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Aflac Incorporated (NYSE: AFL) was the most recent target of a sophisticated cybercrime group that has led a campaign against a number of insurance companies in recent weeks, according to a statement issued by the company today.The cyberattack, which was first identified by the company June 12, was stopped within a few hours and business operations were not impacted. However, the number of Aflac insurance-holders affected by the breach is still unknown. Files containing personal information, such as Social Security numbers, health information, and insurance claims information, could have been compromised during the attack, the company said. We regret that this incident occurred, the company wrote in a statement. We will be working to keep our stakeholders informed as we learn more and continue investigating the incident. During the investigation, Aflac is offering credit monitoring, identity theft protection, and a two year Medical Shield policy for free to any customers who call their incident-dedicated call center. The company suspects social engineering helped the cybercrime group infiltrate its networks. Social engineeringwhich includes tactics like phishing emailsinvolves deceiving a victim into revealing personal information or providing access into otherwise secure systems. Aflac is only the latest insurance company impacted by these cybersecurity incidents. Erie Insurance and Philadelphia Insurance Companies issued statements about similar cyberattacks earlier this week, exposing a growing threat to the insurance industry. The insurance industry is a recent target of a cybercrime group called Scattered Spider, John Hultquist, chief analyst of Googles threat intelligence group, shared Monday on X. Scattered Spider, also known as UNC3944, is reportedly a group of hackers who target large organizations primarily in English-speaking countries. The group previously gained attention targeting U.K. retailers, such as Marks & Spencer and Harrods. To defend against attacks by Scattered Spider, Googles threat intelligence group suggests companies should educate employees about social engineering tactics and strengthen security measures, such as identity verification and authentication procedures. Aflac did not immediately respond to a request for comment about which social engineering tactics were used in the attack and whether additional cybersecurity measures would be put in place to ward off future attacks. After a 1.37% drop between the close of trading Wednesday and opening on Friday, Aflacs stock price is looking up as the dust settles following the incident.
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E-Commerce
If you value critical thinking, you may want to rethink your use of ChatGPT. As graduates proudly show off using ChatGPT for final projects, and with 89% of students admitting to using it for homework, have you ever wondered what effect this is having on our brains? A new study conducted by researchers at MIT split 54 participants (aged 18 to 39 from the Boston area) into three groups. Each was tasked with writing 20-minute essays based on SAT prompts using either OpenAIs ChatGPT, Googles comparatively more traditional search engine, or their own brains. Researchers then used electroencephalogram (or EEG) to record brain activity across 32 regions. Of the three groups, those assisted by ChatGPT engaged their brains the least and consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels. The study found that using ChatGPT reduced activity in brain regions associated with memory and learning, as some human thinking and planning was offloaded to the LLM. Unsurprisingly, ChatGPT users felt less ownership over their essays compared to the other groups. They also struggled to recall or quote from their own essays shortly after submitting themshowing how reliance on the LLM bypassed deep memory processes. Over several months, those using ChatGPT became lazier with each essay. By the end of the study, their work amounted to little more than copy-and-paste. Two English teachers who assessed the essays called them largely soulless. The papers lead author, Nataliya Kosmyna, told Time: It was more like, Just give me the essay, refine this sentence, edit it, and Im done. By comparison, the group using their own brains showed the highest neural connectivity, were more engaged and curious, and expressed greater satisfaction with their essays. The Google Search group also showed high satisfaction and active brain function. Given how frequently ChatGPT is now used in educational settings, these findings give cause for concern. A February 2025 OpenAI report on ChatGPT use among college-aged users found that more than one-quarter of their ChatGPT conversations were education-related. The report also revealed that the top five uses for students were writing-centered: starting papers and projects (49%), summarizing long texts (48%), brainstorming creative projects (45%), exploring new topics (44%), and revising writing (44%). The MIT paper has not yet been peer-reviewed, and its sample size is relatively small. However, the authors believed it was important to release the findings to draw attention to the damaging long-term impact that use of large language models may have on our brainsas more and more people outsource everything from work tasks to texting. What really motivated me to put it out now before waiting for a full peer review is that I am afraid in 68 months, there will be some policymaker who decides, Lets do GPT kindergarten. I think that would be absolutely bad and detrimental, Kosmyna told Time. Developing brains are at the highest risk. Next time you are struggling with a writing task, stick with it. Your brain will thank you.
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E-Commerce
It seems Americans cant get enough of Olive Gardens never-ending soup or salad and breadsticks: The chains parent company reported quarterly results on Friday that buck a broader slump in dining out trends. Darden Restaurants reported stronger-than-expected sales and earnings growth in its most-recent quarter that slightly beat analysts estimates. The Orlando-based company reported that same-store sales increased 6.9% at Olive Garden and 6.7% at LongHorn Steakhouse, which both beat analysts expectations. Across the companys 11 brands, same-restaurant sales rose 4.6%. The company, not surprisingly, credits its model for its success. Rick Cardenas, Dardens president and CEO, said the company has been very prudent in keeping its price changes below inflation. What we believe is happening right now in the casual dining space is our consumers are figuring out that casual dining is a great value, he said Friday on a call with Wall Street analysts. Consumers want to go out and spend their hard-earned money, and we think were taking some wallet share from fast food and fast casual. Americans have soured on fast food lately, as both McDonalds and Chipotle reported declines in same-store sales during their first quarters, albeit for different timeframes than Darden. Traffic at U.S. quick-service restaurantswhich includes the likes of McDonalds and Chipotlehas been steadily declining, and fell again in May versus last year, according to figures from Revenue Management Solutions (RMS), which provides insights about the restaurant industry. Saving money is the main reason keeping people from heading out to eat, as 69% of Americans say theyre eating at home more often, according to KPMGs Consumer Pulse Summer 2025 report. And consumers surveyed said they expect to spend 7% less at restaurants each month this summer. Olive Garden’s Momentum Despite weakness elsewhere in the industry, Darden is forecasting solid growth in its 2026 fiscal year thats now underway. The company forecast total sales growth of 7% to 8% following gains of 6% in the 2025 fiscal year. One thing thats helped Olive Garden, Dardens biggest brand, is a delivery partnership with Uber Direct. In the most-recent quarter, Uber Direct accounted for about 3.5% of Olive Gardens total sales. And more broadly, Cardenas said that Darden is focusing on how to keep up its recent strength, particularly for Olive Garden. Were going to continue to find ways to keep that momentum going.
Category:
E-Commerce
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