Ransomware Summit, Twitter Board Dissolved, NetworkX Winners

November 1, 2022 – A White House official said ransomware attacks are increasing faster than the country’s ability to disrupt them, according to a transcript from the second Counter Ransomware Initiative summit that began this weekend.

Leaders from 36 countries and the European Union were invited to develop strategies, according to the White House transcript, to combat the use of ransomware, malicious software that holds captive data on computer systems until money is paid.

“We’re seeing the pace and the sophistication of the ransomware attacks increasing faster than our resilience and disruption efforts,” said the unnamed senior administration official, according to the transcript.

And despite the official noting “progress” has been made to disrupt the attacks, the official added “we really want to redouble our work, deepen the partnership – because as I mentioned, it’s a borderless problem, so fundamentally no one country can take it on alone — and put in ways to systemize information sharing.”

The administration official noted the Labor Day cyberattack on the Los Angeles Unified School District as an example of ransomware evolving to “an issue that knows no borders.”

The closing session of the summit will be livestreamed on WhiteHouse.gov from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 1, according to the transcript.

Musk dissolves Twitter’s board of directors

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk dissolved Twitter’s board of directors days after he closed his $44-billion acquisition of the social media company, reported CNN on Monday.

Following the deal, Musk began cleaning house at Twitter, firing Twitter’s chief executive officer, chief financial officer, the legal chief, and the general counsel.

He then made himself the sole director by clearing the board of directors, reported CNN, citing securities filings.

Musk tried to back out of the Twitter deal in May 2022, alleging Twitter had misrepresented the number of robot accounts on its platform. The social media company sued him this summer to complete the sale.

Critics are concerned with Musk’s views on free speech and the potential for offensive or controversial views to resurface on the social media platform. But Musk responded to those concerns.

“…Twitter obviously cannot become a free for all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences! In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your preferences, just as you can choose for example, to see a movie or play video games ranging from all ages to mature,” Musk said in a tweet.

2022 NetworkX winners announced

Market insight company Informa Tech announced wireless network operator T-Mobile and Finnish broadband equipment provider Nokia as 2022 NetworkX winners on Tuesday.

The NetworkX event by Informa tech highlights notable achievements in the telecommunications industry made by companies or professionals. Awards are adjudicated by independent research experts. T-Mobile won the NetworkX award in “Leading operator service innovation,” while Nokia won the awards in “Outstanding cloud automation solutions” and “Outstanding next generation passive optical networking,” according to the website.

“The awards celebrate exemplary individuals who are true gurus in the industry and companies that are shaping the industry through innovation, delivering tangible benefits to businesses and consumers,” Sam Oakley, senior portfolio director of Informa Tech, said in a press release.

This month, metrics company Ookla named T-Mobile the fastest mobile operator in the United States for the third quarter.