Latest Tech Headlines

All the headlines from our Tech Topic Page, ordered by recency.

How Big Tech Is Using Artificial Intelligence to Stop Hackers

Jan 3 2019 // Last year, Microsoft Corp.’s Azure security team detected suspicious activity in the cloud computing usage of a large retailer: One of the company’s administrators, who usually logs on from New York, was trying...

How Big Tech Flirted with Insurance in 2018

Jan 2 2019 // The almost weekly headlines about insurers and venture capitalists investing in insurtechs and tech-savvy insurance startups sometimes blocked the view of what established big technology firms were doing in...

Judge Dismisses Privacy Suit Against Google Over Facial Recognition Technology

Dec 31 2018 // A lawsuit filed against Google by users who said the world’s largest search engine violated their privacy by using facial recognition technology was dismissed by a judge on Saturday. U.S. District Judge Edmond E....

Ineffective Anti-Drone Systems Leave U.S. Airports Facing Risks Like London’s

Dec 27 2018 // U.S. airports may be just as vulnerable as London’s Gatwick airport to the kind of illegal drone incursions that shut down the U.K.’s second-busiest hub this week. Counter- drone technology performed so poorly...

London’s Gatwick Airport Reopens After Drones Cause 36 Hours of Travel Chaos

Dec 21 2018 // London’s Gatwick Airport reopened on Friday after a saboteur wrought 36 hours of travel chaos for over a hundred thousand Christmas travelers by using drones to play cat-and-mouse with police snipers and the...

Insurance Tech Firms Prima Solutions and Effisoft Complete Merger

Dec 18 2018 // Two French insurance technology firms, Prima Solutions and Effisoft, have merged. Effisoft is a Paris-based international group that designs software for insurance and reinsurance professionals. The group specializes in...

JLT Re Partners with Insurtech for Auto Insurance MGA Pact

Dec 17 2018 // Reinsurance broker JLT Re North America is partnering with Pact Insurance, a personal auto insurtech company, to develop digital insurance products for mobility risks. Pact is a managing general agency headquartered in San...

Doubts About Hotel Industry Cyber Security Pre-Date Marriott Hacking

Dec 17 2018 // Long before Marriott International Inc. disclosed a massive security breach, the hotel industry had earned the dubious reputation as a hospitable place for hackers. Thieves have skimmed credit cards, looted loyalty...

Connecticut Insurance Department Partnering with RiskGenius in Tech Pilot Program

Dec 14 2018 // The Connecticut Insurance Department is one of nine state insurance regulators participating in a pilot program to test a web-based platform that uses machine learning. The pilot states are partnering with RiskGenius, a...

Analysts See Autonomous Flying Vehicles Taking Off

Dec 14 2018 // Flying cars, long a staple of science fiction, may be landing in the real world sooner than you think. Sleek vehicles floating above their more chaotic, terrestrial siblings are common trope in stories of a more...

ProAg Adds Borner, Piechowski, Schaefers to Leadership Team

Dec 11 2018 // Amarillo, Texas-based Producers Ag Insurance Group Inc. (ProAg), a member of the Tokio Marine HCC group of companies, has hired Scott Schaefers as senior vice president of Marketing and Innovation, Becky Piechowski as...

Client Connections – Are You Taking Full Advantage of Your Digital Options?

Dec 6 2018 // Calling All Independent Agents! This week we’re running a survey, sponsored by Providence Bank Agency Finance. The survey asks 10 questions about how you connect to your clients and market your agency. I want to...

AIG Chief Data Officer DalleMule Jumps to Insurtech Startup Planck

Dec 6 2018 // Planck Resolution, AI-based data platform for commercial insurance, has hired Leandro DalleMule as general manager, North America. Prior to joining Planck Resolution, DalleMule was the chief data officer (CDO) and head of...

EU Lawmakers Target Big Tech Firms’ Unfair Business Practices

Dec 6 2018 // EU lawmakers agreed on Thursday to take a tougher stance against tech giants such as Google , Amazon and Apple in new legislation aimed at curbing unfair business practices. A European Parliament committee voted in favor...

Waymo Self-Driving, Fare-Generating Taxis Hit the Road in Arizona

Dec 5 2018 // Alphabet’s Waymo on Wednesday launched a significant development in its costly, decade-long quest for autonomous transportation: self-driving taxis that actually generate fares. With little fanfare, the company has...

Small Business Insurtech CoverWallet Expands to Offer Its Tech, Markets Access to Agents

Dec 4 2018 // CoverWallet, a technology company that has been on a mission to “reinvent insurance for small business” customers, is now offering its platform for insurance agencies, the company revealed today. With 16...

Ping An Insurance-Backed Financial Tech Firm Lufax Raises $1.3 Billion

Dec 3 2018 // Ping An-backed Lufax has raised $1.33 billion in its latest funding round from a dozen investors, at a valuation below expectations of the financial technology company, people with direct knowledge of the matter told...

How the Insurance Market Will Expand in an Age of Autonomous Vehicles

Dec 3 2018 // Though it’s estimated that by 2025, auto insurance premiums will drop by $25 billion as a result of the adoption of driverless cars, the insurance market is expected to recover through new lines of coverage,...

Hartford InsurTech Hub Announces 2019 Cohort of Startups

Nov 30 2018 // Hartford InsurTech Hub, powered by Startupbootcamp, has unveiled the 2019 cohort of startups for its acceleration program. The chosen startups cover a range of abilities, from property insurance claims to peer-to-peer...

AXIS Consolidates 4 Businesses Into Single Global Cyber and Technology Unit

Nov 30 2018 // AXIS Insurance said it is merging its U.S. Cyber, Technology, Media and Miscellaneous Professional Liability businesses into one major division to better address “borderless risks.” Dan Trueman has been...