More than 95 percent of the Executive Office of the President’s email domains are at risk of widespread phishing attacks, the Global Cyber Alliance reported Wednesday. The report claims 18 of 26 EOP-managed email domains lack Domain Message Authentication Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) protocol, which the Department of Homeland Security requires for all federal civilian agencies. Another seven domains have deployed DMARC protocol at a substandard level, the firm said. The White House didn't comment right away.

One in five U.S. parents lives in a home with virtual-reality electronics, though 65 percent say they aren't planning to buy a VR device, children’s nonprofit Common Sense reported. The group canvassed 4,000 parents online in late December and reported 62 percent said VR will “provide educational experiences for their children." Eighty-four percent of parents whose children use VR said that. And 60 percent of parents are at least "somewhat concerned" their kids will experience “negative health effects while using VR,” it wrote Wednesday. “Some parents report that kids are already experiencing health issues,” including 13 percent who have bumped into something while using a device, 11 percent who have experienced dizziness, 10 percent who have had headaches and 8 percent who have had eyestrain, it said. “VR is likely to have powerful effects on children because it can provoke a response to virtual experiences similar to a response to actual experiences,” said the group. “Characters in VR may be especially influential on young children, even more so than characters on TV or computers. This can be good or bad depending on the influence.”

Law enforcement made eight arrests and linked 19 drug overdose deaths of interest to an investigation into online sales of opioids and cocaine, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Tuesday. Conducted March 27-30, the Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement team’s first operation involved officials from the FBI, the Postal Inspection Service, the IRS Criminal Investigation unit and local law enforcement. A report said officials completed more than 160 interviews with people who bought or sold drugs online, which led to the seizure of weapons, drugs, counterfeit currency and computer equipment.

Concerns over data privacy extend to the headphone market, Technavio reported, saying future headphones are expected to have features that capture bodies’ vital signs and other medical data. Headphones’ ability to collect large amounts of data and create recordings could violate users' privacy, the researcher said Tuesday, suggesting addressing privacy concerns of headphone users as prerequisite to the mass commercialization of smart headphones. The non-smart headphone segment had nearly 65 percent of the market last year but is forecast to drop to 9 percent by 2022, Technavio said. Smart headphones are the fastest growing segment and will have nearly 44 percent of the headphone market during the period, it said.

An active shooter was reported at YouTube headquarters in San Bruno, California, Tuesday evening Eastern time, and details were emerging. The San Bruno Police and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tweeted that they responded to a shooting. “Please stay away from Cherry Ave & Bay Hill Drive,” San Bruno Police wrote. Google tweeted that it's "coordinating with authorities and will provide official information here from Google and YouTube as it becomes available.” YouTube employee Vadim Lavrusik tweeted: “Heard shots and saw people running while at my desk. Now barricaded inside a room with coworkers,” before tweeting that he safely evacuated. The closest emergency room to the YouTube campus wasn’t treating any gunshot victims, but it’s not a trauma center and such nearby facilities may have received patients, a spokesman for the Kaiser healthcare system told us. We couldn’t reach anyone immediately at area hospitals with trauma centers. Following its initial tweet, Google said: "We have advised those who are currently at the SBO office to continue to shelter in place until further notice."

Amazon shares fell another 1 percent Tuesday before rebounding, and some analysts said they saw the recent drop from a 52-week high of $1,617.54 (see 1804020050) as a buy opportunity. Shares wound up closing 1.5 percent higher Tuesday at $1,392.05. President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday: “I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy. Amazon should pay these costs (plus) and not have them bourne [sic] by the American Taxpayer. Many billions of dollars. P.O. leaders don’t have a clue (or do they?)!” The company didn’t comment. Last week, Trump blasted Amazon on possible antitrust grounds (see 1803290049), for “putting many thousands of retailers out of business” and for paying “little to no taxes to state & local governments.” Barclays cautioned investors in a Tuesday research note about “potential regulatory risk” for e-commerce providers over tax policy and shipping costs. Barclays cited the power Amazon has accrued from its business model of selling products close to bill of exchange and generating profit in other areas like Prime fees and advertising vs traditional retailers with higher cost structures. It warned of “additional scrutiny around tax collections” from third-party sellers that would weigh down growth for Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Shopify. On shipping cost inflation risk, Barclays said every 15 percent bump in USPS shipping rates for the last mile would wipe out 13 percent of Amazon retail operating income “assuming the company doesn't come up with another low-cost option to replace USPS.” The analyst firm doesn’t see antitrust as a viable path for regulators “given the low market share.” Barclays remains bullish long term on e-commerce but isn’t expecting much from the sector “until some of these sentiment headwinds abate and the conversation moves back toward innovation.” The Washington Post, which is owned personally by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, reported that government officials have told Trump that USPS profits from contracts with Amazon. Trump claimed over the weekend that USPS loses an average of $1.50 for every package it delivers for Amazon.

Credit card data for Saks and Lord & Taylor customers in North America has been compromised, owner Hudson Bay Co. announced Sunday, and reports say data for as many as 5 million credit and debit cards were stolen. HBC said there's no indication the company’s e-commerce or digital platforms were affected, and customers won't be liable for fraudulent charges. Once more information is available, HBC said it will offer free identity protection services. Gemini Advisory claimed a JokerStash hacking syndicate reported the release of more than 5 million cards across the entire network of Lord & Taylor and 83 Saks Fifth Avenue stores, though most of the stolen data was from New York and New Jersey locations. The cybersecurity consultant estimated the hacking started in May, and as of Sunday, 125,000 records had been released for sale.

Speculation on Spotify's opening share price was all over the board Monday, before the company's initial public offering takes effect Tuesday, we found. CNNMoney called the Spotify IPO “eagerly anticipated” and “bizarre,” saying, “Nobody knows what the price will be when the stock starts trading.” Business Insider said Spotify is going public at “the worst possible time for tech stocks,” after Facebook’s data collection debacle slammed it and other tech stocks at the end of March, a slide that continued Monday. Shares of Amazon (down 5.2 percent to $1371.99), Apple (down 1.1 percent to $166.68), Facebook (down 2.8 percent to $155.39) and Google (down 2.4 percent to $1,102.63) fell Monday. Brokers have already published Spotify price targets in the range of $160-$225 per share, said reports. Analyst Gary Alexander, in a Seeking Alpha column, wrote that the implied market value of $37 billion-$41 billion is “far higher” than Spotify’s last reported valuation of $19 billion. “Without underwriters to stabilize the offering, Spotify's IPO is likely to be much more volatile than the typical IPO -- either up or down,” he said. Spotify’s direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday could pave the way for other pre-IPO companies to choose a similar alternate route to going public, but the deal carries a “high degree of uncertainty” since 91 percent of the 178 million shares will be set by broker-dealers based on buy and sell orders, said Renaissance Capital IPO Research last week (see 1803300007).

The FTC seeks comment by May 9 on a proposal to amend a video game industry self-regulatory program the agency approved under its Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act rule. The Entertainment Software Rating Board plans to amend its COPPA safe harbor program, the FTC said. ESRB potentially could alter its definition for personal information and data to reflect additional COPPA guidance issued in October, among other changes.

The Milo whole-home Wi-Fi distribution product that ParkerVision introduced in the fall continues to be a learn-as-one-goes experience for the loss-ridden tech company, said CEO Jeffrey Parker on a Thursday earnings call. ParkerVision launched Milo in mid-October through Amazon Prime and its own online store. “We learned where Milo is doing a great job for consumers” but also where it “needed to be tuned a bit to deliver” on how some customers want to use the product, said Parker. Milo qualified for Amazon Prime’s “fulfilled by seller program,” which allows ParkerVision to “reach out” to market the product to Amazon Prime customers, “while still able to keep costs down by fulfilling those orders from our own facilities rather than through an Amazon distribution center,” said Chief Financial Officer Cindy Poehlman. ParkerVision's stock risks a Nasdaq delisting because the company doesn't meet its $35 million minimum "market value of listed securities" and because its shares are trading below "the $1 minimum bid price requirement," she said. The company nevertheless is “now geared up and taking Milo to the next steps,” including marketing the product to internet service providers through a broad “direct sales campaign,” said Parker. It’s also “actively pursuing” a direct-to-consumer “channel partner” that's offering “to take Milo on a comprehensive direct national TV, radio, newspaper and PR campaign,” he said. “This is a firm that has decades of experience in taking consumer products right to market in very successful campaigns.” The company’s goal is “to launch on air with them in late spring to early summer this year,” he said.