records. Here at Computer Geeks, we tell all clients the importance of password protection. By 2019, this should be computer repair 101. But as we can see, anyone can make an honest mistake. It was a bad one, but an honest one. So far, this is all we know about the breach. I’m talking about this because this can happen to anybody, no matter how big or small your business is. What are other lessons playing out here? And what is Meditab doing about it?
So what does the upcoming 2020 election and big IT service have in common? Apparently, lots. Because one presidential hopeful vows to break up big tech companies. It’s Senator Elizabeth Warren vs. big tech.
So recently, the Massachusetts senator called for major tech companies to break up. These include Amazon, Google and Facebook. She also called out Apple. Sen. Warren suggests that Apple should spin off it’s Apple Store. As you know, that’s where Apple users get all their apps from. She claims these companies “bulldozed” small companies and gives competition little, if any, chances. Then she pledged strict anti-trust laws.
One thing she would do is prevent all these mergers, like WhatsApp with Facebook and Whole Foods with Amazon. There would also be stricter regulations for those IT support companies who make over $25 billion a year. For example, Amazon wouldn’t be able to sell it’s own products against competitors on it’s website. Google wouldn’t be able to promote it’s own ratings features over Yelp. She compared Silicon Valley in the early 21st century to big oil and big railroads of the early 20th century. In her plan, for example, Google would have to sale Nest and Waze.
So what is to make of this? In principal I do sympathize with Sen. Warren. It’s a shame that most of big tech is in control of a handful of companies. Also shameful is that when a group of entrepreneurs want to start a tech company, they’re often either swallowed up or bought out by the big boys. Then look at the retail industry. For example, in two days, over 450 retail stores went out of business. Gee, I wonder where these consumers are going. However, I doubt what Sen. Warren is proposing is realistic. How is she going to force Apple to give up it own Apple Store? How is she going to force Google to sale back Nest and Waze? They won’t. This fight between Senator Elizabeth Warren vs. big tech is just beginning. How will it end?
So let me give this disclaimer now. This article is not to scare anyone. But in these global volatile times, we, even us in the IT support and computer repair world should prepare for anything. I heard Putin’s address to Russia, and it was terrifying. Then I ask myself: Should the USA prepare for a cyberattack?
So many tech and intelligent experts say Russia and China can now launch huge cyberattacks. They can attack our electric grid and oil pipelines, among other parts of our infrastructure. In fact, one US intelligence firm confirmed this. This committee’s report says Russia and China often practice with weapons that could really mess up the systems we depend on. Think this is sci-fi? Earlier this week, I read about how Russia is having drills to live without the Internet, in case of an emergency. This committee’s report warns since we’re depending more on digital devices, our opponents can exploit that. It also warns of Russia and China’s cyber spying. The report then says Russia sees the US’s political, social and racial tensions these days. Their cyber spies see that and use it to their advantage, like sharks who smell blood in the water.
Then there are other worries. This report states AI and robotic technology can be even a bigger threat than any foreign foe.? Like I said, this is not to fear-monger. But we can’t stick our heads in the sand about this either. Did you know that if someone hits us with an EMP cyber attack, it would knock out everything? There would be no more computers of any kind, no more smartphones, no more radio, TV, even telegraphs. Most jobs and businesses would cease to exist. You wouldn’t even be able to start your car. Planes, trains and buses would be grounded. In other words, a cyber attack could knock us back to the 19th century! This is why we should be in the know of such things.? Should the USA prepare for a cyberattack? And if so, then what do we do about it?
