IBM has announced its plan to integrate Project Debater technologies into Watson to advance clients’ ability to exploit natural language, marking the only AI system capable of debating humans on complex topics, the company announced on Wednesday.

“We’re harvesting technology from Project Debater and integrating it into Watson to enable businesses to capture, analyze, and understand more from human language and start to transform how they utilize intellectual capital that’s codified in data,” said Rob Thomas, General Manager, IBM Data and AI.

IBM has integrated three technologies into Watson, including analysis, briefs and clustering to enhance user experience. The company’s Advanced Sentiment AnalysisI has enhanced sentiment analysis to better identify word schemes like idioms and sentiment shifters.

The technology will be integrated into Watson Natural Language Understanding by April 2020. IBM has created a new classification technology that will enable clients to create AI models that can classify clauses that occur in business documents, like procurement contracts.

Under briefs, IBM’s technology will extract textual data from a variety of sources to provide users with a summary of what is being said and written about a particular topic. The company’s technology has been used at The GRAMMYS to analyze, blogs and bios to produce summarized insights on hundreds artists and celebrities.

The company also has integrated advanced topic clustering to build on new insights gained from Project Debater. The new topic clustering techniques will enable users to “cluster” incoming data to create meaningful “topics” of related information, which can then be analyzed.

Other companies have started to integrate IBM’s Watson developments. KPMG worked with IBM to create an AI solution based on a variety of Watson services, including Watson Natural Language Understanding. The technology has improved companies ability to identify, claim and retain potential R&D income tax credits.

In the past year, KPMG clients have seen more potential for R&D tax credits, with some projects even seeing more than a one-thousand percent increase in the number of documents reviewed. The solution helps clients uncover more potential activities that qualify for additional income tax credits, while reducing business disruption.

About IBM Security

IBM Security offers one of the most advanced and integrated portfolios of enterprise security products and services. The portfolio, supported by world-renowned IBM X-Force® research, enables organizations to effectively manage risk and defend against emerging threats.

IBM operates one of the world’s broadest security research, development and delivery organizations, monitors 70 billion security events per day in more than 130 countries, and has been granted more than 10,000 security patents worldwide.

LexisNexis Risk Solutions and iPipeline have partnered to integrate LexisNexis data solutions into iPipeline’s SSG Digital platform to improve the experience of purchasing life insurance, LexisNexis announced on Wednesday.

“Together we can provide an end-to-end integrated solution that helps improve data accuracy and minimizes identity risks.  And, for both consumers and producers, the application, decision, and delivery process become even faster and more efficient,” said Drew Whitmore, Senior Director for Global Alliances at LexisNexis Risk Solutions.

LexisNexis will integrate iPipeline’s iGO e-App is an intelligent, fillable form and data gathering e-application to enhance the life insurance application process. The company’s technology will provide automated solutions for managing and controlling underwriting and new business processes.

iGO e-App users will be able to access products from LexisNexis Risk Solutions, including identity verification, multi-factor authentication and data prefill solutions to more accurately develop information all within the app. Users can also utilize other underwriting solutions including LexisNexis Risk Classifier, LexisNexis Electronic Inspection Report, LexisNexis Motor Vehicle Records, and LexisNexis National Credit File.

In addition, the combination of LexisNexis data with iPipeline’s SSG Digital platform will help to bring speed, accuracy, efficiency, and security to our customers. Life insurers who take advantage of these innovative, data-driven solutions can gain a competitive edge in the crowded marketplace.

“We believe integrating these LexisNexis Risk Solutions will help accelerate the e-application and underwriting process for life insurance, so that producers and insurers alike can provide the best possible customer journey,” said Larry Berran, CEO, iPipeline. “Speed-to-market advantages can have an enormous impact in today’s highly competitive environment.  Adding LexisNexis Risk Solutions will help streamline and simplify the new business process.”

About LexisNexis Risk Solutions

LexisNexis® Risk Solutions harnesses the power of data and advanced analytics to provide insights that help businesses and governmental entities reduce risk and improve decisions to benefit people around the globe. We provide data and technology solutions for a wide range of industries including insurance, financial services, healthcare and government. Headquartered in metro Atlanta, Georgia, we have offices throughout the world and are part of RELX (LSE: REL/NYSE: RELX), a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries.

Deloitte’s Center for Government Insights has released “Ransoming Government: What state and local government can do to break free from ransomware attacks” that has analyzed ransomware attacks on state and local governments, the company announced on Wednesday.

The report has also discussed the dilemma of paying or not paying criminals, with the risk of losing access to critical data or the ability to provide services. Deloitte has provided guidelines for government organizations to secure information technology infrastructure and improve resilience.

“Even with cyber-insurance and preventive measures in place, the growing frequency and sophistication of attacks calls for government entities to perform cyber health checks and revisit resilience strategies… Governments can be better positioned to defend against catastrophic events that are expensive to recover from and could impact public safety and trust,” said Srini Subramanian, principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and cyber state and higher education sector leader.

Deloitte has stated federal organizations paying ransom demands are the primary solution but comes at a high expense. The company added that criminal enterprises are demanding nearly 10 times what they demand from commercial entities.

To combat this growing risk, the report has outlined key considerations for organizations to move forward in this new reality, including smarter systems architecture, a more prepared workforce, better cyber hygiene, cyber insurance usage scenarios and practiced response.

Companies and governments have been recommended to focus on IT infrastructure. Many governments have deferred IT modernization, which leaves governments with increasingly vulnerable networks and systems. Refocusing efforts on modernization will allow for more secure networks and minimize attacks.

The report states that to combat ransomware, governments should also look to creative human capital approaches to train, retain and share more qualified cyber talent as well as private-public-higher education partnerships to effectively tackle cybersecurity.

Attention to details, including software patches and updates, regular system back-ups and regular training for all staff can help to reduce risk by improving cyber hygiene. Organizations also should look to compartmentalize data and develop air-gapped system back-ups to limit the scale of a breach.

Deloitte has promoted cyber insurance as an effective and strategic method for governments to contain the cost of attacks. However, the report noted that ransom payments may increase criminal incentives by the large funds allocated to the defense method.

“[The findings] mean there is a large surface for cybercriminals to attack local governments and hold sensitive citizen data hostage. Government officials need to understand the risk involved if their systems and data were suddenly gone or rendered useless,” said Deborah Golden, principal, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and cyber risk services leader.

About Deloitte 

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 5,000 private and middle-market companies.

Our people work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today’s marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them.