a peek behind the curtain

Head Of $1.3 Trillion Federal Student Aid Office Resigns Amid Tension With Betsy DeVos

Head Of $1.3 Trillion Federal Student Aid Office Resigns Amid Tension With Betsy DeVos

New Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is making sweeping changes to federal student aid programs, like taking away protections from borrowers and putting all loan servicing in the hands of one private firm. Now the top official at the Office of Financial Aid has resigned after reportedly butting heads with DeVos and warning his colleagues concerns with the Department’s management. [More]

Cybersecurity Startup Used Unauthorized Hospital Data To Sell Others On Its Services

Cybersecurity Startup Used Unauthorized Hospital Data To Sell Others On Its Services

Companies that provide back-end online services often use live demonstrations to woo new clients or entice investors, but they often either run a simulation using dummy information or have permission to use an existing client’s operations. That apparently wasn’t the case for one multibillion-dollar cybersecurity startup, who reportedly spent years showing off unauthorized peeks into the network of one of their healthcare clients. [More]

(Joel G Goodman)

4 Things We Learned From Costco CEO Craig Jelinek

Costco warehouse stores are big, gray, and decidedly un-sexy, but that has not stopped the wholesale club from attracting shoppers, including some who talk to their friends about Costco the same way you might talk about must-read book.  [More]

(Philip Cloutier)

What The Heck Is The Trans-Pacific Partnership & Why Should I Be Concerned?

It’s 2014, and we’re living in an increasingly globalized economy. International trade has been ramping up for centuries, and a carefully-plotted web of agreements keeps goods, services, and money moving around the world. The U.S. is already a part of many such agreements and organizations —  NATO and NAFTA might sound familiar — but a new international trade agreement, under negotiation right now, has a lot of watchers very worried about potential consequences for everything from healthcare to copyright law in the United States. [More]