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New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Morton Meyerson, Texas Businessman and Perot Lieutenant, Dies at 87
Morton Meyerson, an understated Texas businessman who helped the mercurial H. Ross Perot build Electronic Data Systems into a world-leading data processing company, and who later advised Mr. Perot during his quixotic 1992 presidential campaign, died on Monday at his home in Dallas. He was 87. His family said in an announcement that the cause was prostate cancer. Where Mr. Perot was all extravagant gestures — running for president, trying to fly food and medicine to Vietnam P.O.W.s, staging a commando raid in Iran — Mr. Meyerson was the quiet, stubborn, moneymaking computer programmer in the backroom who helped make his boss a billionaire. In 1967, barely a year after joining Electronic Data Systems, or E.D.S., he helped Mr. Perot secure and execute a critical contract to process Medicaid claims for Texas Blue Cross Blue Shield, transforming the company into a financial powerhouse. With that contract and an earlier one to process Medicare claims — the Social Security Administration would later say Mr. Perot had overcharged for it — the company's pretax profit, which had been $26,487 in 1965, rose to $2.4 million in 1968. The original five-person team Mr. Meyerson had led on the project became a 1,500-person team three years later, and the core of Mr. Perot's business. By 1979, Mr. Perot had tapped Mr. Meyerson to be the company's president. In that capacity, The New York Times wrote in 1982, 'Mr. Meyerson has broadened the customer base, and profits are up.' Mr. Perot had started E.D.S. in 1962 with a $1,000 check. In 1984, when General Motors bought the company, it had $1 billion in revenue. When Mr. Meyerson finally left E.D.S., by then under G.M.'s ownership, in 1986, 'it was the largest computer services company in the world,' he later wrote. And Mr. Perot, after years of a sometimes prickly but fruitful relationship with the computer wizard who proved to be a fount of moneymaking ideas, would call Mr. Meyerson 'the finest executive in the computer industry.' In his 1996 autobiography, 'My Life & the Principles for Success,' Mr. Perot said that Mr. Meyerson had 'bombarded us almost daily with creative ideas and changes that he thought would make the company more successful.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Do Not Keep These ‘High Risk' Apps On Your iPhone Or Android
While TikTok has generated the most headlines when it comes to allegations of your data being secretly sent to China, it turns out that a much bigger threat could have been been hiding on your phone all this time. And this one is much more dangerous. It has taken a spate of porn bans — first in the U.S. and now in Europe to flush out this risk. As much as smartphone users need their TikTok fix, porn is an even bigger draw. And tens of millions of users are suddenly masking their internet traffic for the first time, pretending to be somewhere they are not to bypass those bans. This is done by way of virtual private networks or VPNs. The same technology that failed to circumvent TikTok's short-lived U.S. ban in January. But for porn, VPNs work just fine. vpnMentor saw a 'staggering' 6,000% surge in U.K VPN use after restrictions came into effect. The same explosive growth seen in the U.S. and France. Many of the installed VPNs were free apps topping App Store and Play Store charts. But many of these have a nasty, hidden secret. As Top10VPN's Simon Migliano warns, "despite being made aware of glaring privacy failures and opaque corporate structures, Google and Apple continue to permit these high-risk apps on their platforms.' A month ago, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) issued a report into free VPNs, warning that 'millions of Americans have downloaded apps that secretly route their internet traffic through Chinese companies.' It reported on this same threat in April. 'Apple and Google app stores continue to offer private browsing apps that are surreptitiously owned by Chinese companies… six weeks after they were identified.' 'In light of these findings," Migliano warns, "I strongly urge users to avoid Chinese-owned VPNs altogether." He says 'the risks are too great' to keep them on your phone. As BeyondTrust's James Maude told me 'if you aren't paying for a product, you are the product. These VPNs are a perfect example of the hidden costs of free apps where users seeking privacy are potentially unknowingly feeding data to a foreign nation state." Google told me it is "committed to compliance with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws. When we locate accounts that may violate these laws, our related policies or Terms of Service, we take appropriate action.' While Apple says it enforces App Store rules but does not differentiate its handling of apps by the location of their developers, albeit VPNs are prohibited from sharing data. My advice is to open either the App Store on your iPhone or the Play Store on your Android, and then search for 'free VPN.' You should delete any apps listed as installed on your phone that highlight that 'free VPN" tag, unless they are linked to blue-chip, western technology firms that provide other security offerings. Meanwhile, here's the TTP list of Chinese apps you should search for: Apple App Store: Google Play Store:
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Quavo's AI-Powered Platform Grabs $300M To Combat Mounting Financial Fraud
Fraud and dispute management provider Quavo has secured $300 million from private investment firm Spectrum Equity. At the same time, prior investor FINTOP Capital is selling its stake. Significant shareholders after the departure will include Pegasystems and four executives who founded the company. The Wilmington, Delaware fintech sells software-as-a-service products that "automate and manage fraud and dispute management for financial institutions." According to the company, it processes over 12.5 million customer disputes annually for a broad spectrum of financial institutions, including global issuers, credit unions and regional banks, and says its revenue has grown 60% annually since 2022 and 100% in the last year. Don't Miss: The same firms that backed Uber, Venmo and eBay are investing in this pre-IPO company disrupting a $1.8T market — Accredited Investors: Grab Pre-IPO Shares of the AI Company Powering Hasbro, Sephora & MGM— The capital infusion follows an initial seed round in 2020 and three Series A rounds between 2021 and 2023, totaling $11 million. Actual cash raised in the seed round was not undisclosed. "Quavo is uniquely positioned to drive automation benefits and better outcomes in this space," said Spectrum Equity Managing Director Adam Margolin. "Quavo's highly configurable platform, scaled transaction data powering its decisioning engine, and mission-driven approach to solving costly and time-consuming problems for its clients set the company apart." Quavo's QFD automates the investigation of credit card chargebacks and other conflicts through the dispute lifecycle, from intake and investigation to chargeback and client communication workflows. KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) is listed as one of Quavo's more than 50 direct customers, along with Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE:ASB) and First Hawaiian Bank (NYSE:FHB). Trending: 'Scrolling To UBI' — Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones. You can The company says its software works across all payment methods and dispute types, offering "easy customization through a decisioning engine and library of third-party API" add-ons. The company also markets a fully managed service called Dispute Resolution Experts, staffed by a team of fraud specialists. This program allows greater flexibility for clients, at a higher cost, while also applying QFD technology for fraud and dispute resolution. "We are thrilled to be partnering with Spectrum Equity on the next chapter of growth," said Quavo cofounder and CEO Joseph McLean, who started the company in 2016. He added the investment will be used to "accelerate our AI-led product development initiatives and expand our go-to-market and client success teams to meet growing market demand and drive exceptional client outcomes." Quavo says it is leveraging advanced AI to tackle rising fraud threats in 2025 and breaks down this initiative into four related projects: Using investigative AI to detect differences between first-part fraud and true fraud. Streamlining complex and repetitive processes using large language models. Automating tasks like accountholder correspondence and the evidence that merchants need to provide when disputing a chargeback. Enhancing call center intake that's powered by generative says its tech automates approximately 80% of the tasks and interactions typically undertaken by clients in a customer dispute while recapturing 85% of "potentially lost disputed funds." It says clients benefit from improved outcomes, posting an average 37% reduction in write-offs, while reducing days to issue consumer credit dropping to less than one from 11. "Our vision to restore financial trust and simplify fraud and disputes is unwavering, concludes McLean, "and this partnership allows us to achieve these goals faster and at even greater scale." Read Next: $100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Quavo's AI-Powered Platform Grabs $300M To Combat Mounting Financial Fraud originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
