August 2020 SM Online

FRAUD
Corruption in the health sector causes losses of more than $500 billion every year, according to Transparency International.

DATA BREACHES
Containment time for a data breach is now down to days or less, but “discovery in months or more still accounts for over a quarter of breaches,” according to the 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR).

COVID-19 SCAMS
In late May, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced it has received more than 52,000 reports of COVID-19 related scams since the beginning of 2020.

CORRUPTION
On average, between 10 and 25 percent of procurement contract funding is lost to corruption, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

MENTAL HEALTH
As school districts debate returning to the classroom, students and faculty are under significant mental stress. The National Association of School Psychologists compiled a variety of resources for school personnel helping children cope.

SUICIDE
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 10 and 34 in the United States, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

STUDENT SAFETY
By the end of April, fewer than 40 percent of students surveyed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California rated their mental wellness at pre-pandemic levels.

GLOBAL TERRORISM
Up to two-thirds of the 40,000 foreign fighters who joined ISIS are still alive and could pose a global threat for years, according to a United Nations report.

CYBERATTACKS
In an audit, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the electric grid is increasingly vulnerable to cyberattacks—especially those involving any industrial control system that supports grid operations.

INDUSTRIAL CONTROL
Dragos—a security firm specializing in industrial control system (ICS) protection—reported that the amount of activity targeting ICS increased significantly in 2019.

TERRORISM TACTICS
Analysis by the Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium found that ISIS fighters are ramping up terror attacks and shifting tactics toward assassinations and arson.

MONEY LAUNDERING
Two draft laws concerning anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, and fighting the financing of building weapons of mass destruction were approved by the Cambodian government. 

ORGAN DONORS
England changed its default setting for organ donors, so adults will now have to opt out if they do not want to be donors when they die. 

PUBLIC HEALTH
The Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled the governor’s month-long extension of a stay-at-home order in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

CORRUPTION
A U.S. appeals court rejected President Trump’s attempt to end a lawsuit that alleged he violated constitutional anti-corruption provisions as owner of a hotel in Washington, D.C. while also in office.

HEALTH PRIVACY
U.S. legislators introduced a bill proposing stronger privacy and data and security rights around Americans’ health information. 

PRIVACY
German federal agencies were ordered to not use the Facebook-owned messaging app, WhatsApp. 

CYBERSECURITY
The Council of the European Union decided to extend its cyber sanctions regime for another year, until 18 May 2021. 

SUPPLY CHAIN
President Donald Trump ordered slaughterhouses and meat packing plants to remain open during the coronavirus pandemic, relying on the Defense Production Act.

SEXUAL ABUSE
A U.S. judge sentenced Douglas S. Groover to 60 years in prison for producing hundreds of videos and images of himself while sexually abusing a child. 

TAX FRAUD
A former professor at Emory University was sentenced to one year of probation over a felony charge of filing a false tax return. 

DISCRIMINATION
FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., will pay $3.3 million to settle a companywide disability discrimination suit.