Latest news with #agencies
Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Ukrainian parliament votes to restrict autonomy of anti-corruption agencies
Ukraine's parliament voted on Tuesday to tighten restrictions on two key anti-corruption agencies, lawmakers said, rolling back the autonomy of institutions that have been at the center of the government's reform efforts.
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AP Top Extended Financial Headlines at 12:51 a.m. EDT
Microsoft is issuing an emergency fix to close off a vulnerability in Microsoft's SharePoint software that hackers have exploited to carry out widespread attacks on businesses and at least some federal agencies
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Microsoft releases urgent fix for Sharepoint vulnerability being used in global cyberattacks
Microsoft has issued an emergency fix to close off a vulnerability in Microsoft's SharePoint software that hackers have exploited to carry out widespread attacks on businesses and at least some federal agencies. The company issued an alert to customers Saturday saying it was aware of the zero-day exploit — where hackers take advantage of a previously unknown vulnerability — being used to conduct attacks and that it was working to patch the issue. Microsoft updated its guidance Sunday with instructions to fix the problem for SharePoint Server 2019 and SharePoint Server Subscription Edition. Engineers were still working on a fix for the older SharePoint Server 2016 software. Cyber criminals often use zero-day exploits to steal sensitive data and passwords. The vulnerability also could allow hackers to access services connected to SharePoint, including OneDrive and Teams. The company said in its blog post that it discovered at least dozens of systems were compromised around the world. Security engineers stated the attacks occurred in waves on July 18 and 19. Although the scope of the attack is still being assessed, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned that the impact could be widespread and recommended that any servers impacted by the exploit should be disconnected from the internet until they are patched.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
What To Know About Microsoft SharePoint Hack—Government Agencies And Businesses Targeted
A vulnerability in Microsoft's SharePoint server software was exploited by hackers to carry out 'active attacks' globally on various entities, including businesses and U.S. federal agencies, prompting the software giant to issue an emergency patch. Microsoft deployed an emergency security patch for some users on Sunday night. dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images In a statement on X, Microsoft said it has released a security update for SharePoint Subscription Edition and SharePoint 2019 users to 'mitigate active attacks' targeting servers running the software. The company noted that the vulnerability only impacts companies using Microsoft's software to host their own servers, and customers relying on Microsoft's 365 cloud services have not been affected. Citing government officials and security researchers, the Washington Post reported that the vulnerability affected U.S. federal and state agencies, universities and various businesses. In a statement on Sunday night, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said it was 'aware of active exploitation of a new…vulnerability enabling unauthorized access to on-premise SharePoint servers.' The federal agency said the vulnerability allowed malicious actors to 'access file systems and internal configurations, and execute code over the network.' The security patch released by Microsoft only fixed the vulnerability on the latest 'SharePoint Subscription Edition and SharePoint 2019.' The company said it is still actively working on a fix for the older SharePoint 2016 version. It is unclear how many government entities and businesses are still using the 2016 version. In its advisory, the company advises affected users to 'consider disconnecting your server from the internet until a security update is available.' What Has Microsoft Said? A Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters that the company has been 'coordinating closely with CISA, DOD Cyber Defense Command and key cybersecurity partners globally throughout our response.' The hack targeting SharePoint users is referred to as a 'zero-day' attack, as the hackers exploited a previously unknown vulnerability. Dutch cybersecurity firm Eye Security was the first to report on the zero-day exploit over the weekend. The company said its team scanned more than 8,000 SharePoint servers worldwide on Friday and 'discovered dozens of systems actively compromised.' The company stated that these attacks occurred in two waves on July 18 and 19.
Fast Company
5 days ago
- Health
- Fast Company
It's time to take the fear out of healthcare advertising and replace it with joy, hope, and authentic connection
There's rarely a week that goes by without me having a conversation with a colleague or client about the ineffectiveness of fear-based advertising. For too long, our industry has relied on tropes of fear, shame, and judgment to motivate patients and providers. A friend of mine calls this 'sadvertising.' Health advertising's premise has been deceptively simple: 'If people just knew the dangers, they would alter their behaviors.' We've become masters of euphemism, leveraging scare tactics under the guise of 'creating urgency.' But beneath the marketing -speak lies an uncomfortable truth. We've built a category lexicon of dark messages and imagery that perpetuates a culture of sickness instead of inspiring wellness. In doing so, we've stifled creativity and conditioned marketers and agencies to approach too many briefs (whether consciously or not) through a fear-based lens that may grab attention in the short term, but rarely leads to lasting change. The problem is fear isn't working. It's time we stop creating work that holds up a mirror to what's broken and start imagining creative solutions that inspire a new vision of what's possible. THE EVIDENCE AGAINST FEAR Statistically, scientifically, and psychologically, fear hardly ever drives long-term impact. The Surgeon General's warning first appeared on cigarettes in 1964, yet smoking rates continued climbing for decades. The 'war on drugs' consumed over $1T in fear-based messaging, yet overdose deaths increased, stigma spread, and healthcare systems still buckle under the strain today. Similarly, over 50% of new drug launches fail to meet forecasts, and most wellness products don't live past year one. There's been no shortage of ways advertising has tried to guilt people into caring for their health. We've deployed everything from anxiety-inducing warnings ('diabetes could cost you your toes') and catastrophic scenarios ('meningitis can kill in hours') to hair-raising statistics, dark imagery, stern voice-overs, and ominous soundtracks. In healthcare, where life-and-death consequences feel immediate, fear may initially seem like the most efficient path to behavior change. But time and again, fear backfires, eroding the very trust we need to build. The opportunity isn't in perfecting new forms of fear—it's in challenging brands to pivot toward joy. A CREATIVE RENAISSANCE AWAITS Earlier this month, brands across nearly every industry and continent gathered on the French Riviera to celebrate great storytelling at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. For health advertisers, it was an important moment to take a step back and ask: Can new forms of creativity help improve and save lives? Here's where we can begin forging a better path forward. Entertainment As A Secret Weapon Of Behavior Change Netflix's Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones doesn't lecture viewers about longevity. It invites them into communities where people naturally live healthier, longer lives through connection and purpose. AXA's Group Therapy campaign took a similar approach, trading fear for humor and connection. Featuring celebrities like Neil Patrick Harris in a docu-style format, it tackled mental health through empathetic storytelling, not shock value. By spotlighting shared vulnerability, it made mental health feel more relatable and more human. Similarly, New Zealand's Cannes Grand Prix winning 'Best Place to Have Herpes' campaign. The campaign tackled taboo with humor and heart by launching a crash-course on destigmatization. It invited people to talk about the issue, laugh about it, and most importantly, take it seriously without shame. Accessibility And Inclusion As Creative Foundation The most powerful health campaigns meet people where they are, not where we think they should be. Eli Lilly's recent diabetes campaigns showcase real people living full, empowered lives by emphasizing possibility over complications. Similarly, Aveeno's 'Eczema Equality' initiative celebrates diverse skin by featuring confident families and children, transforming a condition often hidden in shame into a source of authentic representation and acceptance. Health messaging becomes most effective when building bridges, not putting up barriers. Apple's accessibility-focused campaigns, 'The Greatest' and 'The Relay,' demonstrate how brands can embed inclusivity into their core messaging. And in a world where nearly 53% of Gen Z identify with some form of neurodiversity and 129 million Americans have pre-existing conditions, the opportunities for inclusive marketing are endless. When brands prioritize accessibility, they don't just reach more people; they create more authentic connections. Vaseline's Vaseline Verified campaign echoed this approach by also meeting Gen Z on TikTok. By testing trending 'hacks' in real labs and educating through science, it showed how trust and transparency can outshine fear and misinformation. Conversation Placement: The New Product Placement We all remember when Reese's Pieces led E.T. home in 1982, launching the modern era of product placement. Since then, we've seen Heineken in James Bond films, Ray-Bans in Top Gun, and Coca-Cola in Stranger Things. Brands invest massive marketing dollars to infiltrate our entertainment with products they want us to buy. But what if we started placing health conversations into our entertainment instead? My colleague Andre Gray calls this ' conversation placement. ' Instead of inserting sneakers into a TV series, what if we featured an attorney with HIV on Law & Order or a teenager with cystic fibrosis navigating high school drama? We've gotten a glimpse of this potential already. Everything Everywhere All at Once showed us Evelyn Wang living with ADHD, Glee gave us Artie Abrams as a wheelchair user, and The Good Doctor brought us Shaun Murphy, a surgeon with autism and savant syndrome. 'Conversation placement' tackles real health issues with real people and bridges gaps through culture and inclusion. THE JOY IMPERATIVE Fear feels reliable because it's easily manufactured. But fear creates lose-lose scenarios by breeding resentment toward the very health systems and behaviors we want people to embrace. As the dust settles post-Cannes Lions, let's remember that the most meaningful creative work doesn't shock people into change; it invites them in. The path forward isn't about abandoning all urgency or glossing over real health risks. It's about communicating those realities through frameworks of hope, community, and empowerment. When healthcare advertising embraces joy, laughter, and authentic human connection, we don't just create better campaigns—we create better health outcomes. We build trust instead of eroding it. So, when in doubt, choose joy. Your audience (and their health) will thank you for it.
