"The giant ransomware attack against Kaseya might have been entirely avoidable," writes Engadget: Former staff talking to Bloomberg claim they warned executives of "critical" security flaws in Kaseya's products several times between 2017 and 2020, but that the company didn't truly address them... Employees reportedly complained that Kaseya was using old code, implemented poor encryption and even failed to routinely patch software. The company's Virtual System Administrator, the remote maintenance tool that fell prey to ransomware, was supposedly rife with enough problems that workers wanted the software replaced.

One employee claimed he was fired two weeks after sending executives a 40-page briefing on security problems. Others simply left in frustration with a seeming focus on new features and releases instead of fixing basic issues. Kaseya also laid off some employees in 2018 in favor of outsourcing work to Belarus, which some staff considered a security risk given local leaders' partnerships with the Russian government.

Kaseya has declined to comment...

The company's software was reportedly used to launch ransomware at least twice between 2018 and 2019, and it didn't significantly rethink its security strategy.
Engadget adds the Kaseya's software "was reportedly used to launch ransomware at least twice between 2018 and 2019, and it didn't significantly rethink its security strategy."

Slashdot reader tinkers writes: A new study has found that older job seekers on LinkedIn receive fewer job offers than younger ones. But using a profile photo with a younger appearance reduces this effect...

The study's authors say these results reconfirm why photographs are usually absent from traditional resumes or CVs. As such, they suggest that removing photos from LinkedIn might make job-seeking fairer. The lack of photos might cause recruiters to focus more on information that is more relevant to the job.

Remote-worker incentive programs are gradually expanding beyond Hawaii, Vermont, Indiana, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now Charleston, West Virginia is offering a $5,000 "relocation credit" to remote workers. And Ascend WV is offering $12,000 (with a year of free whitewater rafting, rock climbing and skiing...)

Politico discussed the strategies behind luring remote workers with former Intuit CEO Brad Smith (who helped launch the Ascend WV program) and Jim Justice, the state's billionaire governor: At a news conference in April, Justice announced the launch of the program alongside a bill signing of legislation that overhauls the state's corporate income tax law that he said would make West Virginia "the most attractive state in the nation for remote workers and for all businesses." A joyful Justice called West Virginians "frogs proud of their own pond" and labeled Ascend the No. 1 remote worker relocation program in the nation...

The idea is that West Virginia can become "the start-up state," Smith explains to me on a call from his home in Menlo Park, Calif. If you can incentivize ambitious, business minded folks to give overlooked West Virginia a chance, they'll fall in love with the place and stay for good, setting off a domino effect to jumpstart the state economy by creating new businesses and hiring locally, all while giving back to the state in tax dollars along the way and reversing the population decline. And the pool of remote workers is tenfold what it was before the pandemic now that employers everywhere are changing the way they view office work, which could mean high earners will consider a place with a low cost of living where their money can go further — like West Virginia.

A key selling point for Smith is that Ascend participants won't be competing for local jobs; they already have jobs elsewhere. Instead, they'll be spending their money locally, engaging with the community and seeing a place they never would have given a chance before, Smith says... "And their income is taxed in our state, which then creates tax funds to invest in infrastructure."

Prithwiraj Choudhury, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies remote work, believes programs like Ascend can have a positive long-term impact for host cities and will be a "game changer" for places like West Virginia. The Tulsa Remote program, operated by the George Kaiser Family Foundation, has shown payoff in both income tax revenue, projecting a boost of $1.4 million in 2020, and in community engagement; many of the 300-some participants continue to volunteer locally, according to Choudhury's research. Twenty-seven homes have been purchased by Tulsa Remote workers, according to the latest count. "Work from anywhere is here to stay, and people are going to relocate both permanently and for short durations," Choudhury said. "I think policy makers and politicians should view this as an opportunity for attracting tech workers and future entrepreneurs."

That focus on making outsiders happy, though, is at the root of the criticism of programs like Ascend.