Inside Facebook's Corporate Security Operation

  ● 6,000-person security army guards Facebook employees around the world
  ● Plain-clothes armed guards covertly patrol idyllic Silicon Valley HQ
  ● Mark Zuckerberg has an emergency 'panic chute' escape tunnel

After a disgruntled YouTube user shot three people at the company's headquarters in Silicon Valley in April 2018, Facebook sprang into action. The social networking firm's offices are just a 30-minute drive away from YouTube, and it swiftly redoubled its own defenses - spooking some employees in the process. Though most workers don't realize it, Facebook quietly has off-duty police officers in civilian clothes covertly patrolling its headquarters with concealed firearms in case of emergencies.

In an interview, Facebook's chief global security officer Nick Lovrien said that the company immediately increased its "security posture" following the YouTube shooting. "Not everybody was aware that we had those on campus, so there was a population that was concerned that we had armed off-duty officers," he said.

"But I will say that the majority of people expressed they were much more comfortable having them, and in this role my job is really to weigh that risk versus anything else, and safety is the number one priority, and this was the right investment to be able to mitigate that."

All told, there are now more than 6,000 people working in Facebook's Global Security team - including legions of security officers. CEO Mark Zuckerberg also has armed guards outside of his Bay Area residences, and executive protection officers in civilian clothes quietly keep watch over him while he works in the office and accompany him wherever he goes. His closely monitored patterns of life now far more closely resemble a head of state than a typical 34-year-old engineer, with the stricter security practices mirroring the increasing fortification of Facebook over the years.

Forewarned is forearmed
Global Security has extensive plans and best practices for a broad array of security incidents, Business Insider learned as part of its investigation into Facebook's security practices.

Executive kidnapped? Notify law enforcement, get proof of life, contact the kidnap-and-ransom-insurance company, and go from there. Active shooter? Gather critical information about the location and description of the shooter, call law enforcement, send out emergency notifications, lock down or evacuate the buildings as necessary, and so on.

The rumored 'panic chute'
During company all-hands meetings, members of Zuckerberg's Praetorian Guard sit at the front of the room and are dotted throughout the crowd, just in case an employee tries to rush him. They wear civilian clothes to blend in with nonsecurity employees.

Zuckerberg doesn't typically work in a cordoned-off office like a traditional corporate executive. Instead, his regular desk is on the floor of Facebook's open-plan office, just like everyone. But executive-protection officers sit near his desk while he works, in case of security threats. Facebook's offices are built above an employee parking lot, but it's impossible to park directly beneath Zuckerberg's desk because of concerns about the risk of car bombs.

He also has access to a large glass-walled conference room in the middle of the space near his desk that features bullet-resistant windows and a panic button. There's a persistent rumor among Facebook employees that he has a secret "panic chute" his team can evacuate him down to get him out of the office in a hurry. The truth of this matter remains murky: One source said they had been briefed about the existence of a secret exit route through the floor of the conference room into the parking garage, but others said they had no knowledge of it. Facebook declined to comment.

A $10 million security plan
All told, there are now more than 70 people on the executive-protection team at Facebook, led by former US Secret Service special agent Jill Leavens Jones. In July, Facebook's board approved a $10 million security allowance for Zuckerberg and his family for the year.

He receives numerous death threats each week, and the security team monitors social media for mentions of him and Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer, to detect them. The pair also have stalkers, who alternately declare their undying love for the execs and harbor worrying vendettas against them. businessinsider.com businessinsider.com
 

Johnson Controls, Formerly Tyco, Releases New White Paper

Gunshot Detection, Mass Notification & Critical Event Management

Most active shooter situations are sudden and unpredictable, making it difficult to effectively respond. Knowing where an incident is occurring - and moving people out of harm's way - is the best way to mitigate its impact and protect lives. Get our white paper to learn how integrating a Gunshot Detection system and Mass Notification/Critical Event Management (CEM) system can:

● Help determine that gunshots have been fired and provide a location
● Promptly notify security personnel and first responders
● Provide building occupants with instructions for safe evacuations

September 2013 FBI Raid of Lumber Liquidators Case Finally
Reaches Conclusion

Lumber Liquidators Enters into Corporate Resolution for Securities Fraud and Agrees to Pay $33 Million Penalty

Resolution Comes after Company Lied to Investors Following March 2015
"60 Minutes" Episode

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. (Lumber Liquidators) has agreed to pay a total penalty of $33 million for filing a materially false and misleading statement to investors regarding the sale of its laminate flooring from China to its customers in the United States.

Lumber Liquidators, a public corporation headquartered in Toano, Virginia, and one of the largest retailers of flooring products in the United States entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with a criminal information filed today in the Eastern District of Virginia charging the company with securities fraud. The case was primarily focused on the fact that Lumber Liquidators knowingly filed a false and misleading statement to investors broadly denying the allegations featured in a March 2015 episode of 60 Minutes, and affirming that the company complied with California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations.

"Lumber Liquidators lied to investors and to the public about its compliance with formaldehyde regulations for the flooring it sold - all to protect its stock price," said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.

"This resolution holds Lumber Liquidators accountable for misleading the investing public," said U.S. Attorney Terwilliger. "It also recognizes that the company has cooperated with the government's investigation, completely replaced its senior executive team, and installed experienced executives who have displayed a commitment to building an ethical corporate culture.

The employees involved in wrongdoing either were terminated or resigned from Lumber Liquidators, and the company replaced its executive management team with experienced executives who have displayed a commitment to building an ethical corporate culture.

"This penalty should serve as a warning to other corporations who seek to mislead investors," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Archey. justice.gov

First Lumber Liquidators Series Starts with FBI Raid on 9-27-13
Greenpeace Protesters At the Corp. Door - Federal Investigators Raid - Talk About Walking Into Pressure
That's exactly what happened to a fellow Loss Prevention executive on his first day with Lumber Liquidators with Greenpeace at the gates.

Greenpeace protestors were at the entrances. All the executives looked at Ray Cotton and said go handle this. As he had just been hired as their VP of Global Security and Risk obviously he was responsible for physical security and therefore the protestors.

The FBI had already raided the offices a few months previously in September 2013 and Greenpeace showed up the morning of Feb. 20th, 2014 with Ray Cotton starting that day.

Shortly afterwards he was promoted to chief compliance officer, while the entire executive team was being replaced by the founder. With Ray dealing with all of the obvious issues.

It all started when agents with Homeland Security Investigations began investigating the company in September 2013 after allegations surfaced that the company was knowingly buying illegally-sourced timber. The federal investigation was followed by multiple lawsuits and criticism from two environmental non-profits, the Environmental Investigation Agency and Greenpeace. Now the embattled company is responding by creating a new sustainability policy.

Our series of articles covering this entire case is on a second page. With the bottom line being that at the end the executive team all got fired, they are paying a $33M fine, and now the founder has entered into a deferred prosecution agreement. Meaning they better keep their act clean or the founder gets prosecuted. But quite frankly that will never happen.

Just look at Jimmy Haslam the CEO over at Flying J Pilot truck stops. His former CEO just reported for a 12 year federal sentence for running a $55M rebate fraud scheme against the truckers in a rebate program with Pilot. But Jimmy Haslam, who's company paid over $50M in fines and he'll never see a court house. Because he didn't know about it apparently and didn't fall the FBI trick on the first raid and arrest of a sales executive in Pheonix. When the FBI instructed the sales executive to call Haslam directly and try to get Haslam to say something incriminating himself.

Click here to read the Daily's full coverage of the Lumber Liquidator controversy.

---

Day 2 Recap: #ISCPO2019

International Supply Chain Protection Organization

ISCPO Chainman Byron Smith kicked off the second day of the conference with opening remarks and reflections from day one. The attendees share some great feedback on day one's events.

The first session of the day was the panel discussion on Global Fulfillment lead by Rod Fulenwider with panelists Glenn Master with Pitney Bowes, Howard Stone with Amazon and Bill Atwell with Neiman Marcus. Our second session had Stephen Tracy with the USPIS discuss the Fentanyl, Opioid and Precursor Chemical Smuggling Schemes out of China which sparked a great deal of conversation with the attendees. Gene Maddox III, Sr. Manager International Security & Corporate Security (HDQ) with American Airlines shared with the attendees Ecommerce Partnerships during our third session of the day. The conference's final session of the day had Terry L. Boling, President of Watchpoint and MJ Giorgi, VP of Development of Watchpoint cover Loss Prevention Vs. Loss Reaction: Utilizing Data and Controls to Impact Investigation.

Chairman Smith invited the Board of Directors to join him on stage to help close out the 2019 conference. The possibility for break-outs sessions at future conferences was encouraged by the attendees and group meeting opportunities to review growing safety issues were a couple of points raised. Smith also shared the social media platforms that ISCPO uses today and reviewed the new podcast program launched in 2019. He thanked the solution providers and the attendees for their participation and expressed that he felt this was the best conference to date for the organization.

Over 30 attendees took advantage of the Amazon Fulfillment Facility tour and the ISCPO Team thanked Amazon for allowing the attendees the opportunity to see behind the scenes. Big thanks to the 7-Eleven SSC for hosting the 2019 ISCPO Conference! See you in March 2020 for #ISCPO2020.

Click here to see more pictures from the event.

---

Former KPMG Executive And Former PCAOB Employee Convicted Of Wire Fraud For Scheme To Steal And Use Confidential PCAOB Information
As this trial revealed, David Middendorf and Jeffrey Wada were two links in a chain of corruption, where confidential PCAOB inspection information was taken at the behest of high-level executives at KPMG so they could cheat on inspections. This confidential information was critical to the PCAOB and its core mission of ensuring audit quality. As a unanimous jury found, the actions of Middendorf and Wada defrauded the PCAOB."

KPMG's efforts to improve inspection results, however, were not limited to legitimate means. Instead, between 2015 and 2017, MIDDENDORF and others worked illicitly to acquire valuable confidential PCAOB information concerning which KPMG audits would be inspected in an effort to game the system and improve inspection results.

The conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud charges each carry a maximum prison term of 20 years. justice.gov

Rap Sheets Haunt Former Inmates. California May Change That
Under a bill now making its way through the California State Legislature, millions of people in the state who have misdemeanor or lower-level felony records could be spared those problems: their criminal records would automatically be sealed from public view once they completed prison or jail sentences. The legislation would not apply to people convicted of committing the most serious crimes, like murder or rape.

The legislation, introduced last week in the State Assembly, would make California - where an estimated eight million people have criminal records - the first state in the nation to automatically scrub the rap sheets of people whose records qualify. The law would apply retroactively, meaning that people arrested or convicted of various crimes dating back decades would have their records automatically sealed. The records would still be accessible to law enforcement agencies, but not to members of the general public, including potential landlords and employers. nytimes.com

Fighting Fakes Was a Big Reason Behind Last Weeks Big Amazon Vendor Purge
Online retailer reinstates many accounts, apologizes for pause - Its sudden, unexplained move sowed panic among vendors

Amazon.com Inc. on Saturday hinted that fighting counterfeits was a reason for its sudden and unexplained purge of thousands of vendors that sowed panic among long-time suppliers.

The company selectively reinstated some accounts, apologizing for "any inconvenience" caused by the "temporary pause" in orders, according to communications reviewed by Bloomberg. It encouraged those reinstated to enroll in "brand registry," a tool to help brands knock counterfeit products off the platform.

The communication sheds further light on why Amazon abruptly canceled routine merchandise orders from thousands of its long-time suppliers over the past two weeks.

Amazon's web store includes a mix of inventory. The company buys some products directly from wholesalers and resells it in a traditional retail model. Other goods come from independent merchants who post their inventory on Amazon and give the company a commission on each sale, similar to EBay Inc.'s online marketplace model or a consignment shop.

The two models complement one another, making sure Amazon has an ample supply of must-have products at competitive prices and giving it a bigger inventory than you'd find at a nearby store.

A key challenge has been maintaining relationships with brands who complain counterfeit products flourish on Amazon's free-wheeling marketplace. Counterfeiters can take advantage of Amazon's system which is designed to let merchants post products quickly and easily after setting up accounts online. bloomberg.com

Walmart to Allow Customer Hosts, an AP job, to Manage Returns at the Door
In the near future, employees called "customer hosts" will personally process shopper returns at the front door of brick-and-mortar stores. Greg Foran, president and CEO of Walmart US, briefly announced this new service during comments he made at the UBS Global Consumer and Retail Conference on March 6

Foran said that the customer hosts will be equipped with technology to manage refunds, including providing customers with cash, at the front door. The cash will not come out of Walmart's self-checkout terminals.
chainstoreage.com

What Retailers Need To Know About The New
Telephone-Based Payment Card Data Guidance
In November 2018, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) unveiled its newly revised guidance for Protecting Telephone-based Payment Card Data. Updated for the first time since 2011, this guidance underscores the urgency for protecting telephone-based payments in light of the evolving technology, and an ever-changing regulatory and fraud landscape. retailtouchpoints.com

Director, Asset Protection (Investigations) Posted Today for Luxottica Group in Mason, OH.
Works with Asset Protection leaders, Internal Audit, IT Security, Finance, Brand Managers, and Operational Retail brands to ensure investigations and business intelligence is compliant, and effectively managed through asset protection, risk assessment, and training. Responsible for the development, training, execution, and management of investigation programs and tactical strategies focused on fraud and/or loss directed against company assets and/or other misconduct involving integrity. Responsible for developing and maintaining extensive networks with Sr. level internal partners, external investigative units of other retail organizations, key law enforcement agencies, custom officials, and internal investigative departments.

Luxottica is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of fashion, luxury and sports eyewear. Our wholesale network covers more than 150 countries and our retail presence consists of over 7,200 retail stores across the globe. Supporting over 4,500 retail stores in North America, a career in our retail headquarters allows us to stay in touch with the end customer and use their ever-changing behaviors and preferences to shape our offerings of the best eyewear and services. luxottica.com


Quarterly Results
Dick's Sporting Goods Q4 comp's down 2.2%, net sales down 6.5%, full yr. comp's down 3.1%, net sales down 1.8%

U.S. Government Will Be Scanning Your Face at 20 Top Airports, Documents Show

Meijer Launches "Shop & Scan" in Chicagoland Area

Sporting-Goods Retailer Modell's Hires Restructuring Adviser & Maybe Bankruptcy

---

 

Connect & Collaborate Conference Wednesday, April 10th, 2019 Draper, Utah Please join eBay's Global Asset Protection team for Connect & Collaborate 2019, our biennial opportunity to host some of the nation's leaders in combatting organized retail crime at the eBay facility in Draper, Utah, just fifteen minutes south of Salt Lake City. The event provides retailers, law enforcement, and eBay an opportunity to "Connect and Collaborate" on challenges, strategies, tools, and solutions related to organized retail crime. More details to follow, including an agenda and suggestions for travel accommodation. Please feel free to send the invitation to any Law Enforcement or Retail Investigator that would be interested in attending! Please send your RSVP by April 1st, with number and names of attendees, to: proact@ebay.com