Money and Computing

Some Bills Introduced: A bill to ensure the safety of cosmetics; banning the use of intentionally added perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances in cosmetics; expanding the membership of the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans to include veterans who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender diverse, gender non-conforming, intersex, or queer; mammography screening for veterans who served in locations associated with toxic exposure; providing coverage for custom fabricated breast prostheses following a mastectomy; A bill to improve social security benefits for widows and widowers in two-income households   Weekly Legislative Update June 21, 2021  … more »

Julia Sneden wrote: As the Boomers moved into adulthood, they proved themselves able to make huge changes in laws and customs. They have immeasurably furthered tolerance among people of different races and religions. The causes they embraced have brought about new attitudes toward same-sex relationships, single parenting, women in the work force, the environment, and physical fitness. New marketing strategies were developed to entice Boomers. (Remember when you could buy shoes without a company's logo on it, or a shirt without the designer's name on the pocket?) more »

A federal jury in Connecticut convicted a Russian national on Tuesday for operating a “crypting” service used to conceal “Kelihos” malware from antivirus software, enabling hackers to systematically infect victim computers around the world with malicious software, including ransomware. “By operating a website that was intended to hide malware from antivirus programs, Koshkin provided a critical service that enabled other cyber criminals to infect thousands of computers around the world,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Leonard C. Boyle for the District of Connecticut. “We will investigate and prosecute the individuals who aid and abet cyber criminals as vigorously as we do the ones who actually hit the ‘send’ button on viruses and other malicious software.”  more »

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law and the Bipartisan Policy Center today published a report on the state of the election official profession and the toll of the unprecedented attacks on these officials’ authority, credibility, and personal safety that surged in the run-up to the 2020 election and have not stopped. The report features a survey finding that one in three election officials report feeling unsafe because of their job, and one in six reported having been threatened due to their job. The authors provide solutions for the various problems facing election officials, with calls to action for local, state, and federal governments as well as social media companies and other institutions. more »