Unum adds digital behavioral health
Chattanooga-based Unum has introduced a digital behavioral health solution that's intended to help employers support their employees' mental health.
The digital platform provides employer-tailored communication and educational programs to help reduce the stigma of mental health, boost awareness, and increase engagement with support programs. Mental health concerns by workers have accelerated during the pandemic, increasing interest and demand for new products.
"The last 14 months have put a spotlight on the issue – we have seen a significant increase in the number of disability claims related to behavioral health and we believe there is a need for a holistic approach," said Unum Chief Operating Officer Mike Simonds.
Unum Behavioral Health provides a private web portal that will guide the worker to the support they need, including clinical treatment options along and a library of mental health resources. Employees are matched with a coach or licensed therapist within 24 hours, Unum said.
Hackers had targeted SolarWinds in early 2019
The president and chief executive officer of SolarWinds says the hackers who carried out the intrusion of his software company were in its network as early as January 2019. That's months earlier than previously known.
SolarWinds had previously traced the origins of the hack to the fall of 2019 but Sudhakar Ramakrishna say the company now believes that hackers were doing "very early recon activities" as far back as the prior January. He was speaking in a question-and-answer session hosted by the RSA Conference.
Apple CEO to testify as epic trial nears end
Apple CEO Tim Cook will take the witness stand on Friday in a high-stakes courtroom battle. Cook will be testifying in a trail over the lucrative commissions that the iPhone maker has been raking in from Apple's mobile app store that has become a cornerstone of its $2 trillion empire.
The maker of the popular video game Fortnite is trying to prove Apple's 15% to 30% commissions on transactions in iPhone apps are part of an illegal monopoly. The timing of Cook's highly anticipated testimony was confirmed Wednesday when a federal judge granted Apple's request to allow the executive to be the first witness sworn in Friday during the trial in Oakland, California.
Buttigieg reinstates local hiring program
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he'll reinstate an Obama-era pilot program that aims to aid minority and disadvantaged groups by ensuring local hiring for public works construction projects. Buttigieg made the announcement Wednesday at Washington's Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.
He reverses a 2017 decision by the Trump administration to halt the program. The Transportation Department's four-year pilot initiative will let state and local agencies receiving federal transit or highway money impose local hiring preferences, like those favoring veterans, minorities and low-income workers. Supporters say it'll revitalize regional economies by giving local residents new ways to access well-paying jobs.
The Associated General Contractors of America opposes the program.
WarnerMedia offers $10 tier of HBO Max
WarnerMedia is rolling out a $10-a-month ad supported version of its HBO Max streaming service starting in June.
AT&T said Monday it will combine its massive WarnerMedia media assets, which includes HBO and CNN, with Discovery Inc. to create a new media company in a $43 billion deal. However the deal isn't expected to close until mid-2022 and WarnerMedia is still going ahead with plans for HBO Max.
AT&T said earlier this month that there are 44.2 million subscribers to HBO Max and the traditional HBO channel combined in the U.S.
- Compiled by Dave Flessner