Innovation Insider - November 12th, 2024

The markets are booming. Now that the US election has passed, it seems that the uncertainty that had the markets spooked is also gone. On Wednesday, the day following the election, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1,503 points, or 3.6%; the broader S&P 500 gained 146 points, or 2.5%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose nearly 3%.

Bitcoin is reaching new all time highs daily and there are a lot of positive vibes across markets. Will they continue to roar upwards or is this early and unjustified euphoria?

It’s impossible to predict the future, the markets are saying yes though. It’s likely that the coming reduction of interest rates globally will also spur spending and growth.

Thanks for reading Innovation Insider - Presented by DoneStreet! Subscribe for free to receive new posts weekly.

Let’s jump into this week’s highlights.

News

Meta is planning a new 16-fiber pair subsea cable connecting the U.S. East Coast to the U.S. West Coast via the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Oceans. The proposed route includes the U.S. East Coast, West African coast, South Africa, Mumbai, Australia, and the U.S. West Coast

Nvidia has surpassed Apple to become the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, driven by the surge in artificial intelligence demand. This marks the second time this year that Nvidia has overtaken Apple, reflecting the growing importance of AI in the tech industry.

Tesla has rejoined the trillion-dollar market capitalization club, with its stock price rising nearly 30% since the U.S. election, reaching a valuation exceeding $1 trillion.

The Canadian government ordered TikTok to cease its operations in the country, citing national security concerns. This directive mandates that TikTok wind down its business activities in Canada. However, the government clarified that this action does not intend to block Canadians' access to the app or restrict their ability to create new content, emphasizing that the use of social media applications remains a personal choice.

Archer Aviation, a leading electric flight company based in San Jose, California, is bringing its futuristic air taxis to Japan. The company will sell 100 of its Midnight battery-powered aircraft to Sojitz Corporation, a Japanese trading company, marking its first international sale.

Researchers have discovered that while CRISPR gene-editing technology can correct specific genetic mutations, it may inadvertently introduce new defects. This underscores the need for caution and further research to ensure the safety and precision of CRISPR-based therapies.

Developer Profiles of the Week

Scott is a US-based full stack software engineer with over 14 years of experience. His primary technical stack is with Laravel / VueJS. He also has a good amount of experience with jQuery. On the database side, Scott has worked with MySQL and PostgreSQL.

Stéfano is a senior backend engineer who has experience with NodeJS, TypeScript, Java, and C++. He also has extensive experience with AWS (terraform, ECS, etc…). Stéfano has a good level of computer science knowledge and would be a great addition to many teams. Stéfano is based in Brazil

Please email us at hiring@donestreet.com to learn more about these talented developers and how you can bring them onto your team.

Engineering and Security

The top five malware techniques in 2024 - including disabling Windows event logging to hide malicious activity, exploiting PowerShell for executing harmful commands, escalating privileges through system vulnerabilities, exploiting remote services for unauthorized access, and using dynamic rendering to evade detection.

Top 10 JavaScript SEO Tricks Every Developer Should Know. An article that offers strategies to enhance the search engine optimization (SEO) of JavaScript-heavy websites.

Researchers have identified a malicious package named "fabrice" on the Python Package Index (PyPI), which has been downloaded over 37,000 times since its publication in March 2021. This package typosquats the legitimate "fabric" library and is designed to steal AWS credentials from developers' systems.

Improve developer onboarding with an internal developer portal. An Internal Developer Portal (IDP) improves developer onboarding by centralizing resources, tools, and documentation, making it easier for developers to access what they need quickly.

Zscaler's 2024 ThreatLabz Ransomware Report reveals a 17.8% increase in ransomware attacks over the past year, totaling 4.4 million incidents. The report highlights a record-breaking $75 million ransom payment to the Dark Angels group, nearly doubling the highest known ransom to date. Manufacturing, healthcare, and technology sectors were the primary targets

AWS EC2 Security Best Practices [Cheat Sheet]. The AWS EC2 Security Best Practices Cheat Sheet by Wiz offers actionable steps to enhance the security of your EC2 instances

HR Notice

While AI is automating certain HR tasks, such as recruiting high-volume positions, it is unlikely to replace HR professionals entirely. The complexity of HR systems and regulatory concerns mean that AI adoption is cautious, with minimal reductions in HR headcount—less than 5%.

The Mozilla Foundation has laid off 30% of its staff, approximately 36 employees, and discontinued its advocacy and global programs divisions.

Opendoor, a San Francisco-based real estate technology company, has announced the layoff of 300 employees, representing 17% of its workforce. This decision is part of a reorganization aimed at prioritizing strategic growth initiatives, flattening reporting structures, and driving efficiencies.

A recent ResumeBuilder.com survey indicates that 70% of companies plan to incorporate AI into their hiring processes by 2025, despite concerns about inherent biases. Currently, 51% of companies use AI in hiring, with projections rising to 68% by the end of 2025. Applications include resume screening, candidate communication, assessments, and interviews. Notably, 23% of companies are already conducting AI-led interviews.

Funding

Symbiotic Security has announced a $3 million seed funding round and introduced a real-time security solution for software development. This platform integrates detection, remediation, and just-in-time training directly into developers' workflows, aiming to enhance code security without disrupting productivity.

Nodal is announcing a $4 million seed extension round led by NFX that gives the company a $15 million post-money valuation. Nodal is transforming the surrogacy process by connecting prospective parents with vetted surrogates through a technology-driven marketplace.

Agrovision, a leading superfruit producer, has secured $100 million in equity financing, elevating its valuation to over $1 billion. This investment, led by Aliment Capital and other notable investors, aims to support Agrovision's global expansion and product development. The company, known for its premium berries under the Fruitist and Big Skye brands, has nearly tripled its sales in the past three years.

Embed Security has raised $6 million in an early-stage funding round led by Paladin Capital Group. The company offers an agentic security platform designed to alleviate the workload of security analysts. By leveraging AI, the platform autonomously investigates alerts, detects threats, and provides guidance, enabling analysts to focus on high-value tasks like remediation and threat hunting.

Resource of the week

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) offers a suite of tools designed to enhance online privacy and security. Key offerings include: Privacy badger, HTTPS Everywhere, Certbot, Cover Your Tracks and Surveillance Self-Defense.

Book Recommendation of the Week

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph by Ryan Holiday delves into the application of Stoic philosophy in modern life, demonstrating how challenges and obstacles can serve as opportunities for personal growth and success. By exploring the mindset required to navigate difficulties, Holiday provides a roadmap for transforming adversity into advantage.

This Day in History

First recorded meteor shower in North America. On November 12, 1799, Andrew Ellicott, an early American astronomer, witnesses the Leonids meteor shower from a ship off the Florida Keys. Ellicott wrote in his journal that the “whole heaven appeared as if illuminated with sky rockets, flying in an infinity of directions, and I was in constant expectation of some of them falling on the vessel. They continued until put out by the light of the sun after day break.” Ellicott’s journal entry is the first known record of a meteor shower in North America.

We hope you have found value in this newsletter. If you have not yet subscribed, please hit the subscribe button and let us know what types of content you’d like to see more of in the future.

DoneStreet - Building Teams That Build Success. Hire with confidence through DoneStreet.

Thanks for reading Innovation Insider - Presented by DoneStreet! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and updates.