Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe will be in town, Tuesday, and is expected to discuss, among many other things, train-centric transit technology. It’s refreshing to see that even when one of the most powerful international leaders comes to Washington his first reaction is to bring up our local transit deficiencies. Womp...
...Let's Get Started
The Big One
Chris: According to a survey conducted by DC-based cybersecurity startup Thycotic at RSAC 2015, 94% of participants believed that citizen-targeted NSA surveillance had increased or at least remained the same since the Snowden revelations of June 2013. The data, accumulated from 202 RSA conference attendees, is particularly enlightening because it comes from a survey group that may be intimately aware of the NSA’s network and/or are highly knowledgable of the general cyber realm.
Due to the current revolving door system between private cybersecurity firms and their DoD-contracted colleagues, there is a blending between the private and public spheres of this industry. The survey also goes on to say that 66% of respondents thought that Section 215 of the Patriot Act should not be renewed. To find out what other information was provided via the report be sure to read the article in full here.
Eric: Surveillance programs are much easier to start than end and it's going to take a Herculean effort by stakeholders to rein in some of the programs the NSA runs. Just look at how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is attempting to bypass any reform and just renew the Patriot Act as is.
Making Moves
Chris: Late last week, Amazon disclosed their Q1 earnings report to the delight of investors. It was the first time Amazon revealed financial statistics related to its Amazon Web Services (AWS) -- its cloud computing business services directive. But how did an e-commerce kingpin, end up becoming a giant in the cloud computing business, too? Well, this is a question many have been asking recently. One key points here though: 1.) AWS became a major provider of cloud infrastructure and services to the government in part, by becoming the first to meet a set of newly defined Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program standards. Be sure to see what else contributed to AWS’s rise in our full article.
Eric: AWS has always been an invisible giant, and cloud computing is one of those vital modern business practices nobody talks about. It's worth noting that while Amazon had plenty of good news, it's Jeff Bezos who really scored big last week.
Chris: Boston-based Mass transit startup Bridj is launching its data-informed commuting services to DC, Monday. Bridj provides transit bus options with its routes determined by a combination of user votes and analyzed data aggregated from users’ experiences. Bridj aims to attract customers who may be unhappy with WMATA transit options and Uber’s high volume traffic-based surge pricing.
Eric: People love to complain about WMATA, but with its budgetary hands tied by Congress, there's only so much it can do. That's why it makes sense for Bridj to take its next step here. It's also why ride-sharing apps thrive in the area and even why transportation option aggregators like RideScout found a home here first. It's easy to imagine that if Bridj impresses enough people it can start to sign on corporate clients, much as Uber has, to ease the commute. Speaking as a fan of the Metro, I'll be thrilled if the company can lessen the rush hour congestion that leaves me flattened into two dimensions against the train door some mornings.
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Reach out
Tips? Rumblings? Complaints? Something you want to see in the email? Reid@dcinno.com & Chris@dcinno.com
