If You’re a CEO, It Pays to Share Your Wealth. This Seattle Boss Did

The Guardian | Deborah Hargreaves | Apr. 16

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/16/dan-price-seattle-boss-shares-dosh

“Dan Price, chief executive of Seattle technology company Gravity Payments, is hiking wages to $70,000 a year for his 120 employees. He’s also taking a cut in his own pay of around $1m to the same level. Price was convinced by research into wellbeing and happiness by academics Daniel Kahneman and Angus Deaton. Their 2010 paper makes the argument that emotional wellbeing rises with income up to a cut-off point of $75,000 (£50,000 in the UK) – beyond which people do not get any happier as they get richer.”

 

WTIA Tech Trade Group to Offer Members Insurance against Cyber Attacks

GeekWire | Todd Bishop | Apr. 16

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/wtia-tech-trade-group-to-offer-members-insurance-against-cyber-attacks/

“The Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) will offer its members insurance against cyber attacks — a program that the Seattle-based organization describes as the first of its kind for a tech trade group. WTIA’s move, announced this morning, comes amid increasing reports of security breaches at a variety of companies in health care, retail, financial services and other major sectors.”

 

How This Seattle-Area School District Became Model for Using Technology in Schools

GeekWire | Taylor Soper | Apr. 15

http://www.geekwire.com/2015/how-this-seattle-area-school-district-is-a-model-for-using-technology-in-schools/

“Located just south of downtown Seattle, the Kent School District (KSD) is certainly unique. It’s the fourth-largest school system in the state of Washington; it’s one of the most diverse districts, with 137 languages spoken; it’s home to a large refugee community given the close proximity to the airport and cheap housing available throughout the area; and it’s a district where a majority of the 27,000 students are on a free or reduced price meal plan. The district also happens to be one of the most innovative public school systems in the country when it comes to using technology both in and out of the classroom.”

 

Gangs of Hackers Cause Cyber Breaches to Spike 23%

USA Today | Elizabeth Weise | Apr. 14

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/04/14/symantec-threat-report/25738203/

“Organized criminal gangs of hackers got smarter, faster and more ubiquitous last year, pulling off 312 major breaches against companies. That’s up 23% from the year before, Symantec’s 2014 Internet threat report found. Health care companies were a major focus of hackers, with 37% of breaches in that sector, compared with 11% in retail and 10% in education, the security company’s yearly look at the seamy underbelly of the Web found.”

 

U.S. Tech Giants Double Down in Europe

Wall Street Journal | Amir Mizroch, Lisa Fleisher, Sam Schechner | Apr. 14

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-tech-giants-double-down-in-europe-1429046792

“Despite a regulatory crackdown that threatens to curb their growth in Europe, U.S. tech giants are doubling down on their operations on the continent. Google Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon Inc. have all built or planned massive new data centers in Europe. Uber Technologies Inc. and Facebook Inc. have opened engineering centers. And top executives from the companies have gone on publicity campaigns in cities across the continent to highlight their companies’ roles in local economies.”