Tennessee restores online job listings after cyberattack

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) has announced the restoration of its operating network after a cyberattack forced the state’s jobs and claims processing website offline for a week. Chris Cannon, chief communications officer for the agency, said citizens can start filing unemployment claims electronically once more, though some delays in payments could continue. Though the state’s online claims processing system, outsourced to Geographic Solutions Inc., was hit with “anomalous activity” and forced offline, Cannon said the latest information indicated no personal data was accessed and no data was removed. Read more at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Minnesota legalizes cannabis edibles in effort to regulate delta-8

Though lawmakers in Minnesota recently passed a bipartisan reform to better regulate the cannabis industry amidst the popularity of delta-8 THC products, the new law does not specify the form of THC it regulates. The reform has thus legalized edible products containing the more potent, previously illegal delta-9 form. Senator Jim Abeler, a top Republican in the state, expressed surprise at the impact of the law, telling the Star Tribune that he thought the state legislature was making a “technical fix.” Carol M. Moss, an attorney representing cannabis businesses in the state, said she thinks most lawmakers knew what they were doing, but it was possible at least some were confused. Read more at Business Insider.

Canada’s accounting regulator to review EY after SEC fines US firm

After an SEC investigation found that 49 EY US audit employees shared CPA exam answers, the Canadian Public Accountability Board (CPAB) announced that it will review EY Canada to see if any of its employees cheated on exams. This comes on the heels of an investigation by the Canadian regulator into PwC, which was fined after 1,200 employees were caught cheating on internal exams. Though the CPAB does not have the authority to collect fines for economic damages or punitive reasons, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) could press the issue further, having already collected an $8 million penalty from EY Canada in 2014 over its audits of two Chinese firms. Read more at Consulting.ca.

EU regulator outlines potential rules for UAM and air taxi vehicles

A new set of proposed regulations from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) attempts to outline rules for the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles that manufacturers hope will be certified by governments in the coming years. The regulations are intended as a counterpart to the existing EU drone regulations. They aim to work air taxi integration into the EU’s “smart, green, and digital” cities initiative. Regulators in the U.S. and the U.K. have also pushed to outline regulations as the arrival of aerial urban mobility (UAM) aircraft comes closer, working to create similar certifications for the vehicles in both countries. Read more at DroneDJ.

FCC regulator wants TikTok removed from app stores

An FCC official recently argued that the popular video sharing app TikTok should be removed from app stores as a security precaution. The app, which is owned by the Beijing-based company ByteDance, uses data collection and powerful algorithms to provide users with curated content. Though ByteDance has promised to keep American data on U.S. servers, critics argue the app’s data collection methods put user data at risk both at home and abroad. And despite the fact that the FCC does not have authority over social media platforms, commissioner Brendan Carr told CNN the agency now understands how the Chinese government could use user data to infiltrate communications. Read more at CNN.

More news:

• Two mental health counselors in Iowa recently lost their licenses to practice, with one having been accused of improper conduct with a client and the other having been criminally convicted of an offense that directly related to the counselor profession. The former counselor can apply for reinstatement at any time, while the latter is barred from ever applying again.
• An undercover investigation in Bayonne, NJ, recently caught Christina Bekhit, a local pharmacist, selling coronavirus vaccination cards for $250 apiece. Bekhit was also found to be entering buyer information illicitly into a state-run database of COVID-19 vaccination records. The pharmacist has been arrested and charged with computer-criminal activity and manipulation of public information, among other offenses.
• California-based contracting company American Pacific Builders has drawn scrutiny recently as at least five of its clients have filed complaints against the builder with the state’s Contractors State License Board. The supervising special investigator for the board has in turn referred the complaints to the Attorney General’s office, filing an “Accusation” to revoke the company’s license.

Also noteworthy:

• Digital transformation journey only just beginning for some Australian agencies, study finds (The Mandarin)
• Where is weed legal? A guide to marijuana legalization (The Island Now)
• Where next for quantum computing and cybersecurity? (GovTech)

Got a news tip? Write us at editor@ascend.thentia.com