FORRward: A Weekly Read For Tech And Marketing Execs
Johnson & Johnson And Apple Team Up To Save Lives And Create New Business Value
Janssen Pharmaceutica, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, is partnering with Apple and Evidation Health to study how the Apple Watch can help identify atrial fibrillation (AFib) to reduce heart health losses. AFib, affecting nearly 6 million Americans, is the most common type of irregular heartbeat and leading cause of strokes in the US. This joint tech-driven innovation, called the Heartline Study, looks at how irregular rhythm notifications found on the Apple Watch and a forthcoming iPhone heartline app can improve health outcomes via faster detection of AFib. According to the study’s co-chair, this net-new business value innovation effort will span three years with a goal of recruiting 150,000 customers. It also enables participants to engage in the study remotely, rather than traveling to a clinical trial site, which offers time and money savings for better health outcomes. We are tracking these types of partnered tech-driven innovations closely; they are key for successful health evolution and future market leadership. If you are driving a similar effort, we would love to hear about it.
Clearview AI Learns What It’s Like To Have Its Data Accessed Without Consent
Last month, Clearview AI faced backlash and lawsuits against its facial recognition database. On February 27, BuzzFeed News published a story detailing the extent of Clearview AI’s client list. Many of the entities that ran searches weren’t Clearview AI clients — they were users operating on a 30-day trial — and some of the companies listed didn’t even know users had signed up for the trial. The story also confirmed that commercial organizations unaffiliated with law enforcement were actively working with Clearview’s technology. Today, the United States doesn’t have a federal law overseeing the use of facial recognition, and globally, privacy laws are still fragmented. The Clearview AI story provides a sobering preview of what happens when companies monetize sensitive data and behave recklessly without the right safeguards in place. Facial recognition can improve customer and employee experiences with better authentication and identity verification, but these use cases require contextual privacy for success. The good news? We can help you avoid the next surveillance economy scandal by establishing corporate values that build and safeguard customer trust.
Misinformation, Disinformation, And Dark PR Allegations Reemerge At SoftBank
This week, The Wall Street Journal revisited allegations that Rajeev Misra paid an intermediary to smear internal rivals at SoftBank. According to the report, the smear campaign — involving experts with intelligence backgrounds and cybersecurity practitioners — spanned computer hacking, the release of personal details, and honeytraps that would lead to eventual blackmail if successful. News networks and shareholders were involved to amplify the campaigns. One of the targets, Nikesh Arora, resigned and, in another intersection with the cybersecurity industry, joined Palo Alto Networks as CEO. The story details the salacious details of the campaigns — and proves how difficult it is to defend against these kinds of disinformation and misinformation campaigns. Attacks designed to distort the truth and damage hard-earned reputations are not new, but the ease of creating, distributing, and amplifying the campaigns has ratcheted up the consequences. As the 2020 election year heats up in the United States, you must understand the implications of influence operations that migrate from the world of politics to the enterprise and be prepared to apply Zero Trust outside of your secured operations.