ProfNet Expert Alerts: Trucking Industry, Financial Planning, Data Security, More

EXPERT ALERTS

• Antitrust Policy and Failed Mergers
• Truck Industry Safety Rules
• Healthcare Data Breaches in the Age of HIPAA: A Chronic or an Acute Condition?
• Financial Planning and the LGBT Community
• Financing Should Not Be Main Priority for Early-Stage Companies
• Cybersecurity Not Just a One-Time Focus
• Today's Data Security Problems Tied to Lack of Focus
• Securing Infrastructure From Internal and External Attacks

MEDIA JOBS

• Data Editor – Crain's Cleveland Business (OH)
• Online Editor – U.S. News & World Report (DC)
• Reporter – Dow Jones (NY)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Upcoming Twitter Q&A: The Art of Risk
• Interviewing People Affected by Tragedy
• Media Law: Ignorance Is Not a Defense to a Libel Lawsuit

EXPERT ALERTS:

Antitrust Policy and Failed Mergers
George Bittlingmayer
Distinguished Professor of Finance
University of Kansas
"Antitrust policy is a balancing act. You want the government to protect consumers from price hikes, but you also don't want it to prevent mergers when the alternative to a merger is a slow, painful decline. As the number of stressed firms accumulates, the real damage comes from all of the deals that do not happen. Most companies that do not go under ultimately get acquired by another company, and we should think long and hard about whether we want to slow that process down. Historically, very aggressive prohibitions of mergers, as happened in the 1970s, were not good for the economy."
Bittlingmayer is available to discuss the failed Staples-Office Depot merger and others this year, including the recent Halliburton-Baker Hughes deal that also fell through. His research interests include mergers and acquisitions, and the effect politics and regulation have on business and financial markets. He served as a visiting economist at the Federal Trade Commission and has authored dozens of publications on business and economics, including mergers and acquisitions and the effect of regulation.
Website: http://news.ku.edu
Contact: George Diepenbrock, [email protected]

Truck Industry Safety Rules
Thomas M. Corsi
Professor of Logistics and Transportation
University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business
An uptick in accidents involving large trucks has prompted a battle between the truck industry, its congressional allies, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates trucking, and its allies. Says Corsi: "Counterproductive was lawmakers stepping in to prevent the FMCSA from publicizing on its website when truck carriers had passed thresholds indicating increased crash risk, according to its Safety Measurement System. We talk a lot about how our economic system ought to be one in which people make informed decisions, in a free market, based on information. When this information was available, it was used effectively by brokers and by insurance companies. The vast majority of carriers operate safely, and follow the rules. You would think they would welcome people looking up their records and seeing that they are safe carriers. But the squeaky wheels -- the worst performers -- have been dominant in the discussion."
Corsi also supports FMCSA efforts to raise the $750,000 minimum amount of insurance that truckers carry: "The figure has not changed since the 1980s, and it bears little connection to the damage that an 80,000-pound rig can cause."
Corsi has served as a consultant on truck safety issues to the U.S. Department of Transportation and on Transportation Research Board committees dealing with truck safety.
Bio: http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/directory/thomas-m-corsi
Contact: Greg Muraski, [email protected]

Healthcare Data Breaches in the Age of HIPAA: A Chronic or an Acute Condition?
Adam Stern
Founder and CEO
Infinitely Virtual
A recent study by the law firm Baker Hostetler revealed more healthcare data breaches occurred in 2015 than any other type of data security event (see http://goo.gl/iHOZ3h). The report agrees with previous analyses indicating that healthcare is consistently one of the industries most affected by privacy and security violations. HIPAA violations are especially difficult to detect, and potentially calamitous because of that difficulty. If a single Social Security number leaves a healthcare provider's facility, the loss can be catastrophic to the holder of that number. Almost by definition, data losses by smaller providers don't hit the radar, or the headlines, but that doesn't diminish their power to do real damage. In the case of that Social Security breach, every patient that provider serves is now a victim as well. And smaller organizations have both a harder time being secure and being aware of their security situation.
Says Stern: "It's generally smart to install Data Loss Prevention (DLP), the standard software methodology to determine if a breach has occurred, but DLP isn't a panacea and it can monitor only so much. While DLP may make life easier, it's certainly not required of HIPAA compliance. Every upstream provider that handles data needs to sign a BAA -- a business associate agreement -- in order to be in the HIPAA food chain. A BAA under HIPAA is a sort of promissory note that the IT provider will adhere to the HIPAA law. But a BAA doesn't compel compliance or insulate providers from liability or responsibility -- that's why healthcare providers looking for IT support need to exercise extraordinary due diligence. As of right now, there's a persistent lack of clarity around HIPAA, and nothing has been tested in court. The fact is, 'HIPAA compliance' comes with disturbingly few obligations. Perhaps owing to whatever legislative sausage-making gave birth to the law, HIPAA offers no guidance on how to follow it."
Infinitely Virtual helps businesses move from obsolete hardware investments to an IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) cloud platform, providing them the flexibility and scalability to transition select data operations from in-house to the cloud. Since 2007, Infinitely Virtual has grown exponentially through its offering affordable, customized cloud-based solutions, using the most sophisticated technology available. Host Review named the company to its list of "Top Ten Fastest Growing" enterprises in 2011 and it has made the list on a regular basis ever since.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinitely_Virtual
Website: http://www.infinitelyvirtual.com
Contact: Ken Greenberg, [email protected]

Financial Planning and the LGBT Community
Thomas Donnelly, JD, PFP
LGBT Financial Planner
Calamus Financial Planning
"The traditional financial services industry assumes most people want marriage, kids, and a house in the suburbs, which is probably true. But gay men, by and large, want something a little different out of life."
Based in West Hollywood, Calif., Donnelly specializes in helping gay men make better financial decisions. Calamus Financial Planning provides advice and planning services on topics such as retirement planning, cash flow and debt management, college savings, employee benefit optimization, setting financial goals, investments, insurance, and tax planning strategies.
Bio: http://www.profnetconnect.com/Thomas_Donnelly
Contact: Thomas Donnelly, [email protected]

Financing Should Not Be Main Priority for Early-Stage Companies
Jonathan Kestenbaum
Executive Director
Talent Tech Labs
"While the new Title III crowdfunding laws may open up additional opportunities for startups to raise capital from the general public, financing should not the main priority for early-stage companies. How much money a startup can raise is not the best measure of the company's success. A startup's focus should be on making sure their products work and testing them in real-life situations – not just with friends and family."
Kestenbaum is executive director of Talent Tech Labs, an NYC-based incubator. He can discuss what early-stage companies, emerging businesses, and entrepreneurs should look for in an incubator, trends in talent acquisition technology, and other issues specific to startups.
Website: http://talenttechlabs.com
Contact: Beth Brody, [email protected]

Cybersecurity Not Just a One-Time Focus
Matthew J. Lane
Chief Information Officer
JANUS Associates
"Cybersecurity is an ongoing process, not just a one-time focus. The landscape is constantly evolving as cybercriminals work to evade detection and capture. The stakes continue to increase while the prosecution and penalties for the criminals continue to be lacking."
Lane has presented both domestically and internationally on cybersecurity topics. He is a recognized and sought-after presenter to both commercial and government entities. He is available to discuss cybersecurity, IT security, privacy issues, data breaches, social engineering, phishing attacks, cyberwarfare, Internet of Things, and PCI compliance.
JANUS is the oldest independent IT security firm in the nation. Founded in 1988, JANUS has worked with over 32 federal agencies, numerous state and municipal governments, over 200 of the Fortune 1000, colleges and universities, and not for profits including Amnesty International and Save the Children. Website: www.janusassociates.com
Contact: Lyle A. Liberman, [email protected]

Today's Data Security Problems Tied to Lack of Focus
Karl Muenzinger
Director of Consulting
JANUS Associates
"Many of today's data security (breach) problems can tied to a lack of focus related to existing regulations and requirements. Most businesses look at compliance as a necessary evil, and senior management often looks at security and compliance from the standpoint of lacking any ROI. What they don't realize is that it is eight times more expensive to clean up after a breach compared to preventing it from happening in the first place."
Muenzinger regularly presents on the above topics to federal and state government entities. He is considered a subject matter expert in HIPPA and IT-related banking compliance issues. He's available to discuss information security, cybersecurity, IT compliance and audit surrounding FINRA, HIPAA, PCI, and CALEA. Other areas include business resilience, disaster recovery, and business continuity.
JANUS is the oldest independent IT security firm in the nation. Founded in 1988, JANUS has worked with over 32 federal agencies, numerous state and municipal governments, over 200 of the Fortune 1000, colleges and universities, and not for profits including Amnesty International and Save the Children. Muenzinger has been a valued member of the team for over 10 years.
Website: www.janusassociates.com
Contact: Lyle A. Liberman, [email protected]

Securing Infrastructure From Internal and External Attacks
Patricia Fisher
President, Founder
JANUS Associates
"Cyberthreats continue to increase exponentially, and it has never been more important to educate organizations about the risks to their business operations. It is necessary to focus on securing infrastructures from both internal and external attacks, and it is much easier and more cost effective to prevent an attack versus the expense and business disruption of a data breach."
Fisher has 27 years with JANUS as its founder, where she specializes in both the governance of information technology and information security and risk management projects, providing analysis and strategic advice to executive boards and leadership teams of JANUS' clients. Her time with JANUS was preceded by 11 years at IBM as country manager, information security and business continuity for Latin America and Canada. Prior to that, she also managed large corporate data centers for IBM, as well as large-scale application development projects. She has led a wide variety of projects over many years for government entities and not-for-profit customers, and is a highly sought-after speaker and writer of articles. She is a former member of the New York City Housing Authority's Audit Committee and served as the IT expert for the committee. She is available to discuss cybersecurity, IT regulatory compliance, disaster recovery and business continuity, business resilience.
Website: www.janusassociates.com
Contact: Lyle A. Liberman, [email protected]

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Data Editor – Crain's Cleveland Business (OH)
• Online Editor – U.S. News & World Report (DC)
• Reporter – Dow Jones (NY)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line.

• UPCOMING TWITTER Q&A: THE ART OF RISK. "Risk" is a scary word for many people. Stepping out of your comfort zone and taking a chance on something that might or might not work out can cause some to continue with the status quo. But taking a risk, as frightening as it might be, can open you up to new opportunities, better decisions and, perhaps, a more fulfilling career. Next week, we'll talk about risk-taking with Kayt Sukel, author of "The Art of Risk: The New Science of Courage, Caution & Chance." Details here: http://prn.to/1X70su5
• INTERVIEWING PEOPLE AFFECTED BY TRAGEDY. Covering tragedies is part of the job when you're a reporter. It's never something reporters like to do, but there's no escaping it. If there's been a homicide, you cover it. If there's a fire, you cover it. You'll likely encounter relatives of the victim, someone who's lost their home, or someone else whose life has just been turned upside down. Here are some tips to approaching someone who's hurting: http://prn.to/1TIdcC5
• MEDIA LAW: IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NOT A DEFENSE TO A LIBEL LAWSUIT. Ignorance may be bliss, but it's not a defense that will hold up in court. So, just as reporters master their craft, it's important for journalists to know the basics of libel law: http://prn.to/LibelLaw

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