Thematic Signals: Ripped from the Headlines
Some posts and articles we recently read and recommend
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Thanks for being a subscriber to Thematic Signals+. Here are some of the things we’ve been reading lately:
Cleaner Living
Growing demand for items that claim to be better for you and the planet:
“FedEx plans to test electric carts to make deliveries on its signature Express routes in 10 U.S. and Canadian cities throughout 2022…The company hopes electric delivery carts will help address a major challenge it faces in every big city it serves: lack of parking.”
FedEx is testing electric carts for last-mile delivery in big U.S. and Canadian cities
“Grown Alchemist will join Elemis and Sol de Janeiro at L’Occitane, which is quoted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and has been building a portfolio of premium skincare brands in the clean beauty space.”
L’Occitane Adds Grown Alchemist to Expanding, Clean Beauty Portfolio
“A study performed by the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine tested several home cleaning products and found that their ingredients harmed the body by:
Activating immune system dysfunction.
Producing inflammation in mucous membranes.
Causing damage to the airways on the cell and tissue level.
Another study from the Environmental Working Group states that about 22 percent of products include chemicals that cause asthma. These studies are two of many regarding the adverse effects of toxic products.”
“The average person eats, drinks, and breathes between 74,000 and 121,000 microplastic particles every year - and that is considered an underestimate.”
How We Eat, Drink and Breathe Microplastics
Cyber Security & Data Privacy
Securing individuals and organizations against cyber threats and privacy violations:
“Researchers have disclosed a 'replay attack' vulnerability affecting select Honda and Acura car models, that allows a nearby hacker to unlock your car and even start its engine from a short distance…The attack consists of a threat actor capturing the RF signals sent from your key fob to the car and resending these signals to take control of your car's remote keyless entry system.”
Honda bug lets a hacker unlock and start your car via replay attack
“Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, the wealth and asset management division of Morgan Stanley, says some of its customers had their accounts compromised in social engineering attacks… The account breaches were the result of vishing (aka voice phishing), a social engineering attack where scammers impersonate a trusted entity (in this case Morgan Stanley) during a voice call to convince their targets into revealing or handing over sensitive information such as banking or login credentials.”
Morgan Stanley client accounts breached in social engineering attacks
“HP has published various security alerts for more than 250 of its printer models. Hackers should be able to inject malicious code, denial-of-service (DoS) attacks to start and access data. As a countermeasure, the manufacturer recommends firmware updates and configuration changes.”
Vulnerabilities found in 250 HP printer models
“Four parallel data breach lawsuits have been filed against a 45-year-old background check services company based in Massachusetts. Creative Services, Inc. (CSI), located in Mansfield, provides background screening, drug testing, and security consulting services to employers, institutions, and governments in the United States and overseas. According to an official filing by the company, on November 26, 2021, CSI detected suspicious activity on its computer systems. The company then learned that an unauthorized individual had gained access to the company’s network and may have copied certain files dating from November 2018 to November 2021.”
Background Check Company Sued Over Data Breach
Digital Infrastructure & Connectivity
The Buildout and upgrading of our Networks, Data Storage Facilities, and Equipment:
“Subscription over-the-top (sub OTT) video viewing has become one of the most common digital activities on Earth. We forecast 1.88 billion people worldwide will use a sub OTT service at least once per month in 2022. That figure has nearly doubled from just four years ago. The number of sub OTT video service users is now akin to the number of YouTube viewers, Facebook users, and total worldwide ecommerce shoppers.”
Worldwide subscription over-the-top users forecast for 2022 and beyond
“BMW is partnering with T-Mobile to bring unlimited voice calling and unlimited 5G data to BMW vehicles… The 2022 BMW iX and i4, powered by T-Mobile’s new Magenta Drive for BMW, are reportedly the first vehicles to become 5G connected cars as part of a long-term agreement.”
BMW Partners With T-Mobile To Add 5G Capability
“China is not the only Asian country with an ambitious industrial policy aimed at leading-edge telecommunications. Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reports that “Toyota Motor, NEC and other Japanese companies will join a government-backed group to propose technological requirements for sixth-generation (6G) wireless communications.”
Japan moving beyond 5G to take 6G lead
Also
10-Gbps last-mile internet could become a reality within the decade
See How Verizon Is Using 5G and Edge to Help Industries Drive Innovation
Sustainable Future of Food
Companies addressing the challenge of providing healthy, affordable, and nutritious food to a growing global population amid dwindling natural resources.
“Amidst turbulent economic conditions amplified by the pandemic, supply chain issues, and inflation, new data released today by the Plant-Based Foods Association (PBFA), The Good Food Institute (GFI), and SPINS, show U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods grew 6.2% in 2021 over a record year of growth in 2020, bringing the total plant-based market value to an all-time high of $7.4 billion.”
U.S. plant-based food retail sales hit $7.4 billion
“Retail giant Target is launching an initiative to reduce its use of single-use plastics.
The company announced its Target Zero icon on Wednesday, which is designed to inform customers if a product or its packaging is reusable, refillable, compostable, or made from material that is recyclable or otherwise cuts back on plastic.”
Target Launches Program to Help Shoppers Identify Sustainable Packaging
“Many startups, especially on the consumer side, will have to deal with packaging at some point, whether they’re focused on meal kits, grocery delivery or something else.
But the production of non-sustainable packaging, such as single-use plastics, keeps chugging on. The most recent report by Plastics Europe found that the continent produced 55 megatonnes of single-use plastic in 2020.”
10 sustainable packaging startups to watch in Europe, according to VCs
“At a learning center session at the Commodity Classic, farmers and conservationists talked about using precision agriculture to make conservation decisions on the farm. Farmers can use data to find out which acres are underperforming or even losing money, and possibly convert them to wildlife acres to add value to the land in other ways.”
Farmers discuss data’s role in conservation at Commodity Classic