Nok Nok and Enterprise Strategy Group today released the findings of a comprehensive survey on the state of passwords.

Nok Nok, a leader in passwordless authentication for the world’s largest organizations, and Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), today released the findings of a comprehensive survey on the state of passwords. ESG surveyed over 350 IT, cybersecurity, and application development professionals responsible for identity and access management programs in North America. The results shed light on the challenges organizations continue to face using traditional authentication methods and the increasing interest in passwordless authentication as a more secure and user-friendly alternative.

With the availability of low cost cloud CPUs to crack passwords and the prevalence of known accounts/passwords, organizations recognize that passwords are not secure. The survey revealed that traditional authentication methods, such as passwords, are not effective in the face of evolving cyber threats. Moreover, legacy multifactor authentication (MFA) such as SMS, one time password (OTP) or email codes, has proven to be susceptible to social engineering and phishing attacks, while introducing user friction and degrading the user experience.

• 72% of organizations still use phishable MFA factors for their customer-facing applications. The cost and risk of lost or stolen data, business, and funds from compromised accounts is motivating organizations to make MFA mandatory for their customers. Unfortunately, they haven’t gone far enough and still rely on the weakest forms of phishable MFA: SMS and one-time email codes.
• 52% of organizations said eliminating customer passwords had a significant positive impact on revenue. In addition to the expected risk reduction that comes from deploying passwordless authentication for customer-facing apps, removing friction from passwords and MFA positively impacted revenue, customer productivity and satisfaction, and credential-based cybersecurity incidents.
• 76% of organizations experienced multiple account or credential compromises over the past 12 months. Organizations face a multitude of disparate attack vectors targeting weak authentication methods. Unfortunately, organizations are still not prepared to respond to account or credential compromise, and thus multiple incidents have become the norm.

The survey also highlighted the importance of passwordless authentication for customer-facing applications. Organizations understand the risks of account takeover attacks and the need to secure customer identities. However, a significant portion of customer identities are believed to continue to be insufficiently secured. To mitigate these risks, organizations are prioritizing customer authentication practices, with 36% of the respondents designating authentication as a critical activity.

“In the face of weak passwords and phishable legacy authentication solutions, the survey shows that customer passwordless authentication can deliver a host of security enhancements and increase the user experience,” said Jack Poller, Senior Analyst, ESG. “Benefits include reduced calls to help desk/IT for password resets and account lockouts, to increased customer productivity and satisfaction by eliminating the friction from passwords and MFA, as well as eligibility to obtain cyber-insurance or reduce rates.”

The findings of the survey indicate that organizations are actively investing in strong authentication, with passwordless authentication gaining traction. Passwordless authentication not only enhances security but also improves the user experience by eliminating the need to remember complex passwords and reducing the reliance on phishable MFA factors.

“This survey reveals that organizations are still relying on the most common, weakest methods of MFA, SMS, and one-time email codes, even when FIDO-based phishing resistant strong authentication is available,” said Phil Dunkelberger, CEO of Nok Nok. “Major platform vendors such as Google, Apple and Microsoft have all embraced FIDO standards and are rolling out passkeys for consumers. It is time enterprises do the same for their customer authentication.”

EventMobi, an industry-leading event management software provider with customers across the globe, announced today the acquisition of Run The World, a trailblazer in the virtual event space.

“We're standing at the dawn of a new era for business conferences, events and communities,” said Bob Vaez, Founder and CEO of EventMobi. “With the acquisition of Run The World, we're doubling down on our ability to deliver diverse event formats, expand our reach, and solidify our position as industry leaders. We're thrilled to welcome Run The World and immerse them in the full value of hybrid events.”

Founded in 2019, Run The World rapidly gained traction and over USD 15 million in investment as the world grappled with the global pandemic. Through its virtual event platform, Run The World connected millions across the globe, growing a diverse customer base – including the likes of Forbes, Meta, Amazon, United Nations Development Programme and Harvard University – and hosting over 50,000 virtual events during a time when virtual connection was paramount.

“We couldn't have anticipated the explosive interest Run The World would generate,” said Xiaoyin Qu, Founder and CEO of Run The World. “We proudly hosted thousands of customers, fostering a sense of connection when the world needed it most. Now, as the world settles back to in-person events, we're thrilled to join forces with EventMobi. We assure our community they are in the best hands and can expect even more powerful and seamless hybrid event solutions.”

EventMobi recognizes the enduring relevance of in-person events while acknowledging the undeniable impact and reach of virtual and online communities. “The future of events will blend in-person and virtual experiences to foster and engage communities. We are committed to enabling our customers to choose the best format to allow their attendees to learn, connect and exchange ideas year-round,” said Vaez.

Run The World customers can sign up to join the EventMobi family over the coming months. EventMobi's award-winning support and customer success teams will facilitate the transition to their new technology partner.

Nickelytics, the renowned venture-backed adtech startup specializing in Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising, is excited to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Kiwibot, the cutting-edge robotics company celebrated for its sidewalk delivery robots.

Nickelytics, the renowned venture-backed adtech startup specializing in Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising, is excited to announce a groundbreaking partnership with Kiwibot, the cutting-edge robotics company celebrated for its sidewalk delivery robots.

In collaboration with the Ad Council, Nickelytics and Kiwibot are embarking on an initiative to inspire people to take steps to help keep pets and their families together. Leveraging Nickelytics' expertise in targeted OOH advertising and Kiwibots' safe and reliable delivery robots, the "Pets and People Together" campaign will engage with Washington, DC residents on an intimate level, driving awareness across the region.

"We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Kiwibots," said Judah Longgrear, CEO of Nickelytics. “The campaign promises to create powerful and unforgettable experiences for consumers, by combining the innovative advertising platform with autonomous robots and a meaningful cause.”

Kiwibot is equally enthusiastic about the collaboration. "Using last-mile robots in advertising creates a warm and friendly connection between people and businesses. It's a great way to showcase the benefits of this technology in the industry,” said David Rodriguez - Head of Business Development and Co-Founder. “In our partnership with Nickelytics, we are set to revolutionize the advertising landscape in Washington, DC.”

The national Pets and People Together campaign, developed by the Ad Council, Maddie's Fund® and The Humane Society of the United States, encourages audiences to take steps including: fostering a pet for a friend, family member or neighbor; donating pet food to a food pantry; donating to cover the veterinary expenses of local pets; and helping lost pets find their way home.

The new "Pets and People Together" campaign activation is scheduled to launch on July 31 and will run until August 28.

“We are thrilled to partner with Nickelytics again after a successful launch last October for our Wildfire Prevention campaign, which reached more than 1.5 million people in Los Angeles,” said Laurie Keith, VP of Emerging Media & Technology. “This hyperlocal and engaging activation will inspire residents throughout the DC area to take important steps to help pets and their families stay together.”

Brightcove’s Emmy Award-winning platform will support the delivery of video content on digital platforms across the League and its 32 Clubs

Brightcove, the world’s leading streaming technology company, today announced an agreement with the National Hockey League (NHL®) to provide its award-winning technology and platform for the delivery of digital video content on the websites of the League and the 32 Clubs, as well as the NHL app.

“The NHL has selected Brightcove to ensure its fans receive reliable, high-quality and efficient video streaming, and we’re thrilled to partner with them to enhance their streaming capabilities,” said Brightcove CEO Marc DeBevoise. “We look forward to working with the League to deliver a world-class, seamless streaming user experience to NHL fans worldwide.”

“We’re delighted to partner with Brightcove to support the delivery of video content across League digital platforms,” said Nili Doft, NHL Senior Vice President, Digital Media. “We look forward to working with Brightcove, who will help us continue to deliver great experiences for our passionate fans through their innovative streaming solutions.”

Brightcove’s streaming solutions – including best-in-class ingest, players, management, data and insights, and monetization – will transform how the NHL delivers its video to hockey fans across the globe, including by offering high-quality video, fast load times and fewer disruptions.

The National Hockey League joins a roster of professional sports organizations currently deploying Brightcove’s technology to connect with their fans, including Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Raycom Sports, ATP Tour, Badminton Horse Trials, Canadian Football League, Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf), Harness Racing Victoria, Little League Baseball and Softball, Major League Soccer, National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), U.S. Ski & Snowboard, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, United World Wrestling and USA Volleyball. The addition of the NHL solidifies Brightcove as a reliable, scalable and flexible partner that works with some of the most prominent sports entities in the world.

Complementary Solutions Simplify Security Stack and Solve Human-Centric Security Challenges

Red Sift, the leading Digital Resilience Platform enabling organizations to see, solve, and secure vulnerabilities in their attack surface, today announced a strategic partnership with the market leader in human risk management and security behavior change, Hoxhunt. The relationship between the two companies will span co-marketing, data sharing and joint solution development to protect email, domains and the network, effectively lowering phishing and business email compromise risks, while increasing training effectiveness.

“This partnership is a strategic opportunity to extend the value proposition for both of our solutions which will improve customer cybersecurity and tackle phishing attacks more effectively,” said Chuck Swenberg, SVP of Strategy for Red Sift. “This relationship enables us to share and leverage the uniqueness of each other's data for the benefit of joint customers.”

According to Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report, nearly three quarters of breaches involve human errors. Today’s partnership helps companies solve this human-centric security risk challenge, as Red Sift’s Digital Resilience Platform and Hoxhunt’s Human Risk Management Platform offer complementary and innovative solutions that simplify an organizations’ security stack while improving customer risk profiles. A keystone of the partnership will include data sharing in which Red Sift will provide data and intelligence to support Hoxhunt’s security behavior change product, while Hoxhunt’s user aggregated reporting data will provide additional insight for Red Sift’s platform.

“At Hoxhunt, we sit on the battle line with our customers to measurably reduce human risk,” said Mika Aalto, CEO and Co-Founder of Hoxhunt. “To enhance our value, we wanted to partner with an innovative organization that could simultaneously provide strong technical competency and solutions that effectively address specific problems our customers face. We’re confident we have found those capabilities in Red Sift and look forward to providing joint customers with the best of the best.”

The majority of ad-supported viewers trust ads on TV and streaming services, and more than half remember ads most within those environments

Magnite, the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising company, released its latest research study, “Streaming TV’s New Era: How Ads Are Powering Streaming’s Future in Australia.” The study finds 65% of TV viewers watch ad-supported streaming in the country and the effectiveness of TV advertising, including streaming, drives a high level of trust and recall. Among ad-supported viewers, 83% trust the ads they see within TV and streaming services, compared to 58% of social media users who trust ads, including video ads, within social. In addition, 57% of ad-supported streamers remember ads the most within TV (including streaming services).

The research finds Australian streaming audiences are leaned into streaming content, and that it captures audience attention better than social media. 92% of ad-supported streamers view streaming content for more than 30 minutes each time they tune in and those who only watch ad-supported streaming are watching over 2 hours a day, on average. Comparatively, the majority of social media users¹ (70%) state they launch social media apps multiple times throughout the day and each session is brief, lasting just a few minutes.

“We’re witnessing a transformation of the TV landscape as ad-supported streaming viewership is achieving scale throughout Australia and almost as many consumers are watching TV shows on streaming services with ads as traditional TV,” said Juliette Stead, Head of JAPAC at Magnite. “Streaming TV’s immersive viewing environment captures viewers’ attention for longer periods than social media and wins in terms of ad attention and recall, making this an effective channel brands should be actively exploring.”

Key findings from Magnite’s study include:

• Streaming services with ads are continuing to attract new audiences - 55% of non-streamers would likely use a new free or reduced-rate service with ads and 63% of paid, ad-free streamers are happy to see ads in order to lower their monthly streaming service bills.
• Streaming services have become indispensable to ad-supported viewers in Australia. 77% of ad-supported streamers consider streaming services a must-have in their household and 48% said they are watching more streaming content than the year prior, compared to just 5% who are watching less.
• Australian streamers are consuming TV content on multiple screens and exposure to brands across multiple devices drives purchasing intent. 69% of ad-supported streamers are more likely to make a purchase from a brand that they engaged with across multiple devices.

Methodology
Magnite engaged Harris Interactive to execute an online survey of 1,242 respondents in Australia from May 24 - June 1, 2023. The respondents are people ages 16-74 who watch 7+ hours of TV (including streaming) a week.

Integrated with SwaggerHub and Explore, Portal’s fully customizable developer experience empowers providers to improve API discoverability and simplify adoption

SmartBear, a leading provider of software development and visibility tools, released SwaggerHub Portal, SwaggerHub’s new feature to customize consumer-facing documentation that drives the adoption of APIs. The developer-centric tool allows API providers to create customizable landing pages, providing consumers with comprehensive resources for easy implementation. Portal is integrated with SwaggerHub, the popular API design and documentation tool, and Explore, the API client that supports REST and event-driven specifications, allowing teams of any size to explore, design, test, and document all in one place for a better developer experience.

“SmartBear is focused on API-first development, helping developers to solve their challenges when it comes to design, documentation, testing, and adoption,” said Sean Butler, Vice President of Product Management at SmartBear. “With a growing number of APIs available, providers need help with discoverability and onboarding. To address this challenge, we are excited to launch these two innovative milestones – SwaggerHub Portal and its integration with SwaggerHub Explore – as we advance toward the SmartBear API Developer Lifecycle platform to deliver the best developer experiences in the industry.”

According to Slashdata, more than 90% of developers use APIs regularly with 69% using third-party APIs, though discoverability is critical for consumers to successfully implement APIs into their projects. SwaggerHub Portal provides increased visibility and adoption and allows providers to seamlessly onboard their consumers for an improved customer experience.

SwaggerHub's integration with Portal allows developers to generate documentation from their API designs with zero context switching. This minimizes time to market, making their APIs easy to discover and adopt. Development teams, whether code-first, design-first, or hybrid, can generate documentation from Explore, no longer needing to start from scratch when documenting.

A senior tech and developer experience lead at Webio stated, “SwaggerHub Portal’s capabilities are promising to be a game changer for our onboarding process and developer experience. The use of the product concept to describe different parts of our system, combined with seamless integration with other SwaggerHub products, means that developers have a one-stop shop to get all the latest API information alongside visually appealing up-to-date documentation.”

AdParlor, a leading provider of digital marketing solutions, is thrilled to announce the launch of CreatorFuel, its new fully managed influencer offering. With CreatorFuel, brands can now unlock the full potential of influencer marketing to fuel their growth and connect with their target audience in a more authentic and impactful way.

In today's digital landscape, influencer marketing has become an essential strategy for brands looking to establish a strong online presence and drive meaningful engagement. However, managing influencer campaigns effectively requires extensive time, expertise, and resources. That's where CreatorFuel steps in, offering brands a comprehensive solution to navigate the complex world of influencer marketing with ease.

AdParlor's team of experienced professionals will work closely with brands to develop and implement highly effective influencer strategies that align with their specific goals and objectives. From influencer discovery and activation to content creation and amplification, CreatorFuel covers every aspect of a successful influencer campaign.

What sets CreatorFuel apart is its focus on performance-driven results. Unlike traditional influencer agencies that solely prioritize brand awareness, CreatorFuel leverages AdParlor's 15 years of social media buying expertise to drive real business growth. By combining the influence and reach of top-tier influencers with data-driven targeting, brands can expect measurable and impactful full-funnel results.

"With AdParlor's mastery across paid social and expertise in content amplification, it's the perfect complement to our current suite of services to unlock further growth for our clients", said Andrea Haldeman, SVP & General Manager at AdParlor. "We know that influencer marketing should go beyond awareness and drive performance outcomes, and that's exactly what CreatorFuel achieves."

"CreatorFuel is a logical next step for AdParlor,” said Kristina Coughlin, Head of Influencer Strategy. “Influencer marketing is such a rapidly evolving space, and it’s a very exciting time to be part of it.”

CreatorFuel also boasts a diverse and extensive network of influencers across various digital platforms and networks. Brands can tap into this network to find the perfect fit talent that resonates with their target audience and effectively communicates their brand message. From Instagram and TikTok to YouTube and Twitch, CreatorFuel covers a wide range of social platforms, ensuring brands can connect with their audience wherever they are.

To celebrate the launch of CreatorFuel, AdParlor is offering an exclusive introductory package for new clients. This limited-time offer provides brands with the opportunity to experience the benefits of a fully managed influencer solution at a special rate. Brands can take advantage of this offer by scheduling a discovery call with AdParlor's team by emailing info@adparlor.com.