STERLING, Ill., Oct. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ —

WHAT HAPPENED?

RRCA Accounts Management, Inc. (“RRCA”), a full-service collection agency, experienced a security incident from a ransomware attack from the Play threat actors on June 6, 2024, and immediately stopped the intrusion on June 7, 2024. A cybercriminal illegally attacked a limited part of our systems without permission. We then immediately hired expert third parties to commence a forensic investigation of the security incident. The initial investigation showed that the majority records accessed were not personal information. However, we learned through ongoing forensic investigatory efforts that there was a full release of our clients’ customers’ personal information on August 20, 2024, leading to this notification. We then did a thorough investigation to identify those consumers whose information was impacted.

WHAT INFORMATION WAS INVOLVED?

RRCA informed its clients, health care providers or other business companies for which data is collected regarding outstanding payments, about this event and what customer personal information may have been accessed. The personal information that may have been accessed by a third party includes contact information (such as name, address, date of birth, phone number and email) and one or more of the following:

Social security number or taxpayer IDDriver’s license numberPassport numberTelephone numberHealth insurance informationHealth data, such as medical record numbers and places of treatment and doctorsHealth payment information such as billing and insurance claims and payment card and account numbersUsername or IP addressPotentially some demographic information, such as gender, religious views or race

The data that was accessed was not the same for each person and does not always include all the above data elements.

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

RRCA has been diligently working with law enforcement and forensic investigators to conduct a thorough review of the potentially affected data. RRCA has implemented additional organizational, technical and administrative security measures to prevent the reoccurrence of such a breach and to protect the privacy of its clients.

WHAT CAN CONSUMERS IMPACTED DO?

RRCA is sending out notifications to impacted customers of its clients so that action can be taken which will assist to minimize or eliminate potential harm. It is strongly advised that preventive measures be taken to help prevent and detect any misuse of information.

To help protect affected individuals, RRCA has retained CyEx, a specialist in identity theft prevention to provide credit monitoring services and identity theft services, free of charge. 

As a first step, it is recommended to monitor financial and health accounts for any unauthorized activity and promptly contacting the appropriate financial institution or health insurance carrier if detected.

To further protect from the possibility of identity theft, it is also recommended that fraud alerts are placed with each of the three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. A fraud alert will make it harder for a new credit account to be opened, as the business must verify identity before it issues new credit. A fraud alert should not stop the use of existing credit cards or other accounts, but it may slow down the ability to get new credit. An initial fraud alert is valid for ninety (90) days. To place a fraud alert on credit reports, contact one of the three major credit reporting agencies at the appropriate number listed below or via their website. One agency will notify the other two on your behalf. Letters will then be sent from the agencies with instructions on how to obtain a free copy of the credit report from each.

Equifax (888) 766-0008 or www.fraudalert.equifax.comExperian (888) 397-3742 or www.experian.comTransUnion (800) 680-7289 or www.transunion.com

Even if no suspicious activity is detected on the initial credit reports, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends checking credit reports periodically. Checking credit reports periodically can help spot a problem and address it quickly.

WHO TO CALL OR CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS?

If there are further questions or concerns, please contact the RRCA Accounts Management Team at this special telephone number 1-855-277-4799, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time, except holidays.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rrca-accounts-management-inc-reports-ransomware-attack-and-data-breach-302280547.html

SOURCE RRCA Accounts Management, Inc.

DALLAS, Oct. 18, 2024 /CNW/ — Our highly skilled, unionized workforce strongly positions us to grow 5G and fiber.

Key Takeaways:

AT&T ratifies agreements with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in the Southeast and West, covering about 23,000 employees.AT&T is proud to be the largest employer of union-represented employees in the U.S. telecommunications industry.AT&T’s labor agreements support the company’s commitment to employees’ total wellbeing by providing wages and benefits that are among the best in the nation.

What’s the news? AT&T employees represented by the CWA voted to ratify two collective bargaining agreements. The 5-year agreement with CWA District 3 in the Southeast covers about 15,000 employees who primarily work in technician, call center, machine operator, and other customer service roles in AL, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, and TN, and is set to expire on Aug. 4, 2029. The 4-year agreement with CWA District 9 in the West covers about 8,400 employees who primarily work in those same roles in CA and NV, and is set to expire on April 8, 2028.

Why is this important? AT&T is the largest employer of union-represented employees in the U.S. telecommunications industry, where more than 62,000 AT&T employees are unionized. AT&T’s high-performance wireless and fiber networks provide a foundation for U.S. economic growth, innovation, and individual opportunity, and AT&T is focused on growing 5G and fiber with a strong union workforce.

“We are proud to support the needs of our unionized employees as they make these connections possible for our customers and communities,” said Jamie Barton, senior vice president of Global Human Resources and Labor Relations, AT&T. “We believe that to be the best connectivity provider, our agreements must allow us to compete for the best people and have the best operations that can adapt to evolving customer demands. These new agreements position the company for sustainable growth and ensure we continue to recognize the work our employees do every day to serve our customers.”

AT&T’s labor agreements support the company’s commitment to employees’ total wellbeing by providing wages and benefits that are among the best in the nation, promoting the physical, emotional, financial and social wellbeing of employees, their families and their communities. These agreements include competitive market-based wage increases that exceed projected inflation, comprehensive retirement benefits, increases in the company’s financial contributions to employee healthcare and wellness, better schedule stability, job security, and more.

Thanks to strong, long-term relationships with our union partners, the company has now reached 18 agreements since the beginning of 2022, including seven contracts ratified this year.

About AT&T

We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater possibility. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to our 5G wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can learn more at investors.att.com.

© 2024 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the Globe logo are registered trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-employees-vote-to-ratify-the-southeast-and-west-agreements-302280912.html

SOURCE AT&T

Argos Multilingual today announced the launch of Argos SmartSuite, an integrated set of advanced tools designed to enhance data ingestion, workflow, productivity, and quality. The platform leverages a deeply customizable stack of tools that help clients get the data they need for pre-training, Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT) and Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF).

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Argos SmartSuite represents a significant leap forward in Argos’ data services, integrating and improving upon previously standalone tools to address the complex challenges posed by clients looking to improve their LLMs. At the time of release, Argos SmartSuite includes twelve specialized tools, each targeting crucial aspects of LLM development, testing, and deployment:

General Static Preference CollectionImage Conversation AnnotatorLLM Performance EvaluatorResponse Quality AssessorLLM Export FinderLLM Penetration TesterLLM Threat DetectorLLM Incident SimulatorAdversarial Attack SimulatorPolicy Compliance TesterRed Team CoordinatorPhishing Defense Analyzer

The platform’s comprehensive approach covers everything from basic preference collection to advanced threat detection and incident simulation. It significantly improves upon previous versions, making them readily applicable to the latest LLMs and the evolving methodologies used in their development and deployment.

“Argos SmartSuite is a game-changer in how we work with our clients, and this is just the beginning for us. We have always been creative with tooling and when you couple that with our deep understanding of our clients’ project scope and HITL challenges, we can quickly deploy solutions that achieve unprecedented results for our customers. With 12 solutions released in V1 and another six currently being developed in collaboration with our clients, we are on track to double our solution offering by Q1, 2025,” said Chris Phillips, Chief Innovations Officer at Argos Multilingual. “By integrating these powerful tools into a single, cohesive underlying platform, we’re enabling organizations to build, fine-tune, and test LLMs with superior efficiency and quality.”

Alexander Ulichnowski, CEO of Argos Multilingual, added, “With the launch of Argos SmartSuite, we’re reaffirming our commitment to innovation. This platform showcases our dedication to promoting safe and responsible AI development. We believe it will become an indispensable resource for organizations working with LLMs across various industries.”

Argos SmartSuite is available immediately for enterprise clients. For more information about the platform and its capabilities, please visit the Argos Multilingual website.

About Argos Multilingual

Argos Multilingual provides global language solutions. With over 30 years of experience, we serve clients in the high-tech, life sciences, human resources, and financial industries. We make it easy for businesses to grow globally and connect with expert talent anywhere in the world. With production centers in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, we follow a strategy of building robust programs for continuous translation and localization. You can expect a long-term and transparent partnership, backed by innovative solutions around technology, AI & data, creative content, and quality assurance. For more information, please visit us at www.argosmultilingual.com.

Media Contact

Stephanie Harris-Yee, Argos Multilingual, 1 5303913714, info@argosmultilingual.com, http://ai.argosmultilingual.com/

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/argos-multilingual-launches-argos-smartsuite-a-comprehensive-platform-for-human-centric-data-collection-labeling-and-evaluation-302278996.html

SOURCE Argos Multilingual