Read the latest technology news that has implications for the hotel industry.
Biden Administration Will Boost Cybersecurity
President Joseph Biden has announced an executive order Wednesday putting new rules for software used by the federal government in hopes of boosting cybersecurity and avoiding issues like the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, The New York Times reports. The efforts are expected to culminate in a "government rating of the security of software products."
"The order comes amid a wave of new cyberattacks, more sophisticated and far-reaching than ever before," according to the newspaper. "Over the past year, roughly 2,400 ransomware attacks have hit corporate, local and federal offices in extortion plots that lock up victims’ data — or publish it — unless they pay a ransom."
While presidential orders aimed to bolster cybersecurity aren't new, Biden's efforts are expected to have the deepest impact on the private sector.
Here are some more of the top tech stories.
IRS Looks To Collect on Cryptocurrency Gains
The Wall Street Journal reports the International Revenue Service is putting a greater focus on finding people looking to avoid paying taxes on money made via cryptocurrencies, including getting court orders to get records from various crypto exchanges.
"While brokerage firms have to report many stock sales and other information to the IRS so it can check tax compliance, there’s little to no such reporting required of crypto exchanges currently," the newspaper reports. "This lack of reporting can make bitcoin, ether and other cryptocurrencies attractive to criminals and tax evaders, and the IRS is determined to go after them."
Facebook Loses Data Fight with EU
Facebook failed in its court battle against a European Union order on how it handles trans-Atlantic data sharing, Bloomberg reports. The Irish Data Protection Commission had earlier decided it had to change processes for how it shared data between the U.S. and the EU, a decision that was backed up by the EU's Court of Justice.
The news outlet notes that "if made permanent, the order would mean the company could no longer use so-called standard contractual clauses for data transfers, the most commonly used remaining method."