Author : zebethcontrol

Instagram expands AI-powered age verification program to India and Brazil • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in age verification, Apps, brazil, india, InstagramNo Comments

Instagram, facing scrutiny from safety advocates, started testing a program in the U.S. earlier this year to verify users’ age claiming to be 18 or older. It uses techniques including authentication via running video selfies through an artificial intelligence system. The Meta-owned service is now ready to roll out this program to two key overseas markets: India and Brazil. These countries together have about 400 million monthly active users on Instagram, according to market intelligence platform Sensor Tower, data of which an industry executive shared with ZebethMedia. The social network said in an updated blog post that it plans to roll out this age verification program to the UK and EU before the end of the year. The program allows users to upload a video of themselves, which Instagram runs through an AI system to determine whether they are indeed aged 18 or older. For this option, Instagram has partnered with the UK-based identity startup Yoti. Once users complete taking a video selfie by following the on-screen instructions, Meta shares that with Yoti for verification through its specially trained AI. Both companies say they delete the data afterward. Image Credits: Instagram Users can also verify their age by providing an ID. Instagram has a list of documents it accepts for verification. The social giant also said it is removing Social Vouching as an option to verify age. Social Vouching, one of the experimental ways Instagram verified the age as part of the new program, allowed a user to request their mutual followers, who are aged 18 or above, to vouch for the age. While it didn’t expand on the reason, it is likely that some users were gaming the system by asking their mutual followers aged 18 or above to lie for them. The rollout comes at a time when safety advocates are lambasting Instagram for letting kids under 13 use the platform and not doing enough to stop teens from potentially seeing harmful content. On its part, last year Instagram made it mandatory for everyone to enter their birthdates, but it’s hard to rely only on that factor as users can easily provide false information. Notably, Twitter is rolling out a feature that asks users to enter their birthdates to see sensitive content. Instagram says it uses age data to restrict certain experiences for teens: it makes accounts of users under 16 private by default, blocks DMs from unknown adults and stops advertisers to serve targeted ads based on teens’ interests and activities. Lawmakers across the world are also looking at introducing rules that force platforms to have effective age checks in place. The UK’s Online Safety Bill and the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act look to restrict content that users aged under 18 can access. Their scrutiny was partially prompted after a whistleblower testified last year to reveal that Facebook had prioritized profit over the well-being of users, especially teens.

Some new venture firms are so niche, it’s tempting to laugh off their focus • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in Climate, VentureNo Comments

There are big, overarching top-down trends, and there are little-bitty baby trends that have a way of growing into bigger ones. A big trend right now, for example, centers on certain firms that passed out enormous checks to startup founders in recent years and drove valuations sky high in the process. It turns out this strategy doesn’t work as well as they’d anticipated, and some of these same firms are now splitting up with some of their partners and asking their own investors for a lot less capital. Another big trend? Venture firms that are more aggressively investing in publicly traded companies given that many have seen their share prices hammered in the downturn. (We began seeing this trend back in January and the WSJ notes that it is only picking up steam.) Now here’s a new baby trend that’s interesting: new firms that are so niche that, at first glance, it’s easy to laugh off their focus. A venture firm focused solely dedicated to oral care and not something, um, a little broader? A firm that’s focused on tech that can help detect and contain wildfires? (No way.) How about a venture firm that’s dedicated to backing and building psychedelic businesses alone? As it happens, these outfits exist, and two of three of them have this week announced moderate-size debut funds, while the third suggests it’s on a path to doing the same. Viewed together, they create a picture of how the industry could potentially look over time. Let’s take the first firm, the one focused on oral health alone. Called Revere Partners, the New York-based outfit — which counts among its partners Mark Zuckerberg’s dentist father, by the way — seems still to be raising a fund. (It announced in a late-September press release that it is “launching” its fund, which is code for: we don’t exactly have a fund yet.) You might imagine in this case that a lot of wealthy dentists are pooling their money together to invest in technologies that they know could upend their industry. That could well be what’s happening. But give credit where it’s due. Dental care is a huge market that’s growing as the world’s median age rises. It’s expected to surpass $230 billion by the end of next year, according to the Office of the Actuary at the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Meanwhile, there are a lot of startup opportunities in the business — and not a lot of breakout winners yet. (Think dental insurance, direct-to-consumer subscription products, tele-health services, private clinics, mobile dentistry services, dental implant surgery companies, the list goes on.) Or let’s take another niche fund, the one focused on wildfire technologies, Convective Capital. My first thought reading about this one was: wildfires? Really? I happen to live in Northern California, where wildfires are a constant and very terrifying threat. It just seemed . . . very specific. I wasn’t alone in my skepticism. Founder Bill Clerico — who previously founded the fintech company WePay and sold it to JPMorgan Chase — told ZebethMedia earlier this week that the firm’s thesis was more polarizing than Clerico expected, and that some investors understood his pitch immediately while others thought focusing on wildfires was too narrow. But he managed to pull together $35 million in capital commitments for a debut fund and it’s easy to appreciate why. Extreme heat and dry conditions have begun fueling wildfires across the globe, there aren’t enough firefighters (or tech) to contain these fires, and, as Clerico notes, companies working on solutions to wildfires present a more straightforward investing opportunity than climate tech meant to tackle oncoming problems. Further, the thesis gives Convective more wiggle room than might initially be imagined. One of its first portfolio companies, for example, is Overstory, a four-year-old, Amsterdam-based startup that’s using AI and satellite imagery to optimize vegetation management for its customers, which are utility companies. (It raised a seed round late last year.) As for the psychedelics firm, it’s two-year-old, New York- and Chicago-based Palo Santo, a venture outfit that’s exclusively focused on backing and building emerging psychedelic therapeutics companies and that just today took the wraps off a $50 million debut fund. In the grand scheme of things, $50 million is maybe not too much to pour into an area that has long fascinated investors and founders alike. According to Crunchbase News, psychedelics-related startups — mostly therapeutics companies — raised more than $236 million between July 2021 and July 2022, compared with the $96 million they raised between July 2020 and July 2021. In fact, while most of those bets have come from funds that invest in other therapeutics or technologies, there’s reason to think it could become a standalone area of focus over time. Already, two psychedelics companies have gone public — Compass Pathways and MindMed. Some of the smartest VCs in the industry and pouring money into the sector, including early Compass investor Peter Thiel and SpaceX board member Steve Jurvetson (who told Bloomberg last year that he decided to carve up his own estate by giving around half of his net worth to fund psychedelic science!). There’s also a lot of excitement right now in particular over the potential for MDMA, known recreationally as Molly or Ecstasy, as a treatment for severe PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder with FDA approval expected as early as next year. Either way, I get the sense that the opportunities for similarly structured funds are limitless and that they could be a new entree point for existing and first-time VCs who have a unique specialty or perspective. (The venture industry is becoming more atomized by the year, thanks to special purpose vehicles and rolling funds and a whole lot of other ways for people to spin up their own business.) Also, as the big funds have gotten bigger in recent years, covering every stage and every sector — even veering into public companies — it seems logical that one of the only ways to

Waste4Change is building a circular economy in Indonesia • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 14, 2022Posted in Asia, circular economy, environment, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Startups, waste-management, Waste4ChangeNo Comments

Even the largest landfills in Indonesia are at (or nearing) capacity, and the government has set an ambitious target of 30% waste reduction by 2025. Waste4Change is one of the companies that wants to help by increasing rates of recycling and enabling better waste management. The startup, which currently manages more than 8,000 tons of waste very year, announced today that it has raised $5 million in Series A funding, co-led by AC Ventures and PT Barito Mitra Investama. Other participants in the round include Basra Corporation, Paloma Capital, PT Delapan Satu Investa, Living Lab Ventures, SMDV and Urban Gateway Fund. Founded in 2014, Waste4Change has seen a CAGR of 55.1% since 2017, and is present in 21 Indonesian cities, where its services are currently used by about 100 B2B clients and more than 3,500 households. Waste4Change was created by founder and CEO Mohamad Bijaksana Junerosano based on conversations between PT Greeneration Indonesia, an NGO, and waste management organization PT Bumi Lestari Bali (ecoBali) to form a company that reduces the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. Junerosano is an environmental engineer by training and spent 16 years working in the solid waste sector. Junerosano says that a major opportunity is created by Indonesia’s low recycling rates (about 11% to 12%), which means there is a lot of valuable recyclable material that is being left behind. “Waste reduction is a top priority, followed by material optimization and recycling which supports the concept of a truly circular economy,” he told ZebethMedia. Waste4Change will use its new funding on expansion and increasing its waste management capacity up to 100 tons per day over the next 18 months, with the target of reaching more than 2,000 tons per day over the next five years. Waste4Change’s team Junerosano said Waste4Change differentiates from traditional waste management solutions by providing an end-to-end solution, with a focus on sustainability and zero waste. Part of its strategy includes more digital integration for monitoring and recording the process of waste management and automating its material recovery facilities. “We see digital integration as a valuable tool to build a sustainable waste management ecosystem,” he said. “The goal is always to create harmony between the environment, the economy and the people.” Waste4Change’s digital integration strategy this year and next include improving its waste journey report and monitoring, which its customers receive after their trash is processed. To use Waste4Change, customers can ask for a pick-up team to collect their pre-sorted trash or drop it off themselves. The company currently has 108 employees and 141 waste management operators, with plans to add 52 more people to its team and work with 300 informal waste collectors and SMEs. Informal waste collectors include scavengers, waste banks, waste stalls and waste aggregators. For recycling business partners, including informal waste collectors, Waste4Change is building a platform to help them sell and buy solid waste with the company. The goal is increase the traceability and accuracy of the waste management process. It is also working on a program called Send Your Waste, where consumers can send waste to Waste4Change’s pick-up points. An app tells them what kinds of waste to send, where the nearest pick-up point is and what kind of reward they can receive. Junerosano says informal waste collectors tend to be selective about the materials they collect, picking out PET bottles, glass and cardboard. But this means less desirable materials like PP plastic, multilayer packaging and styrofoam are often left behind, polluting the environment. To combat that, Waste4Change has started a service called Waste Credit, that gives incentives for picking up certain materials, and also makes it easy for waste collectors to build this businesses. “Considering the crucial role of the informal sector in improving Indonesia’s recycling rate, we aim to build a waste recycling platform that will keep the system sustainable,” he said. “We are more than happy to bring it to life with a joint venture or joint operation with other industry stakeholders, including those in the informal sector and local Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (3R) temporary waste storage sites.” In a statement, AC Ventures founding partner Pandu Sjahrir said, “Waste4Change is a pioneer providing an end-to-end waste management solution. Sustainability is the team’s main focus, with a demonstrated commitment to building a better future for Indonesia. The company is proving that it has reached product-market fit and has the potential to scale across the nation.”

Activision Blizzard is once again being sued for sexual harassment • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in Activision Blizzard, bobby kotick, GamingNo Comments

For over a year, Activision Blizzard employees have protested against the company’s poor handling of ongoing sexual harassment allegations. Now, an anonymous Jane Doe has filed yet another lawsuit against the gaming giant for sexual harassment, gender discrimination and sexual battery, among other complaints. “For years, Activision Blizzard’s open ‘frat boy’ environment fostered rampant sexism, harassment and discrimination with 700 reported incidents occurring under CEO Robert Kotick’s watch,” the lawsuit explains. “The sexual misconduct was often committed by executives and in the presence of HR.” A report from the Wall Street Journal last year found that the CEO knew for years about rampant sexual harassment at the company, but failed to act. In this case, the plaintiff alleges that a former product manager Miguel Vega sexually harassed her in the workplace for years; she says that he non-consensually groped and tried to kiss her at work, verbally abused her and insinuated that if she gave in to his sexual advances, she would get a raise. Doe first met Vega at a game night in 2009 or 2010. “They soon formed a virtual friendship and she regrettably sent him compromising photos of herself,” the lawsuit says. By 2011, Doe met her future husband and her relationship with Vega ceased, but she reconnected with him upon seeking work at Activision Blizzard in 2016. The plaintiff told a manager about Vega’s behavior in 2017, but he didn’t face consequences. Later, he began threatening to leak the intimate photos that she sent him over a decade earlier. By August 2021 — a month after California regulators sued the company for gender-based harassment and discrimination — the plaintiff brought her concerns to HR once again. “On August 23, 2021, despite Mr. Vega’s threat of revenge pornography, Ms. Doe mustered the courage to report Mr. Vega’s sexual harassment to manager Christopher Bruens. Mr. Bruens relayed her report to HR. Very shortly after, Mr. Vega left a voicemail for Ms. Doe in a poor attempt to mitigate the harm he caused her. On September 1, 2021, Activision Blizzard terminated Mr. Vega,” the lawsuit says. Now, Doe is attempting to hold Activision Blizzard accountable for cultivating a hostile work environment and failing to protect her from sexual harassment. She is requesting a jury trial, seeking compensation for damages, medical expenses, legal fees and lost earnings. Lisa Bloom, the lawyer defending the plaintiff, tweeted that her firm represents eight women who claim that they experienced sexual harassment at Activision Blizzard. We filed another sexual harassment lawsuit against Activision Blizzard on Friday.We currently represent 8 women with sexual harassment claims against this company. If you or someone you know was a victim of its rampant frat boy culture, please contact me. — Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) October 11, 2022 Activision Blizzard has not responded to ZebethMedia’s request for comment. In a statement to Kotaku, spokesperson Rich George said, “We take all employee concerns seriously. When the plaintiff reported her concerns, we immediately opened an investigation, and Mr. Vega was terminated within 10 days. We have no tolerance for this kind of misconduct.” Microsoft plans to purchase the gaming giant for $68.7 billion, pending regulatory approval. If the deal goes through, Kotick is expected to step down as CEO.

Repairable laptop firm Framework introduces refurbished program • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in framework, Gadgets, Hardware, Laptop, refurbished, right to repairNo Comments

Framework is at the vanguard of a growing movement to make electronics more repair-friendly. Some have done so by choice and others have been…nudged in that direction by looming right to repair legislation across the globe. Framework, like Fairphone, is making that a core principle of its technology, without sacrificing the final project (check Devin’s review here). Today the company announced another step in the process of reusing consumer waste with the addition of a refurbished program that will make its laptops and components available for a secondhand discount. The program launches today with the Laptop DIY additions, three Intel processors and an expansion card pack. Those are all currently available to customers in the U.S. and Canada. Additional parts will be added to the list, down the road. The company notes: Refurbished laptops and modules typically start from the small number of returns we get from our 30-day return guarantee. They then go through an extensive testing and cleaning process at our service center in New Jersey, where any parts that don’t meet our specifications are replaced. We also have service centers in Europe and Australia capable of performing refurbishment at the same level of quality, but we’ve received so few returns that we haven’t been able to build refurbished inventory for sale just yet. Per the company, the refurbed parts are covered by the same warranty as those purchased new.

Google holographic video chat booth, Project Starline, finds its way into the real world • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in Daily Crunch, Startups, Venture, venture capitalNo Comments

To get a roundup of ZebethMedia’s biggest and most important stories delivered to your inbox every day at 3 p.m. PDT, subscribe here. We just keep getting more excited about Disrupt, but it turns out there’s other stuff going on in the world. A lot of other stuff, in fact; it’s one of those days where keeping this newsletter to a manageable length was extra tricky. Here’s what we came up with. Enjoy! — Christine and Haje The ZebethMedia Top 3 You, only holographic: Never mind the metaverse, Google is planning to test out its 3D video calling booths in the real world, Sarah writes. Called Project Starline, the booths use a bunch of cameras, sensors and 3D imagery to create a lifelike calling experience without that pesky headset. Can I get a scoop?: Manish received confirmation that decentralized exchange company Uniswap Labs raised $165 million in funding to value the company at $1.66 billion. This is a follow-up to his scoop from last month. Tweet, tweet: Catherine reported on Redbird’s $7.6 million raise that has the analytics operating system soaring now that it can continue making data even more accessible to nontechnical users. Startups and VC Any robotic system worth its salt has the potential to effect change, but some of the most exciting robotics breakthroughs are happening in the exoskeleton space right now, Brian reports. A team out of Stanford’s Biomechatronics Laboratory just published the results of years-long research. The extent of the robot boot’s real-world testing has thus far been limited to treadmills. The researchers behind it, however, are readying it for life beyond the lab doors. There’s a new VC fund in town — at least if you live in Paris, Romain quips. Meet Resonance, a new $150 million single-LP fund backed by Otium Capital, which is Pierre-Edouard Stérin’s family office. A ton of awesome news on the site today, but here’s five that caught our eye: 6 tips for launching a blockchain startup Image Credits: Kinga Krzeminska (opens in a new window) It will take much more than a downturn in the public markets, record inflation and global instability to get between blockchain founders and their dreams. Unfortunately, “having a solid roadmap, real-world use cases and a war chest are only a small part of a blockchain startup’s survival strategy,” advises Wolfgang Rückerl, co-founder and CEO of Istari Vision and Entity. Although it’s true that many of the skills required to launch an early-stage startup also apply to web3 companies, “the road to achieving success in the blockchain industry is paved differently,” he writes. Three more from the TC+ team: ZebethMedia+ is our membership program that helps founders and startup teams get ahead of the pack. You can sign up here. Use code “DC” for a 15% discount on an annual subscription! Big Tech Inc. Apple Card holders will get a side of Goldman Sachs as the two paired up to unveil a high-yield savings account, Sarah reported. She writes that this is “a big step” by both the consumer tech giant and investment bank to offer more traditional banking-like services to customers. You want thingamabobs? I got five for you:

Meta files to dismiss FTC complaint over acquisition of VR fitness company Within • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in meta, Social, Virtual reality, WithinNo Comments

Meta submitted a request to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission’s complaint about its acquisition of Within. The Los Angeles virtual reality firm makes Supernatural, a rhythm game-turned-workout app that, in our humble opinion, is a legitimately excellent use of VR. It makes sense why Meta wants to absorb the company, but the FTC has raised concerns that it may be an anticompetitive acquisition. “Meta and [CEO Mark] Zuckerberg are planning to expand Meta’s virtual reality empire with this attempt to illegally acquire a dedicated fitness app that proves the value of virtual reality to users,” the agency wrote in July. Today, Meta filed a request in the Northern District of California court to move forward with the deal despite the FTC’s complaint. At first, the FTC argued that the acquisition would limit competition in the VR fitness market. The agency wrote, “Meta already participates in this broader market with its Beat Saber app, as does Within with its premium rival app Supernatural. The two companies currently spur each other to keep adding new features and attract more users, competitive rivalry that would be lost if this acquisition were allowed to proceed.” But the FTC filed a new complaint last week and removed these allegations. If we want to get technical about it, Beat Saber isn’t really a fitness app — some people just break a sweat because the game requires a lot of fast arm movement, but Beat Saber wasn’t built with exercise in mind. The games just draw comparison because they’re both rhythm games. In any case, Meta capitalized on the FTC’s less intense filing by arguing that the complaint shouldn’t stand in the way of the acquisition. If Meta were to acquire Within, then the FTC would have a much more difficult time forcing the merged companies to separate. “Having abandoned its claim that Meta and Within compete for fitness consumers, the FTC proceeds only on the claim that Meta and Within could compete, and that the fear of such competition drives Within and others to compete more strenuously,” Meta’s filing says. But the company’s lawyers argue that, per legal precedent, “perceived potential competition” hasn’t stood up in court as grounds for blocking a vertical merger. “The FTC alleges only that generalized fear of possible entry by Meta is a spur to competition,” the filing says. Meta has waged an enormous bet on virtual reality; in 2021, the company spent over $10 billion in its Reality Labs division, and it’s not seeing anywhere near that amount in revenue. At its developer conference this week, the company formerly known as Facebook unveiled its high-end VR headset, the Quest Pro, which retails for $1,499.99. Meta Motion to Dismiss by ZebethMedia

Q3 data reminds us that venture debt is not a Hail Mary

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in EC News Analysis, EC venture capital, pitchbook, slowdown, Startups, Venture, venture capital, venture debtNo Comments

Venture debt was never meant to be used to bail a company out of financial trouble. And yet, when venture capitalists started to pull back from equity investing earlier this year because frothy market conditions made them realize that valuations were too high, it became a topic of discussion again. Across the industry, from founders to investors to reporters, the rhetoric among many was that we’d see a drastic rise in venture debt this year. But why would lenders want to loan cash to businesses that are being abandoned by their investors due to questionable financials — especially in a turbulent market? Well, they don’t. And despite people thinking they would, Q3 data from PitchBook shows that venture debt will likely see fewer deals and less loan volume this year than during last year’s robust equity market.

Getaway launches a way for you to enjoy, and own, vacation homes • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in Getaway, home ownership, Pacaso, StartupsNo Comments

Being in the business of convincing people that they deserve a vacation is hard. Being in the business of convincing people that they can co-own a vacation house and enjoy it at the same time can be deceptively harder. Getaway – different from another venture-backed Getaway, which sells escapes to tiny cabins in the middle of nature – wants to make it easier for people to rent luxury real estate, and invest in it too. The company, co-founded by Ali Nichols and Amr Shafik, wants to do it all. It has raised $4.4 million from Cowboy Ventures, XYZ Ventures and Night Ventures, as well as $1.5 million in debt financing. The platform, boasting the tagline “investments with a view”, is officially launching soon and plans to debut its first investment offering to investors later this month, pending SEC approval. “We are actually purchasing properties,” Nichols said. ‘Everything that we post on our website, we have full faith on because we’re using our own financing to actually close on the home, get it rent ready, and have it actually be an asset as an active Airbnb or VRBO property that is already making money.” Then, she continues, the startup sells off ownership to members; as a company Getaway buys shares in the property, so there’s “joint skin” in the game. “Over time, our goal is to have a much more streamlined process from a financing perspective where we could be in contract on a home, and folks can invest at that point and then we close on it,” she added. Getaway isn’t the first startup trying to optimize the exclusive world of vacation rentals. Built by former Zillow executives, Pacaso helps people buy and co-own luxury vacation homes, and has raised over $1.5 billion in venture capital to date according to Crunchbase. Pacaso is also one of the fastest companies to ever become a unicorn, or valued at over $1 billion. Ever. Getaway’s co-founders say that users can invest in a Getaway property starting at $1,000 per ownership share, while Pacaso can cost anywhere from $400,000 to $3 million to purchase ⅛ of a property. Owners are “strictly prohibited” to rent out their portion of a Pacaso property, a Pacaso spokesperson confirmed over email. Getaway properties, meanwhile, are active vacation rentals that also generate recurring passive income. Also, importantly, Getaway lets owners get discounted rates in its whole portfolio of homes; the flip side is you have to pay to stay at a home you partially own. Another startup in the space is Here, which wants to make investing in vacation rentals as easy as investing in stocks. Unlike Pacaso and Getaway, Here is trying to scale the financial upside of owning a home, not necessarily the vacation aspect of it. Getaway’s competitive moat is that it wants to be everything, everywhere, all at once. Nichols described wanting to be a cross between Here, where “your experience really ends at the dollar you put in and you hope to watch it grow on the app,” and Pacaso, where “it’s not really a financial investment, it’s an investment in travel and spending time in beautiful homes.” Folks do want access to these beautiful homes and so our approach is how do we actually take that and make it more accessible and make sense,” she said. “If I look at the sea of all of the competitors that I can put $1,000 into, and all things are equal, actually being able to enjoy the portfolio of homes all over the country and soon to be world, hopefully, is just a huge benefit from a consumer perspective.” The company currently has two homes, one in Scotsdale and one in Miami, and is closing one soon in Palm Springs. “It seems like for consumers, there’s a new safe investment every single day,” Shafik said. “How do you cut through the noise and make sure that you reach the right person that this [opportunity] would be interesting to, but there’s also like the demand generation angle to it and the customer acquisition angle to it.” Building a wealth opportunity and an experience for a broader consumer market comes with its own challenges. Time will tell if Getaway can get there.

NHS vendor Advanced won’t say if patient data was stolen during ransomware attack • ZebethMedia

By zebethcontrolPosted on October 13, 2022Posted in Advanced, data breach, NHS, ransomware, SecurityNo Comments

The hackers used “legitimate” credentials to breach the vendor’s network Advanced, an IT service provider for the U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS), has confirmed that attackers stole data from its systems during an August ransomware attack, but refuses to say if patient data was compromised. Advanced first confirmed the ransomware incident on August 4 following widespread disruption to NHS services across the U.K. The attack downed a number of the organization’s services, including its Adastra patient management system, which helps non-emergency call handlers dispatch ambulances and helps doctors access patient records, and Carenotes, which is used by mental health trusts for patient information. In an update dated October 12 and shared with ZebethMedia on Thursday, Advanced said the malware used in the attack was LockBit 3.0, according to the company’s incident responders, named as Mandiant and Microsoft. LockBit 3.0 is a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation that hit Foxconn earlier this year. In its updated incident report, Advanced said that the attackers initially accessed its network on August 2 using “legitimate” third-party credentials to establish a remote desktop session to the company’s Staffplan Citrix server, used for powering its caregiver’s scheduling and rostering system. The report implies there was no multi-factor authentication in place that would block the use of stolen passwords. “The attacker moved laterally in Advanced’s Health and Care environment and escalated privileges, enabling them to conduct reconnaissance, and deploy encryption malware,” Advanced said in the update. Advanced said some data pertaining to 16 Staffplan and Caresys customers (referring to NHS trusts) was “copied and exfiltrated,” a technique known as double-extortion, where cybercriminals exfiltrate a company’s data before encrypting the victim’s systems. In the update, Advanced said there is “no evidence” to suggest that the data in question exists elsewhere outside our control and “the likelihood of harm to individuals is low.” When reached by ZebethMedia, Advanced chief operating officer Simon Short declined to say if patient data is affected, or whether Advanced has the technical means, such as logs, to detect if data was exfiltrated. Lockbit 3.0’s dark web leak site did not list Advanced or NHS data at the time of writing. Short also declined to say if Advanced paid a ransom. “We are, however, monitoring the dark web as a belt and braces measure and will let you know immediately in the unlikely event that this position changes,” Advanced said in the update. Advanced said its security team disconnected the entire Health and Care environment to contain the threat and limit encryption, which downed a number of services across the NHS. The extended outage left some trusts unable to access clinical notes and others were forced to rely on pen and paper, BBC News reported in August. Advanced said its recovery from the incident is likely to be slow, citing an assurance process set by the NHS, NHS Digital and the U.K. National Cyber Security Center. “This is time-consuming and resource intensive and it continues to contribute to our recovery timeline,” Advanced said. “We are working diligently and bringing all resources to bear, including outside recovery specialists, to help us restore services to our customers as quickly as possible.” The healthcare industry remains a top priority for ransomware actors. Earlier this month, U.S. hospital giant CommonSpirit was hit by a cybersecurity incident that is disrupting medical services across the country — which it later confirmed was a ransomware attack.