For Your Information Blog: 24/10/23

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Two companies get caught up in hack web that hit Okta

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

In today's top story, Cloudflare and 1Password say after hackers hit Okta last week, some hackers also tried to compromise their systems. Good news — the incidents did not affect their customer systems or data, according to Zack's report. Get the scoop.

Meanwhile, as you know, dear Daily Crunchers, the investment world is a risky one. Not every company gets an exit and some don't even make it far past their first cash infusion. However, when this starts happening frequently, it's time to get to the bottom of it, and Tage does just that by talking to five investors about due diligence in Africa. Read more.

And just in time for the holiday shopping season, Mary Ann writes about I Own My Data. Now with $2.75 million, the startup is unleashing Node, an app that lets consumers manage, retrieve and save all of their online interactions and purchases on their own devices. Take control of your own shopping data.

Image Credits: Michael Vi / Getty Images

More top reads

You can do magic: Well, WorkMagic will do it for you. The company, which recently raised $2 million, wants to automate all the marketing tasks for Shopify sellers. Wands at the ready.

M&A action: WordPress.com owner buys all-in-one messaging app Texts.com for $50 million. Read how that will be integrated.

First look: Walmart and Outlier Ventures' web3 accelerator launches with five startups targeting tech to improve retail and commerce. Time to shop.

Orange won't be the new black for these folks: An ex-SDNY prosecutor says the lead witnesses in the case against Sam Bankman-Fried — Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh — probably won't get jail time. Here's why.

That Pebble didn't bounce: Pebble, the Twitter alternative previously known as T2, is shutting down. Get the scoop.

And just like that . . . : California's Department of Motor Vehicles immediately suspends Cruise's robotaxi permit. Find out what happened.

Light 'em up: New solar mini-grids in Africa to be powered by Husk Power Systems' $103 million Series D. Here's what this means for Husk.

No touch-up for you: Anti-Instagram photo-sharing app Daylyy has no vanity metrics, filters or algorithm. It's just you and your authentic self.

Scary good time: Apple sends out invites for its "Scary Fast" event where, rumor has it, new Macs could be on the way. Prepare to scream.

The heat (pump) is on: Harvest Thermal taps into a $4 million seed round to make heat pumps cheaper to run. See how it works. (TC+)

Let's get engaged: Oxolo bags €13 million for a generative AI–driven video platform that can optimize engagement on the fly. Never have a bored employee again.

Speaking of AI-powered videos: D-ID's newest app uses AI to make videos from photographs. No production needed.

Even more for your Tuesday:

As Databricks touts demand for AI services, all eyes are on Microsoft’s and Alphabet's Q3 results (TC+)

France wants to boost angel investment by copying UK's investment schemes

Europe's CSAM-scanning plan is a tipping point for democratic rights, experts warn

Censys lands new cash to grow its threat-detecting cybersecurity service

Instagram is testing a dedicated feed for posts from Verified users

Image Credits: WorkMagic

AI tool underperforming? It's not your tool. It's your data.

On the pods

This week on Found, our hosts Becca Szkutak and Dominic-Madori Davis talk with Jonas Torland from 7Analytics, a Norwegian company that has built a data platform that powers tools and products for sustainable risk management. Their models predict the paths of floodwater, which allows them to predict and map the damage. Listen here.

Chain Reaction had such a good episode this week, we published it two days early! Jacquelyn interviewed Josh Naftalis, partner at law firm Pallas Partners. He's a longtime attorney who represents companies, boards and executives in cases for white-collar criminal defense, regulatory enforcement matters, internal investigations, crisis management and more. With his experience in corporate fraud, there’s no one better to walk you through the SBF trial so far and let you know what to look out for as we head into the last days of the trial. Listen here.