Posts Tagged: Florida
[Sponsored] BLUETTI Provides Hurricane Preparedness Guidelines Amid Recent Florida Storm
On August 30th, Hurricane Idalia struck Florida with destructive force, resulting in significant damage. The storm caused trees to split, roofs to be torn off hotels, and even led to cars being submerged. Proactive preparation is paramount to mitigate potential damage and ensure safety during such natural disasters. BLUETTI, a pioneering leader in innovative energy […]
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Security flaw in Florida tax website exposed filers’ sensitive data
Some Florida residents may be keeping a close eye on their finances after a security incident. Researcher Kamran Mohsin tellsTechCrunch that Florida’s Department of Revenue website had a flaw that exposed hundreds of filers’ bank account and Social Security numbers. Anyone who logged in to the state business tax registration site could see, modify and even delete personal data just by modifying the web address pointing to a taxpayer’s application number — you just needed to change the digits in the link.
There were over 713,000 applications in the Department’s pipeline at the time of the discovery, Mohsin said. Mohsin warned the Department about the flaw on October 27th.
Department representative Bethany Wester said in a statement that the government fixed the flaw within four days of the report, and that two unnamed firms have deemed the site secure. She added there was “no sign” attackers abused the flaw, but didn’t say how officials might have spotted any misuse. The agency contacted every affected taxpayers by phone or writing within four days of learning about the issue, and has offered a year of free credit monitoring.
Bugs like these, known as insecure direct object references, are relatively easy to fix. The damage might also be limited compared to other tax-related breaches, such as a Healthcare.gov intrusion that compromised about 75,000 people in 2018. However, the incident underscores the potential harm from weak security — even a small-scale exposure like this could be used to commit tax fraud and steal refunds.
Florida pension fund sues Elon Musk over Twitter deal
Elon Musk's $ 44 billion buyout of Twitter is facing its first legal challenge. A Florida pension fund is suing Musk and Twitter, arguing that the deal can't legally close until 2025 due to the billionaire's stake in the platform. The proposed class-action lawsuit — filed today by the Orlando Police Pension Fund in the Delaware Chancery court— also declares that Twitter’s board of directors breached its fiduciary duties by allowing the deal to go through. In addition to Musk and Twitter, the lawsuit also named former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and the company’s board as defendants.
In a message to Engadget, Tulane Law School’s Professor Ann M. Lipton says the lawsuit raises "some very novel issues" under Delaware corporate law. Under a law known as Section 203, shareholders who own more than 15 percent of the company can’t enter a merger without two-thirds of the remaining shares granting approval. Without this approval, the merger can’t be finalized for another three years.
The fund’s lawyers state that Musk initially owned roughly 10 percent of Twitter’s shares, which would seemingly not make Section 203 applicable. But, the fund argues, Musk formed a pact with Morgan Stanley (which owns 8.8 percent of shares) and former CEO Jack Dorsey (who has 2.4 percent) to advance the deal. The combined stake of these parties allegedly makes Musk and his allies in the takeover deal an "interested shareholder" under Section 203 — which, if the court agrees with the underlying reasoning presented in the case, means the merger must either be delayed or get approval shareholders representing at least two-thirds of the company's ownership.
“Section 203 is not often litigated, and so the issue of whether Musk's relationship with these parties actually counts for statutory purposes is an unsettled question and it will be interesting to watch how it unfolds,” wrote Lipton.
More details of Musk’s highly complex $ 44 billion buyout of Twitter have been made public since the social media platform accepted the billionaire’s offer last month. The New York Times reported that Musk promised investors returns of nearly five to ten times their investments if the deal went through. Parts of the deal are being scrutinized, including its reliance on foreign investors and whether Musk bought shares in the company specifically to influence its leadership. But antitrust experts say the merger is unlikely to be blocked by the FTC. The agency will decide in the next month whether to quickly approve the merger or launch a lengthier investigation.
SpaceX makes first polar orbit launch from Florida in ‘decades’
While SpaceX didn’t pull off a doubleheader Sunday launch like it planned, the company still managed a rare feat. Instead of launching eastward like every other Cape Canaveral rocket, the Falcon 9 headed south toward Cuba, close to populated areas on…
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Florida allows self-driving car tests without backup drivers
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Florida may finally implement full ban on texting while driving
There are 43 states that currently treat texting while driving as a primary offense, but Florida isn't one of them — you have to break another law before texting enters the picture. However, less-than-attentive commuters might not get away with it…
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Florida Gov: Use Google Maps for real-time road closure updates
Google and Florida have teamed up to make Maps a much more useful resource for the state's evacuation plans in preparation for Hurricane Irma's arrival. Florida Governor Rick Scott has advised residents to use various apps and websites to help them n…
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