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FREE online courses on nanotechnology
By shooting a brief and powerful laser beam shaped like a doughnut through the air, researchers created a 45-metre-long structure that could guide a light pulse like an optical fibre
How do you like your eggs in the morning? If the answer is extra-soft and scrambled, you need to follow these top tips for a perfect result, says Sam Wong
Cancer Vaccine to Simultaneously Kill and Prevent Brain Cancer
A Nuclear Engine for Future Mars Missions
Robotic Guided Coronary Intervention
Ultrasound 'Tornado' Breaks Down Blood Clots
RNA Technology to Erase Age-related Wrinkles
Scientists have created an AI system capable of generating artificial enzymes from scratch. In laboratory tests, some of these enzymes worked as well as those found in nature, even when their artificially generated amino acid sequences diverged significantly from any known natural protein.
Versatile robo-dog runs through the sandy beach at 3 meters per second
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Person-shaped robot can liquify and escape jail, all with the power of magnets
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Fish sensory organ key to improving navigational skills of underwater robots
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New soft robots poised to be more agile, controlled
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'Smart' walking stick could help visually impaired with groceries, finding a seat
For people who are blind or visually impaired, finding the right products in a crowded grocery store can be difficult without help. A team of computer scientists is trying to change that.
A precision arm for miniature robots
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Feathered robotic wing paves way for flapping drones
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Project aims to expand language technologies
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Soft robot detects damage, heals itself
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Best Practices for Building the AI Development Platform in Government
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Advance Trustworthy AI and ML, and Identify Best Practices for Scaling AI
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Pursuit of Autonomous Cars May Pose Risk of AI Tapping Forbidden Knowledge
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Virtual Reality Experience Similar to a LSD Dose
August 18, 2022 | Posted by admin
A recent study in Nature Scientific Reports found that the VR experience, Isness-D, showed the same effect as a medium dose of LSD or psilocybin on four key indicators. The psychedelic renaissance is upon us, with myriad research showing how substances like psilocybin, LSD, and more aid in mental health conditions like treatment-resistant depression and PTSD. More and more, the curiosity around psychedelics is increasing, with individuals seeing the potential of these mind-bending medicines to overcome perceived limits of the self.
At the same time, technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, posing the question: Could tech like virtual reality provide comparable benefits that psychedelics offer? Evidently the answer is yes, according to a recent study of a new VR experience, Isness-D, made to mirror specific transcendent psychedelic effects.
It all started with creator David Glowacki, who took a steep fall while walking in the mountains 15 years ago. After hitting the ground, he laid there suffocating as blood began leaking into his lungs. During this experience, Glowacki's field of perception began to shift, peering down at his own body and finding he was made up of balled-up light, MIT Technology Review reports. He said the intensity of the light was related to the extent in which he inhabited his body, though watching the light slowly dim wasn't frightening—It was transformative, leaking out of his body and around his environment. He took the experience as a signal that his awareness could outlast and transcend his physical body, ultimately bringing him peace.
The Nature study introduction brings up similar sensations from brain scientist Jill Bolte Taylor following a left-hemisphere stroke.
"I could no longer define the boundaries of my body. I can't define where I begin and where I end, because the atoms and molecules of my arm blend with the atoms and molecules of the wall, and all I could detect was this energy… I was immediately captivated by the magnificence of the energy around me. And because I could no longer identify the boundaries of my body, I felt enormous and expansive. I felt at one with all the energy that was, and it was beautiful."
After his accident, Glowacki approached the experience, which he related to death, with curiosity, attempting to recapture that transcendence. The new technology is designed for groups of four to five, based anywhere in the world. The participants are represented as a cloud of smoke with a ball of light around the location of their heart. The experience features energetic coalescence, meaning that participants can gather in the same VR landscape and overlap their bodies, making it impossible to tell where one starts and another ends, contributing to a sense of connectedness and ego reduction that psychedelic experiences commonly bring.
Source: https://hightimes.com/
Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: brain, connectedness, depression, ego reduction, energetic coalescenc, Isness-D, left-hemisphere stroke, LSD, mental health, psilocybin, psychedelics, PTSD, VR experience
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Q: Google Signin not work in ios release mode react native My google signin ios not work after choose user in release mode, but in development mode its work very well, any suggestion?
this is my dependencies:
"react-native": "0.57.1",
"react-native-google-signin": "^1.0.0-rc7",
thanks

A: finally in found this answer, you must put:
<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict>
    <key>NSAllowsArbitraryLoads</key>
    <true/>
</dict>

in your info.infoPlist to run in release mode on ios

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Description A vibrant pink water lily, floating among several lily pads.
Artist Statement Donna Pagakis has been interested in photography for 40 years now. She went to Brooks Institute of Photography, in Santa Barbara, in 1978. Back then she used a 4 by 5 Omega View and a 35mm SLR camera. Now she uses an SLR digital camera.
She lives in Southern California, close to the beach. Many of the images you will see on this site were captured along the coast.
Donna loves to take images that are artistic in nature. She has been fortunate to live in a beautiful location and especially likes to visit the beach for sunsets. She is passionate about photographing flowers and taking portraits of her daughter.
Recently she entered the Tamron/Shutterbug Nature & Landscape photography contest. Over 2,000 images were entered. She won Grand Prize and was awarded the Tamron 18-270mm Di-II VC PZD Lens.
As a BetterPhoto member, Donna has won numerous awards. She is among the top 7 photographers in contest wins and 4th in finalists.
Copyright for all gallery photographs belongs solely to Donna Pagakis . Images may not be copied, downloaded, or used in any way without the expressed, written permission of the photographer.


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HomeEntertainmentMusicScott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots: The Talent We've Lost To Substance...
Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots: The Talent We've Lost To Substance Abuse
By An Upcoming Writer
By Bharat Pandit
December brought us the tragic news of Scott Weiland's (the last one year has been a particularly depressing year for music) death due to an overdose of a lethal combination of cocaine, MDA (old ecstasy) and good ole' daroo (not entirely unexpected, given his habits), apart from Xanax, Viagra and weed.
Weiland was the frontman for the post-grunge band Stone Temple Pilots (their song Plush went on to win a Grammy in 1993) and then The Velvet Revolver. Smashing Pumpkins frontman named him as one of the 3 great voices of their generation. No one is contesting that Weiland wasn't a talented singer, his voice being magical in the glory days, but the leitmotif of the music industry, namely overdoing the chemicals is back in the news.
No one is contesting that Weiland wasn't a talented singer, his voice being magical in the glory days, but the leitmotif of the music industry, namely overdoing the chemicals is back in the news.
Many a musician has squandered his life and talent pursuing drugs and then being hooked onto them to such an extent that their functional existence is contingent on drugs. Look at what Weiland offered when he looked sober (Plush, MTV Unplugged 1992; The Doors feat Scott Weiland where he sounds just like The Lizard King; Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas).
This same substance abuse led to Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's death, who was a serial alcoholic and asphyxiated in his own vomit. These losses are of humanity as a whole, imagine how much more magic we might have had if Amy Winehouse didn't kill herself or if Jim Morrison didn't 'accidentally' overdosed himself.
Weiland's death reminds us of the tenuous dividing line that exists between enjoying a high and dependence. Keeping in mind these tragedies, we should all be wary of excessive indulgence in anything, be it drugs or alcohol and take a mental note of the gift of life, having an above average existence.
Trivia to lighten you up: Stone Temple Pilots initially called themselves Shirley Temple's P*#sy and that the lawyers who defended him of charges filed by STP, alleging that Weiland (after he was booted out) misused their band's name to further his career sued him for non-payment of bills.
Stone Temple Pilots initially called themselves Shirley Temple's P*#sy and that the lawyers who defended him of charges filed by STP, alleging that Weiland (after he was booted out) misused their band's name to further his career sued him for non-payment of bills.
deaths due to drug overdose
effects of drugs
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This report looks at whether the provision of Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) makes a difference to the work and learning outcomes of individuals.
It showed that the provision of Advice and Guidance (A/G) does result in more positive outcomes than offering Information only (I).
A/G users had more contact with a larger number of providers and sought help with careers in greater proportions than I users. The A/G group were significantly more likely to have undergone changes since their intervention as a result of the help they had received.


"Eggs adrift" — poached, with hollandaise sauce, over spinach and hash browns — with rye toast, as served and afterward. Also shown: terrific corned beef hash made in-house (even a tiny taste is telling); the succinct dessert menu; blueberry pie.
Also available in a dozen more variations including Cajun, Philly, Polka, and Québecois: breakfast poutine, with rye toast. Followed, at a late breakfast, by a slice of sugar pie.
Strictly comfort food: the Bluebird omelette (avocado, bacon, tomato, and "assorted cheese"); blueberry sauce atop "Texas French toast"; and a house special BEC (Canadian, poached, and melted cheddar, respectively, on an English muffin).
From my archives: A "white takeout carton that could feed the Chinese Army" is actually a traffic-signal box, one of dozens in Stamford, Connecticut, that have been decorated by Fairfield County artists. This order (chop suey? chow mein?) includes fortune cookies ("The best way to get where you're going is to be here now") as well as duck sauce and soy sauce (Kari-Out brand) — but, wouldn't you know, they forgot the chopsticks.
The advertising illustration of Gill Fox (1915-2004) was "nearly ubiquitous on pizza boxes in the 1980's" and, to my delight, still makes the occasional appearance today. This may not have been Fox's first pizzaiolo; his obituary describes a winking chef making an A-OK, a gesture to which some cultures have assigned vulgar meanings. It's possible that the artwork shown here was redrawn to be more universally palatable.
Of all his work, Fox was reportedly proudest of his political cartoons, which won him two Pulitzer nominations. Early in his career, however, he garnered early fame during the Golden Age of Comics. Compared with his two-tone pizza artwork, Fox's covers during this period were laboriously colored.
Beat cop pit stop, 24/7 source for short orders and vending-machine cigarettes. Less notable for chow ($9.95 meatloaf special, including chicken soup, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, rice pudding) than for a battle over eminent domain. The fence that had been making it "even haader to get in for paaking" has since come down.
Home turf for the morning's Serie A match wasn't far south of the mark.


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Rescue underway for 33 coal miners in China who were trapped after a huge gas explosion
By Natasha Noman
Thirty-three miners were trapped in a coal mine in Chongqing, China, after a gas explosion, Chinese state media CCTV reported. Rescue workers have retrieved 18 bodies thus far, yet the fate of the remaining 18 miners remains unknown, according to a CCTV tweet at 9:19 a.m. EST.
Thirty-five people were working in the mine in southeast China at the time of the blast, but two were able to break free.
The blast, which occurred in the mine's shaft, initially left the 33 remaining miners sequestered for hours — their condition was unknown to local officials.
Rescue efforts are ongoing in an attempt to find or save the 18 people who are still trapped in the mine.
Mining in China has remained a contentious issue for multifarious reasons, from environmental degradation to unsafe working conditions to not paying workers.
This story is breaking and will be updated.


Other info: Gail has over 15 years of teaching experience, mostly at the middle level. She has written curriculum and taught classes in technology, math and science. When not at school, Gail enjoys hiking and biking with her family.


ICAZAR.architects came together as a permanent team because demanding property owners loved the way they combined creativity with a meticulous implementation in every detail. From planning to project management, and all the way to the interior fit-out work, the client will find a partner in us who processes ideas intelligently, thinks ahead, and ensures that all the little pieces of the building project fit together, with precise timing and realised in style.
If you take us into your confidence early on, we will advise you well before you buy land or a property about the extent to which your key ideas are feasible, whether the estate agent's sales kit conceals important facts, and what the scenario for the property looks like when taking market trends and the evolution of the surrounding area into account.
So far, ICAZAR Architects have worked mainly on properties in the high-end residential and hospitality segments, but not exclusively so. "True luxury is rooted in the quality standard." This goes even for the conversion of a simple cottage in a special location. Ambient lighting, lines of sight, and the particular way the owner wants to use the property – all these come together in stunning real-life architecture.
Our clients include high-net-worth individuals, international property funds, and project development funds. For Finest Selection Real Estate Group and their cosmopolitan clientele we created plans featuring some of today's most exciting luxury hotel and villa developments on Mallorca.
While mainly active on the Balearic Islands, we have also completed challenging projects for satisfied clients in Frankfurt am Main, on the island of Sylt, in Paris, and in Sardinia.


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Shadow Giller: Emma Hooper's Our Homesick Songs (2018)
In Short presents a 300-word and spoiler-free summary, intended to have a broad appeal; In Detail focuses on one aspect of the book which I found remarkable, which might interest those who have already read the book or those with an interest in the mechanics of writing; In Other
Shadow Giller: Emma Hooper's Our Homesick Songs (2018)Buried In Print2018-10-31T12:24:36-05:00
Listening for What's Missing: Notes and novels, pages and spaces
"I do know that missing is a feeling," Ruby announces, in Riel Nason's debut, The Town that Drowned. Is it? It's true for Ruby, and her story is preoccupied with what is being lost, a chronological tale rooted in the moments of losing. At first glance, it seems as though Lydia Perović's All
Listening for What's Missing: Notes and novels, pages and spacesBuried In Print2016-10-06T11:00:24-05:00
Bloody Summer 2016, In My Reading Log
Massacre, killer, murder: when these words appear on a novel's first page, readers are fore-warned. And, yet, the first third of Sara Taylor's Boring Girls (2015) is a coming-of-age story. "It was becoming more and more apparent that I had been right all along. No one could truly understand me, unless they got
Bloody Summer 2016, In My Reading LogBuried In Print2016-07-19T11:15:27-05:00
Rhoda Rabinowitz Green's Aspects of Nature (2016)
This debut collection is filled with sensory detail. From brisket and chicken soup to gefilte fish and borscht. From paint-by-number clowns to lacy pillow-slips. From red-striped deck chairs to weathered shutters. Inanna Publications, 2016 Whether it's Debussy or lyrics from "Oklahoma", the details matter. But Aspects of Nature is actually preoccupied
Rhoda Rabinowitz Green's Aspects of Nature (2016)Buried In Print2016-07-16T15:29:08-05:00
Young Love, Complicated Love: Where Did You Sleep Last Night
"A man could do a lot for you, he added. I mean, like bulldozing and roofing, heavy lifting, he said. Maybe more." House of Anansi, 2015 So says a character in Lynn Crosbie's Life is about Losing Everything (2012). It might not be the kind of statement that
Young Love, Complicated Love: Where Did You Sleep Last NightBuried In Print2015-07-14T10:10:17-05:00


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Coping With Numbness and Tingling in Pregnancy
Wendy Wisner
Wendy Wisner is a lactation consultant and writer covering maternal/child health, parenting, general health and wellness, and mental health.
Fact checked by Andrea Rice on October 05, 2020
Andrea Rice is an award-winning journalist and a freelance writer, editor, and fact checker specializing in health and wellness.
Andrea Rice
Hands and Fingers
Legs, Back, and Buttocks
When to See Your Doctor
As if being pregnant wasn't exhausting and overwhelming enough, sometimes moms-to-be experience some pretty unexpected symptoms, especially in the last few months. Take numbness and tingling, for example. Some pregnant women will experience "pins and needles" or numbing feelings in their hands, fingers, legs, back, or buttocks toward the end of their pregnancy.
Not only can these symptoms become irritating and sometimes very uncomfortable, but they may leave you asking, "What exactly is going on here?"
damircudic / Getty Images
Below are the most commonly reported symptoms of numbness and tingling in pregnancy:
An uptick in symptoms upon waking up, in the middle of the night, or when performing certain movements with your body
Feels like a "pins and needles," a loss of sensation, or a radiating burning or tingling that is accompanied by pain
Presents toward the middle or end of pregnancy, as weight gain and fluid retention increase
The Common Discomforts of Pregnancy
You can blame hormones as well as the normal bodily changes you are experiencing for those sensations of numbness and tingling. As your pregnancy progresses, your body produces more of the hormone relaxin, which allows your ligaments to stretch during pregnancy and childbirth.
However, the extra relaxin also causes your posture and center of gravity to shift. As a result, your nerves may become pinched, causing shooting pain, and tingling down your legs, thighs, back, and buttocks.
Similarly, as your uterus grows heavier and fuller, it puts an unusual strain on your muscles, ligaments, and nerves, which can also contribute to sensations of numbness and tingling.
As you move toward the second and third trimester of pregnancy, swelling of the hands and feet is common due to water retention. This swelling can contribute to feelings of numbness and tingling in your extremities and can also put pressure on nerves in your wrists, back, legs, thighs, and buttocks.
It's not unusual to experience numbness and tingling sensations in your hands and fingers, especially as your pregnancy progresses. For some women, this excess fluid puts pressure on the median nerve in the wrist, causing carpal tunnel syndrome.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Pregnancy
Carpal tunnel syndrome is quite common during pregnancy, with as many as 31% to 62% of pregnant women being diagnosed. Causes of carpal tunnel syndrome in pregnancy include fluid retention, increased weight gain, and hormonal fluctuations.
Most cases of carpal tunnel syndrome occur during the last few months of pregnancy, but if you experienced carpal tunnel syndrome in previous pregnancies or experienced it outside of pregnancy, your symptoms may present earlier. You may experience symptoms in one or both hands, but symptoms are usually stronger in your dominant hand.
With carpal tunnel syndrome, you may experience the following symptoms:
Burning sensations in the hand, wrist, and arm
Difficulty grasping objects
Pain in the hand, wrist, and fingers
"Pins and needles" in the fingers and hands
Numbness in your fingers, especially the thumb, index, and middle fingers
Radiating pain in your shoulders, neck, and arm
Swelling in the hand and fingers
It's common to experience lower back pain during pregnancy, and sometimes this pain radiates down your legs and buttocks, especially if pressure is put on your nerves.
Numbness and tingling in your legs, back, and buttocks during pregnancy are usually due to:
Hormones such as relaxin that cause your ligaments to loosen
Pressure from your growing uterus and compressed organs
All of this pressure, loosening of ligaments, excess weight, and fluid retention can do a real number on your body. Your muscles may become weak or strained, and your posture may change.
If you find yourself leaning forward or backward more often, your back muscles have to work harder, which can lead to soreness and pain. You are also more vulnerable to exercise-related back injuries when you are pregnant.
Many women will experience hypermobility in their joints during pregnancy as well, due to the hormone relaxin. The problem is that all of this opening up and mobility can cause instability in your body and lead to shooting pain, tenderness, numbness, and tingling in your lower back or legs.
Sciatica in Pregnancy
Probably the most common cause of tingling and numbness in the back, legs, and buttocks during pregnancy is sciatica, which is caused by a pinched sciatic nerve.
This condition usually develops in the third trimester of pregnancy and is usually mild, but can be debilitating for some women.
Symptoms may include:
Pain, burning, and aching
Sensations on one side of the body, but sometimes affects both sides
Symptoms that manifest in the lower back, hips, buttocks, and travel down the leg
Tingling sensations, numbness, and muscle weakness
Meralgia Paresthetica in Pregnancy
While sciatica is a relatively common pregnancy condition that can include numbness and tingling of the back, legs, and buttocks, a condition called meralgia paresthetica may develop as well. Meralgia paresthetica results from pressure on the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (LFCN), which is a nerve on the front and side of your thigh.
Aching and soreness in thigh that may radiate to the outer knee
Numbness and burning sensations are also possible
Sensations like a "stabbing" feeling in the thigh region
Symptoms that are usually confined to one leg (thought sometimes the buttocks area is involved as well)
General numbness and tingling of the hands, fingers, back, legs, and buttocks during pregnancy can be treated by a gentle massage, making sure to vary your sleep positions (using a pregnancy body pillow helps a lot), soothing baths, and stretching.
Additionally, your doctor may recommend treatment for your specific condition once diagnosed.
Treatments for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Application of ice packs to reduce swelling
Elevating your hands and wrists
Pregnancy-friendly pain medicine
Use of a wrist brace or splint to keep your wrist in a neutral position
Treatments for Sciatica and Meralgia Paresthetica
Sleep on the side of your body that is not affected
Warm showers or baths
10 Tips for Better Sleep During Pregnancy
Most cases of numbing and tingling in pregnancy are normal and common. However, any new symptoms should be discussed with your healthcare provider. If you experience other symptoms along with the numbness and tingling such as vaginal bleeding, severe abdominal pain, contractions, severe headaches, blurry vision, or severe swelling, you should call your healthcare provider right away.
In most cases, numbing and tingling in pregnancy are caused by weight gain, fluid retention, and hormones. In some cases, a pinched nerve may be involved—as in the cases of pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel syndrome, sciatica, or meralgia paresthetica. In these cases, at-home treatments, physical therapy, or doctor-approved pain medication are all that is required for relief.
Although most instances of numbness and tingling in pregnancy are normal, there are some more serious conditions that include numbness and tingling as symptoms. If you suspect any of the following conditions, you should discuss them promptly with your healthcare provider, as they can lead to dangerous complications during pregnancy.
Iron-deficiency anemia during pregnancy can cause "restless leg syndrome," which may be accompanied by tingling, or a "creepy-crawly" feeling in the legs.
B12 deficiency during pregnancy can cause nerve damage, which can lead to numbness and tingling in the hands, as well as general muscle weakness, trouble walking, memory loss, and mental health concerns.
Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy condition that can cause severe swelling and might be a potential cause of numbness and tingling in pregnancy. If your tingling and numbing sensations are accompanied by vision disturbances, severe headaches, reduced urine output, severe abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, or seizures, call your doctor right away.
Gestational diabetes sometimes causes symptoms of tingling and numbing in your hands and feet. If you have already been diagnosed with the condition, these symptoms may be a sign that your gestational diabetes isn't being managed properly.
Talk to your healthcare provider about tingling and numbing, or any other new symptoms that may be relevant to your gestational diabetes diagnosis and management.
Pregnancy is full of surprises. Most of us probably don't realize just how many unusual symptoms pregnancy may cause, but now you can add numbness and tingling in the fingers, hands, legs, back, and buttocks to the ever-growing list.
But, you can take comfort in knowing that while these symptoms may be extremely bothersome at times, they are usually nothing serious and begin to subside once your baby arrives. Although you should take every new pregnancy symptom seriously, numbness and tingling alone will rarely indicate a more serious condition.
So here's to getting through the next few months with as much comfort and peace of mind as possible. You've got this.
U.S. National Library of Medicine. MedlinePlus. Aches and pains during pregnancy. Updated September 16, 2020.
Meems M, Truijens SEM, Spek V, Visser LH, Pop VJM. Prevalence, course and determinants of carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms during pregnancy: A prospective study. BJOG. 2015;122:1112-1118. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.13360
Cleveland Clinic. How to Handle Sciatica During Your Pregnancy. Updated December 31, 2019.
American Academy of Family Physicians. Changes in Your Body During Pregnancy: Third Trimester. Updated June 3, 2019.
Katonis P, Kampouroglou A, Aggelopoulos A, et al. Pregnancy-related low back pain. Hippokratia. 2011;15(3):205-10.
Kesikburun S, Güzelküçük Ü, Fidan U, Demir Y, Ergün A, Tan AK. Musculoskeletal pain and symptoms in pregnancy: a descriptive study. Ther Adv Musculoskelet Dis. 2018;10(12):229-234. doi:10.1177/1759720X18812449
Osterman M, Ilyas AM, Matzon JL. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Pregnancy. Orthop Clin North Am. 2012;43(4): 515-520. doi:10.1016/j.ocl.2012.07.020
Wright C, Smith B, Wright S, Weiner M, Wright K, Rubin D. Who develops carpal tunnel syndrome during pregnancy: An analysis of obesity, gestational weight gain, and parity. Obstet Med. 2014;7(2):90-4. doi:10.1177/1753495X14523407
American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. OrthoInfo. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
American Academy of Family Physicians. Back Pain During Pregnancy. Updated November 12, 2019.
Karthikeyan A, Venkat-raman N. Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and pregnancy. Obstet Med. 2018;11(3):104-109. doi:10.1177/1753495X18754577
Hypermobility Syndromes Association. Hormones and Hypermobility. Updated August 2017.
The American College Of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Back Pain During Pregnancy. Updated May 2020.
Cleveland Clinic. Meralgia Paresthetica. Updated November 8, 2018.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Office On Women's Health. Body changes and discomforts. Updated January 30, 2019.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Office On Women's Health. Pregnancy Complications. Updated April 19, 2019.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Your Guide to Anemia. September 2011.
Chandyo RK, Ulak M, Kvestad I, et al. The effects of vitamin B12 supplementation in pregnancy and postpartum on growth and neurodevelopment in early childhood: Study Protocol for a Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial. BMJ Open. 2017;7(8):e016434. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-016434
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gestational Diabetes and Pregnancy.
The 10 Most Challenging Aspects of Twin Pregnancy
The Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of Carpal Tunnel in Pregnancy
Medically reviewed by Meredith Shur, MD
An Overview of Sciatica During Pregnancy
All the Ways Your Body Changes During Pregnancy
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Food + Drink » Food + Drink Features
Man, Woman, Eat, Read
What's cooking at your local library
by Suzanne Podhaizer
"This is not a quiet place," Jessica Allard informs a crowd of students at the New England Culinary Institute. "The more rambunctious, the better." Allard, 26, isn't talking about the dorms or even the kitchens on the NECI campus, where raised voices, clatter and sizzle are par for the course. She's talking about the library. "You can eat, but don't leave your dishes," the librarian continues, before pointing out that the library offers free coffee. The milling students beam and nod their heads; they clearly approve of the youth-friendly policies. But the NECI library benefits more than those enrolled in culinary school. Although they can't check out the food-themed books, the cooking public is welcome to browse - and make photocopies from - the 5712 items in the collection.
Here you can find 23 books on the topic of "garde manger," one of the stations in a restaurant kitchen, and 27 titles on food of the Caribbean. Anything deemed a culinary classic is kept at both NECI campuses: Montpelier and Essex. But even taking the duplicates into account, the culinary collection is by far the largest in the area. It includes, for example every edition of The Joy of Cooking and of the Larousse Gastronomique. Also in the NECI collection: 300 titles published in the last five years and 40 different food-related periodicals.
Cookbooks, especially those with pretty pictures and rigorously tested recipes, don't come cheap: Many of the gorgeously photographed, hardcover tomes cost between $30 and $50 dollars. Can't afford to drop that much on a book when you might not like the recipes? That's where your local public library comes in.
With cookbooks sales at an all-time high and new titles coming out all the time, librarians have plenty to choose from. At Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, a keyword search on the term "cookery" yields 1232 different titles. Rutland Free has 859, Kellogg-Hubbard in Montpelier has 733 and the Athenaeum in Saint Johnsbury has a smaller assortment of 229.
With so many titles on the market, how do librarians decide? Penelope Pillsbury, library director at Brownell, reads reviews in Booklist, The Library Journal and Publisher's Weekly, and pays attention to the New York Times bestseller list. Robert Resnik, who has been buying cookbooks for the Fletcher Free Library for 17 years, also snaps up "the newest, most colorful and most beautiful," but he's even more excited about the strange and obscure. "I get trembly when I find a book on a cuisine I've never seen before," he says. No wonder Burlington's public library offers titles on topics as diverse as African bush food and creating an authentic Elizabethan feast.
It's not surprising that NECI has esoteric titles, too. Have you ever seen Paul Kovi's Transylvanian Cuisine, published in 1985? Probably not, but you can find it at both NECI locations. Want Gourmet magazines from 1959? They have those, as well.
The selection at a particular library should tell you a little about the culture of the surrounding area. That's probably why you'll find 22 books at Fletcher Free on the topic of maple. "My goal has mostly been to reflect the cooking habits and what people are interested in around Burlington," Resnik explains. "As the population changes and people get more interested in cooking all different kinds of food, they're more open to wild and crazy cookbooks."
At NECI, according to Allard, sustainability is now an important buzzword for the students. To feed the need the library has recently acquired, for example, Felicia Wu's The Future of Genetically Modified Crops: Lessons from the Green Revolution and A Field Guide to Buying Organic by Luddene Perry.
Public libraries cater to non-cooks, too, so they have to be pickier about what they put on their shelves. "We're trying to cover as many bases as possible," explains Resnik. "If I have one definitive Vietnamese cookbook and a few back-ups, I declare victory."
Pillsbury recently "weeded" between 100 and 150 books from the cookbook section - the discards will be sold at the library's next book sale. She got rid of "stuff that doesn't circulate, stuff that's not popular anymore," she explains. Among the deadweight: cookbooks by Jeff Smith, known as the Frugal Gourmet, which were wildly popular until he was accused of child molestation. Resnik also mentions Smith in the context of culling. "Interest in his books just plummeted when people found out what he was really like," he explains. Another reason to get rid of recipe books: torn pages, gooey splatters and broken bindings. "No matter how wonderful a book is," Resnik says, "if it looks like someone has chewed it up, nobody will take it out."
What kind of books do librarians hang on to? "It's a balance between keeping the classics in stock and keeping your ears open for really cool new stuff," Resnik explains. Pillsbury thinks the same way. She'll let a book stay if "it's a standard," and will keep pretty much anything from Vermont. She confesses that personal preference can come into play. "Sometimes I'm a little less likely to throw out older preserving and canning books, because I like to do that," she admits. "The personality of the selector" is important, Resnik concedes. Fletcher Free has nine books on mushroom foraging and cookery, which happens to be one of his obsessions. NECI has eight.
Of course, some books seem to walk away on their own, and which ones disappear can also be telling. At NECI, one title they can't keep in stock is the easy-to-read, scientific On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee. It's required for various NECI classes. The library has also lost several copies of the multivolume El Bulli books by celeb chef Ferran Adria. These massive, photo-rich titles cost between $190 and $300 each and won't be replaced any time soon, according to Allard. At Fletcher Free, Resnik notes that a few barbecue cookbooks have disappeared over the years.
Library holdings related to food are mainly found in the 641s -the call numbers for topics on "food and drink" in the Dewey Decimal system. But a dedicated gastronome can find books relating to food in almost every nook and cranny of the building. Look for tasty movies like Chocolat and Julia Child's cooking shows in library DVD and VHS collections at the Fletcher Free. There, you can also find recent bestseller The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan cataloged in the "general customs" section of social sciences, while Eat, Drink and Be Healthy, by Walter Willett, M.D. of Harvard, is stacked with books on "promotion of health."
In the children's room, there are still more scrumptious selections. Just to whet your appetite, check out The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff. At Brownell, where they partner with NECI on a children's reading and cooking program, youth librarian Mary Graf is particularly proud of their "multicultural cookbooks for students." Kids who visit Brownell can check out books on the cuisines of such diverse cultures as Austria, Norway, Lebanon and Korea. But while the books do have recipes, they're not just about separating eggs and kneading dough - they feature regional maps and historical info, too. The idea: Understanding a country's food is a stepping-stone to understanding its culture.
Exchanging recipes might still mean copying your favorite muffin formula longhand onto a pretty card and giving it to a friend, but it can also mean returning Barbara Sheen's The Foods of Greece to the library so that you can take out Moroccan Modern by Hassan M'Souli. Having so many options is enough to make a gastronome shout for joy. But be careful. Librarians - at least at places other than NECI - might not take kindly to that sort of thing.
Speaking of Food, books
Season's Readings: Author Stephen Kiernan Dispenses Book Recs
Major Jackson to Leave UVM for Vanderbilt University
Retail Therapy: How the Vermont Book Shop Survived a Pandemic — and Downtown Construction
Waterbury Literacy Nonprofit Distributes 40,000 Kids' Books During Pandemic
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Food + Drink Features food books


Magura : Two people were killed in a collision between a truck and a pick-up van at Belnagar on Dhaka-Khulna highway in Sadar upazila early Thursday.
One of the deceased was identified as pick-up van driver Hanif Ali, 40, a resident of Madhya Sottapur village in Fatullah upazila of Narayanganj district.
The Khulna-bound pick up van from Dhaka collided with the truck coming from Jessore around 4:30am, leaving the van driver and his helper dead on the spot, said Azmol Huda, officer-in-charge of Sadar Police Station.
Police recovered the bodies and sent those to Magura Sadar Hospital morgue.


Isa and her little brother Max think their spring break is going to be a boring holiday. Everything changes when they meet the eccentric professor who lives at the end of their street. With the help of surprising experiments they learn to look at themselves, at each other and at the world in a different way. Then, by accident, they find themselves in unknown dimensions where they encounter extraordinary beings and explore exciting places. Isa and Max learn things they would never have learned in school. At the end of their journey the professor allows them to fly on a skateboard and they realize that anything, and we really mean anything, is possible. An exciting adventure revolving around new science and spirituality for the young and old.
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Yes, but: It hasn't happened yet. The most significant progress so far would be on that last front, making personal health data more accessible — that's where Apple is focusing a lot of its health care energy, and the early reviews are generally pretty positive. But even that is still in its early stages.


47 posts categorized "Payments Processors"
A news item you may have missed during the run-up to the Presidential Inauguration. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced settlement agreements with Western Union where the company admitted to money-laundering charges and agreed to pay $586 million in fines and restitution.
"In its agreement with the Justice Department, Western Union admits to criminal violations including willfully failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and aiding and abetting wire fraud... According to admissions contained in the deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Justice Department and the accompanying statement of facts, Western Union violated U.S. laws—the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-fraud statutes—by processing hundreds of thousands of transactions for Western Union agents and others involved in an international consumer fraud scheme. As part of the scheme, fraudsters contacted victims in the U.S. and falsely posed as family members in need or promised prizes or job opportunities. The fraudsters directed the victims to send money through Western Union to help their relative or claim their prize. Various Western Union agents were complicit in these fraud schemes, often processing the fraud payments for the fraudsters in return for a cut of the fraud proceeds."
The FTC alleged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania that the company's conduct violated the FTC Act. The complaint alleged that fraudsters globally used Western Union's money transfer system for many years, even after the company was aware of the problems. The complaint also alleged that some Western Union agents were complicit in fraud. Also, the FTC's complaint alleged that Western Union failed to implement effective anti-fraud policies and procedures, and it failed to act promptly against problem agents (e.g., suspensions, terminations).
"The BSA requires financial institutions, including money services businesses such as Western Union, to file currency transaction reports (CTRs) for transactions in currency greater than $10,000 in a single day. To evade the filing of a CTR and identification requirements, criminals will often structure their currency transactions so that no single transaction exceeds the $10,000 threshold. Financial institutions are required to report suspected structuring... Western Union knew that certain of its U.S. Agents were allowing or aiding and abetting structuring by their customers. Rather than taking corrective action to eliminate structuring at and by its agents, Western Union, among other things, allowed agents to continue sending transactions... Beginning in at least 2004, Western Union recorded customer complaints about fraudulently induced payments in what are known as consumer fraud reports (CFRs). In 2004, Western Union's Corporate Security Department proposed global guidelines for discipline and suspension of Western Union agents that processed a materially elevated number of fraud transactions. In these guidelines, the Corporate Security Department effectively recommended automatically suspending any agent that paid 15 CFRs within 120 days. Had Western Union implemented these proposed guidelines, it would have prevented significant fraud losses to victims and would have resulted in corrective action against more than 2,000 agents worldwide between 2004 and 2012."
"Our investigation uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars being sent to China in structured transactions designed to avoid the reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act, and much of the money was sent to China by illegal immigrants to pay their human smugglers... In a case being prosecuted by my office, a Western Union agent has pleaded guilty to federal charges of structuring transactions – illegal conduct the company knew about for at least five years. Western Union documents indicate that its employees fought to keep this agent – as well as several other high-volume independent agents in New York City – working for Western Union because of the high volume of their activity. This action today will ensure that Western Union effectively controls its agents and prevents the use of its money transfer system for illegal purposes."
"The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has a long history of prosecuting corrupt Western Union Agents... Since 2001 our office, in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, has charged and convicted 26 Western Union Agents in the United States and Canada who conspired with international fraudsters to defraud tens of thousands of U.S. residents via various forms of mass marketing schemes. I am gratified that the deferred prosecution agreement reached today with Western Union ensures that $586 million will be available to compensate the many victims of these frauds."
Not process money transfers it knows or should know are payments for telemarketing transactions.
"The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) today announced agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that resolve previously disclosed investigations focused primarily on the Company's oversight of certain agents and whether its anti-fraud program, as well as its anti-money laundering controls, adequately prevented misconduct by those agents and third parties. The conduct at issue mainly occurred from 2004 to 2012."
"As part of this resolution, Western Union will enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ and a consent order with the FTC. The Company will pay a total of $586 million to the federal government, which is to be used to reimburse consumers who were victims of fraud during the relevant period. Western Union also will take specific actions to further enhance its oversight of agents and its protection of customers... Over the past five years, Western Union increased overall compliance funding by more than 200 percent, and now spends approximately $200 million per year on compliance, with more than 20 percent of its workforce currently dedicated to compliance functions. The comprehensive improvements undertaken by the Company have added more employees with law enforcement and regulatory expertise, strengthened its consumer education and agent training, bolstered its technology-driven controls and changed its governance structure so that its Chief Compliance Officer is a direct report to the Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors."
"... [Western Union] will simultaneously resolve, without any additional payment or non-monetary obligations, potential claims by the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) relating to conduct in the 2010 to 2012 period that FinCEN contended violated the Bank Secrecy Act. The Company received a notice of investigation from FinCEN in mid-December 2016. The separate agreement with FinCEN sets forth a civil penalty of $184 million, the full amount of which will be deemed satisfied by the $586 million compensation payment under the DOJ and FTC agreements."
Part one discussed the challenges and privacy threats smart devices for the home create for consumers. Today's blog post discusses data ownership, and how to shop wisely.
You've probably heard the terms: Internet of Things. Smart Home. Connected home. All refer to the myriad of devices in your home that are connected to the Internet, outfitted with sensors, collect information about your usage (e.g., who, what, when, where, why, and how long), and transmit that digital information collected to the device manufacturer and others.
The collected information is often shared with corporate partners or affiliates, such as the device's operating system software developer and mobile payments provider. (See this chart for partners by payment type.) Data may also be shared with the Internet Service Provider and/or the wireless service provider (for mobile apps).
The types of devices vary far beyond smart phones and tablets. Some include security, lighting, temperature controls, and safety devices (e.g., smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors). Some may be toys used by very young children. Some may be fitness devices that collect your health information and transmit it to entities not bound by HIPAA and HITECH laws.
This data collection isn't new. It's been happening long before the Internet and smart phones. You might say that digitization and mobilization made the data collection far easier and far more extensive.
"According to law firm Taylor Wessing, end users don't really have ownership rights to the data gathered by off-the-shelf systems they've installed. If you've rolled out a smart home set-up, you can't legitimately claim that all the details about when you switched on your lights or opened your garage belong to you and you alone."
The term "end users" refers to consumers... you. So, consumers in the United States have few property rights. That means you have little control over the data collection and sharing with others. Not good.
Read both the terms of conditions and privacy policies before purchase. If you don't like the terms, don't buy it and keep shopping for alternatives.
Buy devices that include regular software updates, just like your computer. This helps protect you (and the data collected about you and your family) against malware, hacks, and computer viruses by unauthorized persons.
Buy devices with robust privacy settings, so you can control what information you share, when, and how.
What do you consider when shopping for smart devices for your home?
Last night, the "60 Minutes" news magazine broadcast an interesting segment about mobile banking in Kenya without banks. Since 80 percent of citizens have mobile phones, the country' took the innovative approach of allowing consumers to easily and securely pay for products and services via their mobile phone provider.
Meet M-PESA. Mobile banking without banks.
It is possible. It can happen. No bank accounts. No credit reports. No prepaid cards. No payroll cards. No digital wallets. No payment processors. And, Kenyans don't need the latest Apple iPhone or Android Galaxy phone. A far simpler system. Safaricom, the Kenyan mobile service provider, launched M-PESA in 2007. The mobile payments system was designed for the most basic phones with text messaging capabilities. A smart approach that puts consumers' needs first.
Mobile devices are marketed in the USA like cars, with slick advertisements that imply: in order to be happy and productive, consumers must have the latest device. The Kenyan M-PESA system proves otherwise.
Watch the 60 Minutes segment, "The Future of Money" or read the transcript. What are your opinions of M-PESA? Of banking deserts?
"... the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the Trading with the Enemy Act (TWEA) by processing billions of dollars of transactions through the U.S. financial system on behalf of Sudanese, Iranian, and Cuban entities subject to U.S. economic sanctions. The agreement by the French bank to plead guilty is the first time a global bank has agreed to plead guilty to large-scale, systematic violations of U.S. economic sanctions."
Investigations found that the bank processed $8.8 billion in illegal financial transactions with sanctioned entities.To avoid detection, the bank allegedly routed illegal payments through third-party banks and instructed other banks not to disclose the names of sanctioned entities in those transactions.
"BNPP will waive indictment and be charged in a one-count felony criminal information, filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, charging BNPP with knowingly and willfully conspiring to commit violations of IEEPA and TWEA, from 2004 through 2012."
"BNP Paribas also accepts a temporary suspension of one year starting 1st January 2015 of the USD direct clearing focused mainly on the Oil & Gas Energy & Commodity Finance business line in certain locations... BNP Paribas will maintain its licenses as part of the settlements, and expects no impact on its operational or business capabilities to serve the vast majority of its clients... "
"... a new department called Group Financial Security US, part of the Group Compliance function, will be headquartered in New York and will ensure that BNP Paribas complies globally with US regulation related to international sanctions and embargoes... all USD flows for the entire BNP Paribas Group will be ultimately processed and controlled via the branch in New York. As a result of BNP Paribas' internal review, a number of managers and employees from relevant business areas have been sanctioned, a number of whom have left the Group."
The bank generated annual revenues in 2013 of Euros 36.1 million. The current exchange rate: 1.0 Euro = 1.37 U.S. dollars.
I congratulate government officials for the investigations and for enforcing the law. I look forward to the results of investigations of banks that worked with BNP Paribus to hide the illegal transaction. However, I have only one question: why are no BNP Paribus bank executives going to prison? The criminal conduct seems to warrant prison time.
What are your opinions of the plea agreement by Bank BNP Paribus?
Late last month, Maryland Attorney General (AG) Douglas F. Gansler issued a warning for consumers interested in using virtual currencies such as Bitcoin. Many consumers like virtual currencies because of lower transaction fees compared to banks and traditional payment options.
"Virtual currency, which includes digital and crypto-currency, is gaining in popularity and controversy. Growing numbers of merchants, businesses and other organizations now accept Bitcoin, one example of crypto-currency, in lieu of traditional currency.
Virtual currencies exist with little to no regulation and there is no safety net, such as federally-backed insurance, if you lose your hard-earned money," said Attorney General Gansler. "It pays to know what's in your e-Wallet and the many ways your money can disappear if you're not careful. Unlike the dollar, these highly volatile alternatives are not issued by a government authority and are typically not backed by tangible assets."
"Bitcoin and all virtual currencies have inherent risks that Marylanders should consider prior to transacting with or investing in these currencies... The entities that accept and transmit, or exchange virtual currencies for U.S. dollars are subject to federal law, and may be subject to state law, including the requirement to be licensed as a money transmitter. It is important to note however, that Maryland does not currently regulate virtual currencies. I encourage any Maryland resident interested in virtual currencies, to do their homework first."
Accounts with virtual currencies are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures bank accounts up to $250,000.The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued some guidance on the tax status of virtual currencies.
"One of the major risks of holding virtual currencies is their volatility. Their value can rise or fall substantially over a short period of time... Bitcoins, and others like it, are basically lines of computer code that are valued by the marketplace with no governmental support or oversight. Anyone holding virtual currencies should understand that they could lose a significant part of their investment as the market changes... There are no deposit guarantees like FDIC insurance to protect customer funds held by virtual currency exchanges. Once the funds are gone, there is no way to retrieve them... Some exchange companies that offer to store the consumer's virtual currencies in virtual wallets have been unable to protect them... Because virtual currencies provide some anonymity, criminal elements have found them useful for money laundering and other crimes. When exchanges are shut down as a result of either knowingly or unknowingly facilitating a crime, customers may have difficulty accessing their funds."
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Issued an alert about Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
So, the old saying apples: do your homework first. Wise consumers should first check the financial laws in their state to see what regulations and protections exist, if any.
A prior blog post discussed the Target data breach, the retailer's security preparations, and management's post-breach response. Months before the breach, Target installed robust breach-detection software. During the breach, that software provided alerts which management missed. That blog post referenced a Bloomberg Businessweek article which reported breach details.
The Businessweek article went further and explored possible links between the breach and Russian hackers operating in Odessa, Ukraine. First things first. There will be plenty of time later to profile the hackers. Today, stay focused on breach details, the retailer's post-breach response, and the breach investigations. The goal is to report what happened so things can be fixed. Consumers want and need to know they can trust banks and retailers to protect their payment card information.
"... investigators believe the source of the Target intrusion traces back to network credentials that Target had issued to Fazio Mechanical... Multiple sources close to the investigation now tell this reporter that those credentials were stolen in an email malware attack at Fazio that began at least two months before thieves started stealing card data from thousands of Target cash registers. Two of those sources said the malware in question was Citadel – a password-stealing bot program..."
Fazio confirmed that it experienced an attack (Adobe PDF). The KrebsOnSecurity article included a "theory" about how hackers with billing credentials accessed systems with point-of-sale cashiers. I expected something more definitive than a "theory." I expect something more definitive than "investigators believe" -- ideally, "investigators analyzed" or "investigators found."
Knowing the exact scenario is important, so relevant fixes can be applied to prevent a massive breach like this from happening again. Hopefully, Target's final breach investigation report will clarify and explain things.
I wonder about the investigators' conclusions. How do investigators know with 100 percent certainty that (only) this specific HVAC vendor breach was the setup? How do the investigators know that credentials weren't stolen from any other Target vendors? How do investigators know that no other vendors experienced data breaches allowing hackers access to Target's systems?
"Companies performing these [payments processing] roles for Target were identified in a research note by Robert W. Baird & Co analysts on Dec. 19... the merchant acquirer used by Target for credit and debit card transactions is Bank of America Merchant Services, a joint venture of Bank of America and KKR's First Data Corp... The note also identified Vantiv of Cincinnati as processing transactions for Target customers who type in personal identification numbers for debit transactions... Target-branded payment cards are issued by Toronto's TD Bank Group."
Regular readers of this blog recognize First Data and understand how much information the processor collects about consumers. (New to this blog? To learn more, select "Data Breaches," "Payment Procesors," or "Retail" in the right-column tag cloud. Or enter a company name in the right-column search mechanism.) Regular readers of this blog also recognize Bank of America Merchant Services, and its joint venture with First Data to process the payment transactions of the bank's retail (e.g., checking, debit card, credit card) customers. Other banks probably have similar arrangements with First Data.
Target's REDcard loyalty program includes the Target-branded credit and debit payment cards. According to a quarterly filing with the S.E.C., REDcard penetration increased from 12.8 to 18.6 percent during 2013. That's huge growth in one year. Good for Target: its shoppers like using REDcards. Bad for Target: its data breach has threatened that growth, REDcard usage by shoppers, and payments processors' revenues (and profits).
Smart hackers would focus on vendors with the best credentials; credentials that provide the best access to Target's computer systems and network. Another question: which vendor probably has the best credentials: a small HVAC vendor or a key business partner? The KrebsOnSecurity article discussed how Target required two-factor authentication for some vendors and not others. Maybe a small HVAC vendor was the easiest way in for the hackers. Maybe not. I hope that the formal Target breach investigation clarifies and explains things. Maybe the answers will be the same as reported in the KrebsOnSecurity article. Or maybe not.
"First Data processes some transactions for one of Target's acquirers, but we have no indication that our systems were involved in any of the incidents reported by Target,"
Hmmm. Payments processors have had data breaches... massive ones. You may remember the Global Payments and Heartland breaches. First Data Corp has experienced a data breach too, at its Western Union unit.
Reportedly, the U.S. Secret Service is also investigating the Target data breach. That implies an interest in any systemic retail or banking security issues affecting the country's money supply. Systemic issues that come to mind are breaches at multiple retailers, the obsolete technology for payment cards, weaknesses in retail payment processes, and breaches at banks or payments processors. To me, a breach at a tiny HVAC vendor don't seem to rise to level of systemic.
Again, this is all speculation. I'm not saying one of Target's partners was breached. I don't have access to the data investigators have. All I'm saying is that a thorough, broad breach investigation needs to ask the question: was anyone else breached? The Target breach shook consumers' trust, and the breach investigation needs to address that. Trust matters. Consumers want to trust that banks and retailers can protect their card payment information.
Maybe the answer to this question will be the same; a small HVAC vendor's breach was the setup. Maybe not. A lot has happened since January. When 110 million records are stolen, one has to ask... one has to look, thoroughly.
I'd hate to think that the breach investigation stopped after finding the HVAC vendor breach and didn't look further for earlier breaches at other vendors or partners. If one wants to reassure consumers of secure card payment processes, you have to look further... and thoroughly. And if there were other breaches, report them, too.
If a payments processor was also breached, then those partners would likely be added as defendants to any lawsuits. The Businessweek article mentioned 90 lawsuits. Several lawsuits have already been filed by banks and by shoppers.
What's your opinion of the Target breach? What questions do you have? How were you affected by the Target breach?
"... Target hackers have undertaken to selling location usage data alongside the card data, and can charge a premium for such data. Value added service to the fraudsters and clearly a strategy that is paying off. Fraudsters are paying anything between $20 and $100+ for a skimmed Target payment card – location data has added a premium to what the fraudsters charge. That's puts the "value" on the 40million+ payment cards stolen from Target at between $800million and $4billion! If we assume that their ROI is a minimum of 10 times their "investment" then we are looking at a fraud value of between $8bn and $40bn."
Plus, the numbers are much worse. Why? First, Target increased the size of its data breach to 70 million from 40 million. Second, this math is based upon what we know so far. The breach news is far from over. Third, news reports have mentioned three other retailers impacted besides the Target and Neiman Marcus breaches.
This math is important because any risk-analysis systems used by retailers (and banks) use data elements (e.g., location data) that thieves have stolen... and will continue to steal. The thieves are upping their game, and industry needs to respond. It is long past time for the U.S. retail and banking industries to upgrade from obsolete credit/debit card technology to smart payment cards.
The math is important to consumers. Why? You now know how valuable your location information is for thieves. Don't be so quick to give up your location data to social networking websites, banks, and retailers without getting something substantial in return.
"... attacks on NASDAQ, 7-Eleven, Carrefour, JCP, Hannaford, Heartland, Wet Seal, Commidea, Dexia, JetBlue, Dow Jones, Euronet, Visa Jordan, Global Payment, Diners Singapore and Ingenicard."
"The five men each served particular roles in the scheme. Vladimir Drinkman, 32, of Syktyykar and Moscow, Russia, and Alexandr Kalinin, 26, of St. Petersburg, Russia, each specialized in penetrating network security and gaining access to the corporate victims' systems. Roman Kotov, 32, of Moscow, also a hacker, specialized in mining the networks... The hackers hid their activities using anonymous web-hosting services provided by Mikhail Rytikov, 26, of Odessa, Ukraine. Dmitriy Smilianets, 29, of Moscow, sold the information stolen by the other conspirators and distributed the proceeds of the scheme to the participants. Kalinin and Drinkman were previously charged in New Jersey as "Hacker 1" and "Hacker 2" in a 2009 indictment charging Albert Gonzalez, 32, of Miami, in connection with five corporate data breaches – including the breach of Heartland Payment Systems Inc.,..."
Drinkman and Smilianets were arrested in the Netherlands on June 28, 2012. Smilianets was extradited to the USA on Sept. 7, 2012, The other three defendants are still at large. Four defendants are Russian citizens. Rytikov is a citizen of Ukraine. The number of 160 million cards stolen is an estimate, and could be higher.
"The five defendants conspired with others to penetrate the computer networks of several of the largest payment processing companies, retailers and financial institutions in the world, stealing the personal identifying information of individuals. They took user names and passwords, means of identification, credit and debit card numbers and other corresponding personal identification information of cardholders."
Thanks to the several federal agencies involved in pursuing and capturing these defendants.
To me, this case is another example that identity-theft thieves and fraudsters are smart, creative, organized, and persistent. The days of the lone hacker are gone. Identity thieves target firms they believe are vulnerable. Identity thieves go where the money is.
I find this case highly interesting, as both Global Payments and Heartland experienced massive breaches previously. That the hackers targeted these and other payments processors means that all of these firms' computer systems are still vulnerable, despite executives' claims otherwise.
When consumers purchase a product or service with some form of plastic (e.g., credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards) and their mobile device, usually several companies are involved in completing that transaction: getting the money to the retailer (online or brick-and-mortar). While many consumers may believe that only their bank is involved in processing the transaction, the reality is that more companies are often involved.
One type of company involved are payment processors, companies that process these financial transactions. Sometimes these payment processor companies experience data breaches where sensitive customer information is lost or stolen. With recent events in the banking industry, and the spread of prepaid debit cards, this new topic can help you more easily read about and understand what is happening within the banking and retail industries.
I have tagged this new topic retroactively to archived blog posts, so you read and understand the types of information available. See the new "Payment Processors" topic. I hope that you find it useful.