Discord Url: https://discord.gg/asJzXdW Because the Terrific East Asian War, the Empire of Japan has appear out stronger and additional …

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The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday said it had no indication that U.S. funds had been misused in Ukraine, but would continue to work closely with Ukrainian authorities to ensure appropriate safeguards were in place to avert corruption.

It was the Treasury’s first comment on the issue after Ukraine’s government last week dismissed a slew of senior officials in the country’s biggest political shake-up of the war following corruption allegations.

“We have no indication that U.S. funds have been misused in Ukraine,” Treasury spokesperson Megan Apper said in response to a query from Reuters. “We welcome the ongoing efforts by the Ukrainian authorities to work with us to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place so that U.S assistance reaches those for whom it is intended.”

Apper said the Treasury would continue to work closely with the World Bank on tracking U.S. disbursements “to confirm that they are used as intended, as well as with Ukraine and other partners to tackle corruption.”

Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers last week praised Ukraine’s government on Tuesday for taking swift action against corruption and insisted that U.S. military and humanitarian aid to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government should continue.

Ukraine has a long history of corruption in state-owned or managed companies. Zelenskiy has repeatedly said there will be no tolerance for fraud or waste.

The World Bank has disbursed over $13 billion to Ukraine through its Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) in Ukraine, as of December, much of it coming from the United States.

PEACE funds are disbursed to Ukrainian authorities a month after bank officials have verified that they have paid salaries to teachers and civil servants and pension payments, which helps safeguard against problems.

The bank last month told Reuters it is working with Ukraine to improve its already well-regarded E-Government Procurement System called ProZorro, adding that digital system would help ensure transparency, integrity and ease of access.

Ukraine ranks 116 out of 180 countries on the annual Corruption Perceptions Index released Tuesday by Transparency International, up one ranking from last year.

Its score on the index was 33 on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.

The Colorado River, lifeblood of the West, is out of time.

Seven U.S. states, plus two in Mexico, use water from the river, irrigating more than 5 million acres of crops and supporting more than 35 million people. We now take much more water out of the river every year than Mother Nature delivers, an imbalance resulting from political and legal decisions made a century ago and the increasing consequences of human-caused climate change, enabled by reservoirs that have provided a false sense of abundance and security.

Yesterday (Jan. 30), six of the seven U.S. states submitted a proposal to reduce annual Colorado River water use. The short-term goal is to halt the reservoirs’ precipitous decline, protect hydropower generation, and buy time to draft a long-term plan.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Starting in late 1999, the region entered an extraordinary, ongoing dry period, causing river flows to fall by 20%. At the end of the 20th century, the river’s massive reservoirs were almost full, an inheritance that water users have depleted year after year until they now face the prospect of not being able to run the taps or keep the lights on. So much water has been taken from Lake Powell and Lake Mead—the two largest reservoirs along the river—that refilling them would require storing every drop of runoff from at least three years of above-average precipitation, without any water use at all.

John Locher—APPeople walk by a formerly sunken boat standing upright into the air with its stern buried in the mud along the shoreline of Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, near Boulder City, Nev.

But just pointing to drought misses the fundamental problem: the rules governing Colorado River use give away more water than flowed down the river even in the wetter 20^th century. These rules—a 19^th century version of “finders keepers”—locked in an inequitable system of water rights in which the early “finders”—mainly farmers—took all they could while those who came late to the legal game often got nothing. In practice this means many Southwestern cities are first on the chopping block when it comes to water—that is, in years where there is less water than the current distribution rules account for, they curtail their use, deferring to those with more senior rights. Even worse, many Indigenous tribes, as well as fish and birds, lack any recognized legal rights to water at all.

Twenty years ago, as river flows declined, water managers began to work together to develop and implement a series of bold and innovative changes to the outdated rules. As a result, farmers and cities have improved the efficiency of their water use, growing more crops with less water than they did in the 20^th century and successfully decoupling urban economic and population growth from water use. Most major western cities now use less total water than they did 20 or 30 years ago despite adding millions of people and billions of dollars of economic productivity.

These improvements in efficiency helped cut water use by about 7%, but they have not been enough to make up for the 20% drop in water supply.

Last June, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton, the federal official charged with managing the river, called for extraordinary additional action, urging users to cut their water use by as much as one-third—on top of existing reductions—starting this year. Without these rapid and significant reductions, water levels could fall so low that dam operators could soon struggle to release any water at all, jeopardizing flows through the Grand Canyon, cutting water for downstream cities and farmers, and devastating an already struggling ecosystem. But doing so requires states and major water-rights holders to agree on a consensus plan that would impact them all. Negotiations blew past a first deadline in August; yesterday, six of the seven states submitted a plan foisting much of the responsibility on California, the state that did not sign. California has made a separate, much smaller offer, pointing instead to the existing rules and its senior water rights. But arguments about legal rights won’t mean much if there’s no water in the river.

RJ Sangosti—MediaNews Group/The Denver Post/Getty ImagesThe Salton Sea Management Program along with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation establish nearly 1,700 acres of native vegetation enhancement around the Salton Sea on Dec. 29, 2022 in Salton City, Calif. Exposed lakebed is covered with straw bales to create habitat benefits and provide suppression of wind-blown dust.

Averting a crisis in the West is possible, but will require killing some sacred cows. The water going to grass, swimming pools, and golf courses will have to be cut. New housing will have to be denser and much more water efficient. More than half of Colorado River water currently irrigates crops fed to animals—a lot of those crops will have to go, reducing the amount of land and water in agriculture. As we struggle to bring demand back into balance with water supply, we must also accelerate efforts to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and slow the rate of climate change. The consequences of these actions, for farmers, farm workers, agricultural suppliers, communities, and for wetlands that rely on agricultural runoff, must be addressed.

That will require Congress to more forcefully recognize the scale of the challenge, and initiate an adequate federal response. Last year, Congress directed $4 billion to help solve the Colorado River crisis. That’s a start. But the fact of the matter is that the federal government is not nearly as willing to invest in preventative action that could forestall future disaster as it is to throw money to patch up problems that have already happened. For example, Federal Emergency Management Agency often spends tens of billions of dollars for hurricane disasters less damaging than a collapse of the Colorado River system would be. A commensurate investment will be required to avert the crushing economic and ecological impacts that would arise if water could not be delivered to Phoenix, Tucson, L.A., and San Diego, and if winter vegetables could no longer be grown with Colorado River water.

This year started off wetter than the past few years, but don’t be fooled. The crisis on the Colorado—and similar crises facing rivers around the world—will only get worse as the climate gets hotter and drier, and where antiquated, inequitable rules still govern water management. The extraordinary water conservation efforts of recent years are a start, but they are not enough to match the decline of water supply. Imposing more water reductions without taking action to address the source of the decline would be like building additional track in front of a runaway train without also jumping on board and applying the brakes.

RJ Sangosti—MediaNews Group/The Denver Post/Getty ImagesDrought, overconsumption, and climate change, are main factors dissipating the amount of Colorado River water that will reach the Sea of Cortez on its journey through the Colorado River Delta on Oct. 24, 2022 in Baja California, Mexico.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday said it had no indication that U.S. funds had been misused in Ukraine, but would continue to work closely with Ukrainian authorities to ensure appropriate safeguards were in place to avert corruption.

It was the Treasury’s first comment on the issue after Ukraine’s government last week dismissed a slew of senior officials in the country’s biggest political shake-up of the war following corruption allegations.

“We have no indication that U.S. funds have been misused in Ukraine,” Treasury spokesperson Megan Apper said in response to a query from Reuters. “We welcome the ongoing efforts by the Ukrainian authorities to work with us to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place so that U.S assistance reaches those for whom it is intended.”

Apper said the Treasury would continue to work closely with the World Bank on tracking U.S. disbursements “to confirm that they are used as intended, as well as with Ukraine and other partners to tackle corruption.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shuttled from Israel to the Palestinians’ West Bank on Tuesday, appealing for an end to resurgent violence and reaffirming Washington’s backing for a two-state solution to the decades-long conflict.

Blinken is urging calm on both sides after last week’s killing by a Palestinian gunman of seven people outside a Jerusalem synagogue and anger among Palestinians over actions by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank.

He took that message into a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, warning all parties against any action that could threaten a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

“We’ve been clear that this includes things like settlement expansion, the legalization of outposts, demolitions and evictions, disruptions to the historic status of the holy sites, and of course incitement and acquiescence to violence.”

Blinken’s first visit since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power this month at the head of one of the most right-wing governments in Israel’s history comes at a time of extreme tension between the two sides.

He said Palestinians were facing a “shrinking horizon of hope” that needed to change.

Amid rising anger at near-daily raids by Israeli forces in the West Bank, Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA) suspended its security cooperation agreement with Israel last week after the largest incursion in years.

The operation saw Israeli forces penetrate deep into a refugee camp in the northern city of Jenin, setting off a gunfight in which 10 Palestinians died.

In January alone, 35 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli troops, in the bloodiest month since 2015, while officials say attacks on Palestinian property by Israeli settlers have also increased.

“The Israeli government is responsible for what is happening today, because of its practices that undermine the two-state solution and violate the signed agreements,” Abbas said.

Blinken also highlighted U.S. assistance to the Palestinian economy, which is heavily dependent on foreign aid.

He said the United States would provide an extra $50 million in funding through the United Nations and that agreement had been reached on providing high speed 4G telecoms services to Palestinians.

Before meeting Abbas, Blinken visited Deir Dibwan, a town near Ramallah that is home to many Palestinian Americans, and met civil society leaders and businesspeople.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reinforced troops in the West Bank and promised measures to strengthen settlements there, but so far held off from more extreme steps.

On Tuesday, Blinken met Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and discussed cooperation to stop Iran developing a nuclear weapon as well the situation in the West Bank.

Hopes of achieving a two-state solution, with a Palestinian state based largely in the West Bank, have all but disappeared since the last round of U.S.-sponsored talks stalled in 2014.

The Biden administration has said it would reestablish a consulate for Palestinians shuttered by former President Donald Trump, but has yet to say when or where it will be opened.

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Wall Street rose on Tuesday as wage growth data indicated that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive approach to taming inflation was taking hold ahead of a decision by the central bank, while gains on the Dow were limited by weak earnings updates.

U.S. labor costs increased at their slowest pace in a year in the fourth quarter as wage growth slowed, bolstering expectations of the Fed slowing the pace of its interest rate increases.

The Fed will decide on rates on Wednesday, with traders betting on a 25-basis-point hike (bps) at the end of the its two-day meeting, and a terminal rate of 4.9% in June.

“As the Fed meeting begins today, they’ll be looking at every index that could give them a better judgment on inflation and this is one of them,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities LLC.

“Labor costs are still high, but this means costs have come down, and that’s a key factor for future wage inflation.”

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sector indexes were up, with consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) rising 0.9% after an 8.2% gain in General Motors Co (GM.N).

The automobile conglomerate forecast stronger-than-expected earnings for 2023 and said it would cut $2 billion in costs.

United Parcel Service (UPS.N) jumped 4% on strong quarterly earnings, boosting the Dow Jones Transport Average index (.DJT).

Capping gains on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N), down 5.3% after reporting a drop in quarterly profit on higher manufacturing costs.

McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N) dropped 1.9% on warnings of short-term inflationary pressures, while Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) dipped 0.3% after the drugmaker’s full-year revenue outlook for its COVID-19 products fell short of expectations.

“With additional earnings coming in this week, participants are a little concerned that the market got a little bit ahead of itself and so are a little cautious heading into the Fed meeting,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.

At 10:13 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was up 23.71 points, or 0.07%, at 33,740.80, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was up 13.30 points, or 0.33%, at 4,031.07, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) was up 54.94 points, or 0.48%, at 11,448.75.

Wall Street started the year on a strong footing and is set to end January higher, with the Nasdaq (.IXIC) up more than 9% as investor interest in growth stocks bounced back.

Hopes of a downshift in the Fed’s policy have eased worries of pressured valuations of tech and other high growth stocks.

As many as 165 S&P 500 companies have reported earnings for the fourth-quarter. Earnings are expected to have fallen 2.4% for the quarter, compared with 3% decline expected a day earlier, according to Refinitiv data.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.14-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.23-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded four new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 32 new highs and 14 new lows.

Distraught relatives thronged hospitals in Pakistan’s Peshawar on Tuesday to look for their kin a day after a suicide bombing ripped through a crowded mosque in a heavily fortified area of the city, killing 100 people, all but three of them police.

The attack, in the Police Lines district, was the deadliest in a decade to hit this restive, northwestern city near the Afghan border and comes amid a surge in violence against the police.

“My son, my child,” cried an elderly woman walking alongside an ambulance carrying coffins, as rescue workers stretchered wounded people to a hospital emergency unit.

At least 170 people were wounded in the blast, which demolished the upper storey of the mosque as hundreds of worshippers performed noon prayers.

Riaz Mahsud, a senior local government official, said the casualty toll was likely to rise as workers searched through the debris.

“So far, 100 bodies have been brought to Lady Reading Hospital,” a spokesman for the largest medical facility in the city, Mohammad Asim, said in a statement.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told parliament that 97 of the 100 were police officials.

Authorities say they do not know how the bomber managed to breach the military and police checkpoints leading into the Police Lines district, a colonial-era, self-contained encampment in the city centre that is home to middle- and lower-ranking police personnel and their families.

Given the security concerns in Peshawar, the mosque was built to allow police to pray without leaving the area. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the bomber was in the first row in the prayer hall when he struck.

The attack is the deadliest in Peshawar since twin suicide bombings at All Saints Church killed scores of worshippers in September 2013, in what is the deadliest attack on Pakistan’s Christian minority.

Peshawar sits on the edge of the Pashtun tribal lands, a region mired in violence for the past two decades. The most active militant group in the area is the Pakistani Taliban, also called Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group for Sunni and sectarian Islamist factions opposed to the government in Islamabad.

No group has officially owned the attack, but Sanaullah said a breakaway faction of the TTP called Khurasani had claimed responsibility.

The TTP denied responsibility, though it has stepped up attacks since withdrawing from a peace deal with the government last year.

The policy to release militants under a amnesty as part of the deal has resulted in the bombing, Sanaullah said, adding that some of the militants who were set free also included some on death row.

The bombing took place a day before an IMF mission arrived in Islamabad for talks on a stalled $7 billion bailout.

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As we move deeper into a digitally dependent future, the growing concern of data breaches and other cyber threats has led to the rise of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). This position is essential in almost every company that relies on digital information. They are responsible for developing and implementing strategies to harden the organization’s defenses against cyberattacks.

However, while many organizations don’t question the value of a CISO, there should be more debate over who this important role reports to. In some cases, the CISO may report directly to the CEO. In others, they may report to the CIO or another senior executive team member. But is there a best practice when it comes to this decision?

This article will explore the advantages and disadvantages of different reporting structures and give you some points to consider when structuring your organization’s CISO reporting relationship.

Common Reporting Structures for Modern-Day CISOs

For most modern-day organizations, a CISO’s role is complex and multi-faceted. Not only are they responsible for implementing best practice security protocols, but they must also be able to effectively communicate these strategies to the executive team and the Board of Directors. As such, many organizations have found that the best reporting structure for their CISO allows them to have a direct line of communication with the C-suite.

Reporting Directly to the CEO

One of the most important aspects of a CISO’s job is maintaining a good working relationship with the CEO. After all, the CEO is responsible for an organization’s security and is the final decision-maker on all security-related issues. By reporting directly to the CEO, a CISO can ensure that data security remains a top priority.

What are the Pros?

There are several benefits to having a CISO report directly to the CEO. Firstly, with the CISO reporting directly to the CEO, there is no risk of relegating data security to a lower priority.

When working directly under a CEO, CISOs directly impact organizational strategy. By being involved in strategic decision-making, a CISO can help ensure that data security considerations are considered when making decisions about new initiatives or investments. CISOs reporting directly to CEOs significantly impact budgeting and resource allocation across all departments.

What are the Cons?

One potential downside of having CISOs report to the CEO is that it can create tension between the CISO and CIO if they are not working collaboratively. In some cases, the CIO might feel micromanaged or like their authority is being undermined.

Another consideration is that CEOs are often less engaged with day-to-day operations than CIOs. This means they may have less time to meet with CISOs or provide guidance on strategic decisions. That in turn can make it difficult for CISOs to get their ideas heard and acted upon in a timely manner. 

Reporting Directly to the CIO

In many organizations, the CIO oversees all information technology initiatives, including data security. As such, it makes sense for the CISO to report directly to the CIO in those cases.

What are the Pros?

There are several advantages to having the CISO report directly to the CIO. First, this reporting structure creates a transparent chain of command for all information security matters. When navigating changing infrastructure and organizational priorities, this clear line of communication can keep everyone on the same page.

Developing a solid relationship with the CIO is another benefit of this reporting structure. By working closely, the CISO can draw on the CIO’s IT systems and processes expertise. This can be extremely helpful when developing and implementing new data security protocols or advanced security technologies.

What are the Cons?

In some cases, this reporting structure could lead to the CISO being siloed from the rest of the organization. Sometimes, this can make it difficult for the CISO to get buy-in from other departments on data security initiatives.

Another consideration is that the CIO may not have the same experience or expertise in data security as the CISO. This can sometimes create tension between the two roles and may be counterproductive to developing an effective data security strategy.

Reporting Directly to the CFO

While not always the case, some organizations have a CFO responsible for data security. In these cases, security is more likely to be viewed as a financial issue, impacting how data security initiatives are prioritized and resourced. However, there are some benefits to this reporting structure as well.

What are the Pros?

By reporting to the CFO, CISOs better understand an organization’s financial risks and can tailor security strategies accordingly. Additionally, this arrangement can help foster better communication between the finance and security teams.

Another benefit of having CISOs report to the CFO is that it can help reduce costs associated with cybersecurity measures. This is because the CFO typically focuses on reducing expenses and maximizing profits. As a result, they are likely to be more supportive of cost-effective security solutions that may not require a significant investment.

What are the Cons?

There are also some drawbacks to having CISOs report to the CFO. One issue is that CISOs may need more authority within the organization if they report to the CFO rather than the CEO or CIO. Additionally, this arrangement could lead to tension between the finance and security teams if they need to see eye-to-eye on specific issues.

Reporting to the CFO could make the CISO seem more of a cost center than a business enabler. If the CFO does not have a background in information security, they may not be able to provide adequate oversight. In this case, the CISO may need to report to someone more knowledgeable about security issues.

The Future of CISOs in Modern Organizations

The role of the CISO is evolving as organizations become more aware of the importance of data security. In the past, many CISOs primarily focused on compliance and risk management. However, today’s CISOs are expected to be strategic thought leaders who can help their organizations navigate the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity threats.

As such, it is becoming increasingly common for CISOs to report to high-level executives like the CEO or CIO. This allows CISOs to sit at the table when making decisions about organizational strategy and risk tolerance.

Looking ahead, the role of CISOs will continue to evolve as organizations become more reliant on technology. As threats become more sophisticated and cyberattacks become more common, CISOs need to adapt their strategies accordingly. They will also need to be able to work closely with other departments within their organizations to ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to data security.

Regardless of how the role of the CISO changes in the future, one thing is clear: data security will remain a top priority for organizations of all sizes, and this role has become a staple in the modern workplace.

The post CEO, CIO or CFO: Who Should Your CISO Report To? appeared first on Security Intelligence.