6/22/21

LP, AP & IT Security's #1 News Source

Gus Downing's Exclusive Interview with Rex Gillette, VP Retail Sales, ADT
Discussing ADT Commercial's expansion into the EAS market.
(This week's focus - Part 2 of 4)

Missed Part I? Read it Here

Gus: Rex, over the last number of years you and your team have been laser focused on developing and delivering a best-in-class service model which has helped position ADT Commercial for the strong growth you've accomplished. And now ADT is adding a new component to the model - the EAS detection systems. Can you talk to how you're going about meeting those same high standards of service excellence with a totally new product line?

Rex: Customer service and support excellence are the foundation of our business model. We are committed to delivering the latest in technology while consistently providing our clients with customer service excellence. To deliver on that commitment, we developed a robust National Accounts program that makes it easy for retailers to do business with us by offering a single point of contact and dedicated teams to manage their security and loss prevention programs. As part of that program, we operate a National Account Operations Center, which manages everything, from service and installation to monitoring and billing. This helps to ensure consistency in meeting each customer's standards-delivering all services with a local touch. We also strive to answer calls within a few rings-with no automated phone systems.

1 Touch Team: We dedicate a team to each premier National Accounts customer. This team will help manage all aspects of security, fire, and life safety programs, including EAS, from order entry all the way through billing and delivering a holistic approach to security. This creates a truly seamless experience for customers and offer a reliable "one point of contact" approach. Our focus on performance enhancement allows us to better serve a retailer's needs by being proactive rather than reactive.

1Report: The 1Report executive summary is prepared for premier National Accounts customers on a quarterly basis to review performance and help plan for continuous improvements.

Customer scorecard: We collect the customer satisfaction Score of every National Accounts installation and service call and compensate local operations teams in part based upon these scores. This helps to ensure that excellence in customer service remains the focal point for all team members.

Remote Tuning for EAS System: ADT Commercial EAS systems feature innovative Wi-Fi remote tuning capabilities, creating a cost-effective benefit without any additional infrastructure cost by connecting the system to the mobile hotspot included in the system's configuration. This directly benefits the customer in that this feature means:

• No lead times for service
• No service call costs associated with on-site tuning
• No connectivity infrastructure needed by the retailer, as the hotspot is included with the EAS system

When a service call is placed, service technician will log in to the system to see if there are tags in the field, noise or other issues that can be managed remotely. Technicians can then remotely tune the system to perform optimally and efficiently.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 3 of this Interview.
 

Preventing Ransomware Attacks
Best practices for IT teams to prevent ransomware attacks
Most of successful ransomware attacks happen because organizations overlook a simple security practice. For instance, Microsoft published the relevant patch three months before the WannaCry attack took place and had asked organizations to upgrade their operating systems. This cyberattack was due to negligent patching practices and brought about more than 4 billion dollars in financial loss across the globe.

Run regular IT asset scans and get a tight hold of your hardware and software inventory
Knowing the list of hardware and software available in your network is a crucial practice IT teams should follow. Continuous monitoring of IT assets will help you identify the malicious ones and blacklist them immediately. Having a loose hold on the IT asset inventory will not only create a setback on your management side but will also affect the security of your network.

Perform continuous vulnerability scans and identify the security loopholes
Having any active vulnerability prevalent in the network paves the way for serious security exploits. While periodical scans are no longer effective, running continuous scans and gaining complete visibility of your vulnerability exposure is recommended. Enabling automated vulnerability scans will ensure the process is running seamlessly.

Assess your vulnerability's risk potential and prioritize smartly
Understanding the risk brought on by each of the vulnerabilities is critical in your vulnerability management process. With risk-based vulnerability management in place, you can prioritize the vulnerabilities based on your severity level and plan your remediation efforts wisely.

Patch vulnerabilities on time without leaving any security gaps
Identifying vulnerabilities is one part and remediating them on time with relevant patches takes your vulnerability management game to the next level. Without timely remediation, you keep the gates open for attackers to invade your network. An integrated vulnerability and patch management suite might do wonders in strengthening your organization's security posture.

Check antivirus availability and ensure regular updates
Antivirus software acts as a security gatekeeper in each system, protects the network from viruses, and alerts any potential threats. It is also important that the antivirus software is updated on time to increase its effectiveness.

Monitor your endpoint activities closely
Endpoints are the major constituents of your IT infrastructure and the backbone of your business. Numerous activities occur within them every day and monitoring them continuously can help prevent security attacks. helpnetsecurity.com

IT Decision Makers Struggling to Keep Up with Attackers
76% of IT decision makers more vulnerable to mobile attacks than just a year ago
53 percent of IT decision makers admitted that it's not possible to be prepared for all the tactics and strategies used by attackers targeting mobile devices, a survey by Sapio Research reveals.

Going one step further, 38 percent claimed that it's impossible to keep up with the pace of these attacks. The survey also found that three quarters of IT decision makers believe their organizations are more vulnerable to mobile cyberattacks than ever before. It has become clear that it isn't a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Therefore, it is of little surprise that 73 percent of respondents believe that end users are now more susceptible to cyberattacks on mobile devices than they were five years ago. The survey also found that 76 percent of respondents believe they are more vulnerable to mobile attacks than just a year ago, following the shift to remote and hybrid work environments.

"Although many organizations are confident in their ability to identify and prevent mobile attacks, oftentimes this is just overconfidence in legacy solutions that are not able to provide 100 percent protection against the latest waves of socially engineered attacks such as phishing and smishing or zero-days," said Mark Guntrip, senior director of cybersecurity strategy for Menlo Security.

"Even experienced professionals can fall victim to these attacks and the only way to truly prevent them in the first place is through isolation, which secures work regardless of where it happens." helpnetsecurity.com

Attackers Targeting Container Supply Chain
Software-Container Supply Chain Sees Spike in Attacks

Attackers target companies' container supply chain, driving a sixfold increase in a year, aiming to steal processing time for cryptomining & compromise cloud infrastructure.

Typosquatting and credential stuffing are two of the most common ways that attackers are attempting to target companies' container infrastructure and the Docker-image supply chain, with attacks climbing nearly 600% in the second half of 2020 compared with the same period a year ago. That's according to a report released by cloud-native security provider Aqua Security on June 21.

Many attackers use passive scanning, utilizing services such as Shodan or tools such as Nmap to find servers hosting the Docker daemon or the Kubernetes container orchestration platform, attempting to attack those platforms using stolen credentials or vulnerabilities, according to the report. Another popular attack uses typosquatting - creating image names similar to legitimate images - and vanilla images that have a variant of a popular image, such as Alpine Linux, attempting to benefit from developer mistakes.

When attackers gain access, they most often install cryptominer software or attempt to escape the container and compromise the host system, says Assaf Morag, lead data analyst at Aqua Security.

"Attackers are constantly looking for new techniques to exploit containers and [Kubernetes]," he says. "They usually find an initial access to these environments and try escaping to the host and collect credentials, insert backdoors, and scan for more victims."

In addition, the developers who create and use containers often do not focus on security. A survey of 44 software images specifically used in neuroscience and medical data science found that a container built from the images had more than 320 different vulnerabilities on average.

The attackers know that misconfigurations are common and have used a variety of techniques to scan more frequently, the Aqua Security report states. darkreading.com

Ignoring Warnings from the Fed
Most organizations would pay in the event of a ransomware attack
Despite the Director of the FBI, the US Attorney General and the White House warning firms against paying cyber-related ransoms, 60 percent of organizations have admitted they would shell out funds in the event of an attack, according to a research from Harris Interactive. When asked how much money they would consider handing over, one in five respondents said they would consider paying 20 percent or more of their company's annual revenue.

The study comes just days after US meat processing giant, JBS confirmed it had paid $11 million to the REvil ransomware gang, which locked its systems at the end of May.

Earlier this month, Japanese multinational conglomerate, Fujifilm said it had refused to pay a ransom demand to the cyber gang that attacked its network in Japan, instead relying on backups to restore operations. helpnetsecurity.com

Have we reached peak ransomware?

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Amazon Prime's Halfway Point
How Is Amazon Prime Day Performing For Retail Brands So Far?
We're halfway through Amazon's annual sale event, and while performance data won't settle for a couple more days, there are some early indications that this year's event will be highly successful for Amazon and the brands that sell there.

Here's how 2021's event is shaping up so far - what's different about this year and how retail brands that sell on the platform are experiencing the event.

The deals are good, and there's more of them
Amazon told Marketplace that it is offering more deals this year than last. And my desk research over the past 24 hours finds there are decent deals in terms of the discounts offered. Large companies and small businesses alike are offering deep discounts. Across my agency's 80 clients, most are offering Prime Exclusive Discounts, coupons, or flash sales in the 10- 40% range.

Shopping appetite is strong
Amazon sellers are already seeing strong take-up of deals. Mark Samuel, Founder and CEO of IWON Organics, says that his company had already hit their sales record for Amazon by 7AM on Monday. "I am becoming more bullish on Amazon. We are now close to 3X my comparative sales numbers by 2:30PM." This year, IWON offered deals for 35% off its organic protein snack products.

Shoppers appear to be aware of inflation on consumer items, and are using Prime Day as an opportunity to stock up on items that are likely to increase in price.

Supply chain issues
Amazon finally confirmed Prime Day's actual dates on June 2nd, leaving brands with just 20 days to shore up their inventory position. With global supply chains under pressure, this is not nearly enough time for many brands to stock up appropriately, especially if their products are imported. And those that do secure inventory from overseas are often paying double the regular price for shipping container space and air freight. forbes.com

Amazon's 'Eye-Popping' Control of Online Retail
As e-commerce sales proliferate, Amazon holds on to top online retail spot

As Amazon prepares for its annual Prime Day megasale, its reign as the biggest online retailer in the country is eye-popping.

As Amazon prepares for its annual Prime Day megasale, its reign as the biggest online retailer in the country is eye-popping: It's projected to be raking in more than 40% of the nation's e-commerce sales by the end of 2021.

Amazon's dominance on the internet has only grown as shopping online becomes second nature for many consumers. That's exactly what has transpired over the past 13 years.

In 2008, e-commerce sales accounted for just 3.6% of total retail sales in the United States, according to data from eMarketer. Following gradual growth year after year, that figure skyrocketed to 14% in 2020, as the Covid pandemic fueled online spending on everything from groceries and toilet paper to spin bikes and workout clothes. E-commerce sales are predicted to account for 15.3% of total retail sales by the end of this year and jump to 23.5% by 2025, eMarketer said. cnbc.com

Survey: Walmart beats Amazon in two key e-commerce areas

Amazon plans second robotics fulfillment center in Louisiana

O'Fallon, MO: Man charged after $44,000 of stolen power tools found at home
A man has been charged after police found over $44,000 in stolen power tools at an O'Fallon home. Sunset Hills Police got a search warrant from St. Charles County as they investigated an "organized retail theft at Sunset Hills Home Depot." Officers executed the search warrant in the 2600 block of Breezy Pointe Lane with help from the O'Fallon Police Department. Officers found $44,000 in stolen power tools. Police said most "were new in the box and slated for sale." 5,000 in US Currency was also seized. St. Charles County charged Kamran Mammadov with receiving stolen property over $25,000. fox2now.com

Update: San Francisco, CA: Suspect From Viral SF Walgreens Heist Video Arrested
A man suspected of committing a brazen, caught-on-camera theft inside a San Francisco Walgreens was arrested over the weekend - while allegedly trying to rip off another drug store in the city, police said. Jean Lugo-Romero, 40, was busted Saturday morning inside a business on Haight Street with about $978 in cosmetics that police say he intended to steal, according to a statement from San Francisco police. After officers trailed Lugo-Romero into the store, he was allegedly shoving the merchandise into a duffel bag. Police said Lugo-Romero was being sought in a series of drug store thefts, including one at a Walgreens where he allegedly shoveled items into a black plastic bag and pedaled away on a bicycle with little resistance from a store security guard. nypost.com

Matthews, NC: Police eliminate suspect from $8,900 theft investigation
The Matthews Police Department has eliminated a suspect from its investigation of more than $8,900 worth of merchandise from three stores. The sole suspect is believed to be involved in these incidents. Fragrances valued at $4,081 stolen April 30 at 12:19 p.m. from Ulta, 2113 Matthews Township Pkwy. Over-the-counter medications valued at $3,242.10 stolen May 20 at 2:50 p.m. from Costco, 2125 Matthews Township Pkwy. Over-the-counter medications valued at $1,600 stolen June 6 at 3:30 p.m. from Costco, 2125 Matthews Township Pkwy. thecharlotteweekly.com

Miami-Dade, FL: 4 arrested after man who finds stolen trailer leads police to stolen merchandise, drugs in SW Miami-Dade
A man was able to track down his stolen trailer in Southwest Miami-Dade, a discovery that turned into a much bigger bust for police and led to four arrests. Miami-Dade Police units found other trailers, stolen merchandise and drugs on the property in Southwest Miami-Dade. Officers took a father, mother and son into custody, Monday. "It hurts. it hurts really bad just knowing that someone can take your stuff," said general contractor Laron Frazier. He told 7News his trailer, filled with close to $15,000 worth of work supplies and tools, was taken from one of his properties in Northeast Miami-Dade, Sunday night. wsvn.com

Duncansville, PA: Man faces $2000 felony theft from Walmart

Arvada, CO: 3 killed, including veteran Police Officer and suspect, in Olde Town Arvada shooting
An Arvada Police Department (APD) officer and another person were killed in a shooting in Olde Town Monday afternoon that also left the suspected killer dead, APD said. Police said officers responded around 1:15 p.m. to a call of a suspicious incident in the Olde Town Square near Arvada Library. That's in Olde Town Arvada in the area of West 57th Avenue and Olde Wadsworth Boulevard. Just after 1:30 p.m., APD said it began receiving 911 calls that shots were being fired, and an officer had been hit. Officer Gordon Beesley was identified as the officer killed in the square.

Police said a suspect was shot and killed by officers, and will be identified by the coroner's office. Another man was killed during the incident, and will be identified by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office. Two shelter in place orders were issued immediately after the shooting around 5 p.m. out of an abundance of caution, according to APD. Both orders have been lifted.

Beesley was a veteran officer with the department. APD said he was a school resource officer or SRO at Oberon Middle School, and was working patrol while school was out for the summer. "It's a very sad, dark day." Arvada Mayor Marc Williams said. "We got through a pandemic; we'll get through this." On Monday, first responders from around the metro area gathered to take place in a procession, escorting the fallen officer's body from the scene. The Arvada Water Tower was also lit in blue Monday night in honor of the officer. APD said the only official donation site is the Colorado Fallen Heroes Foundation. 9news.com

Houston, TX: Teen girl killed, 2 people injured in shooting outside NW Houston convenience store
A teenager was killed and two other people were shot outside a convenience store in northwest Houston overnight. Houston police responded to a shooting call in the 8000 block of Grow Lane just before 9:20 p.m. Monday. Upon arrival, officers discovered a black Cadillac with three shooting victims inside. A teenage girl was fatally shot, and two other young males were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds, according to HPD. abc13.com

Memphis, TN: Family sues C-store, employee after Memphis man accused of shoplifting shot, killed
The family of an unarmed man, who was shot and killed while allegedly shoplifting at a popular convenience store near the University of Memphis filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the store owners and the employee who is accused of shooting him. Memphis Police said Christopher Nettles was shot and killed when he tried to steal $100 worth of merchandise from Scootie's on Walker Avenue on May 16. Police said the store owner's son locked the doors when Nettles tried to flee with the merchandise, and that an employee, 52-year-old Robert Buie, pulled a gun and told Nettles to get on the floor. Investigators said Nettles refused, and Buie shot him in the chest when he got within 6 feet of him. Police later discovered that Nettles was unarmed and said Buie should not have had the gun because he is a convicted felon. Buie was charged with second-degree murder after shooting Nettles. The family is asking for a jury trial, and $ 35 million in damages. wreg.com
 

Robberies, Incidents & Thefts

Little River, SC: 2 charged with attempted murder after fight over parking at Dollar General in Horry Co.
Two people have been charged with attempted murder after an argument broke out at a Dollar General over a parking spot on Friday. According to a report, officers responded within the Little River section of Horry County in reference to a shots fired call. The victim told officers he got into a verbal argument with the suspects at the store and one suspect told him he had guns and that he would shoot him, a report states. The second suspect was in the passenger seat of the car. wpde.com

Los Angeles, CA: LAX Cargo Handlers Allegedly Carried Out Bungled $200K
Gold Bar Heist
Two cargo handlers at Los Angeles International Airport have been arrested and accused of carrying out an old-school gold heist. In a statement, the Justice Department said Marlon Moody, 38, and Brian Benson, 35, were arrested by FBI agents Tuesday morning and charged with conspiracy and theft of a foreign shipment. The feds allege that, last month, the pair were helping to process a shipment of 2,000 gold bars at LAX-but one box was recorded missing. Moody allegedly found the missing box the next morning and removed four of the bars, each valued at around $56,000, and Benson picked up Moody later that day. They allegedly texted each other about the bars while in the vehicle with other employees, and then Moody allegedly gave Benson one bar. Moody then allegedly gave a bar to a relative and buried the other two in his yard. All four gold bars were recovered by the FBI within two weeks. If convicted, Moody and Benson each face a sentence of 15 years in prison. thedailybeast.com

San Antonio, TX: Man arrested in Little Caesar's robbery was connected to several other robberies

Eagan, MN: Fireworks Display Set Off Inside Hy-Vee

Washington Township, NJ: NJ waitress assaulted, abducted after chasing group who left restaurant without paying

Chicago, IL: Five retailers busted in underage tobacco sting
 

Counterfeit

San Pedro, CA: Millions In Counterfeit Cialis Pills, Knock-Off Designer Apparel Seized At Port
There was a massive bust at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport Monday. Millions worth of counterfeit products were seized from a cargo shipment from China by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. The items taken by federal officers included more than 47,000 counterfeit Cialis pills and 10,117 pieces of knock-off designer apparel and footwear including Christian Dior, Versace, Gucci, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Nike Air and Swoosh designs. If genuine, the merchandise would have been an estimated retail price of nearly $13 million. losangeles.cbslocal.com

Sterling, VA: Dulles CBP Silences 85 Guitars Out of Tune with U.S. Laws
The reviews are in and critics are raving about the recent encore performance by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Washington Dulles International Airport. Just five months after seizing 35 counterfeit guitars, CBP officers recently picked another 85 counterfeit guitars to the tune of about $260,000, if the guitars were authentic. CBP officers inspected and detained the latest suspected counterfeit cache from China on March 31. Officers consulted with CBP's Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising experts at the agency's Centers for Excellence and Expertise who worked with trademark holders and confirmed on May 28 that the guitars indeed violated guitar manufacturers' trademark protections. Officers completed the seizure on June 9. The collection consisted mostly of Gibson models (72 guitars), but also included models from CF Martin, Fender, Kramer and Taylor. CBP officers silenced 13 acoustic guitars among the lot. The highest value model was a Les Paul ax supposedly autographed by Guns and Roses guitarist Slash appraised at $8,000, if authentic. Other guitars bore autographs from renowned guitarist Les Paul and AC/DC's Angus Young. The entire lot of guitars would have had a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $258,707 if they were authentic. cbp.gov

New York, NY: CBP at JFK Seizes Counterfeit Rolex Watches; estimated manufacturer's suggested retail price of $285,000 had they been genuine

Submit Your New Hires/Promotions or New Position

Featured Job Spotlights
 

	Asset Protection Coordinator Rochester, NH - posted June 17 Preventing and deterring theft and limiting the loss of company assets in the stores through best-in-class service, healthy business partnerships, profit analysis, and investigations. Oversee and complete Asset Protection Department responsibilities including but not limited to internal theft investigations, external theft investigations, and physical security...
	Asset Protection Coordinator York, ME - posted June 17 Preventing and deterring theft and limiting the loss of company assets in the stores through best-in-class service, healthy business partnerships, profit analysis, and investigations. Oversee and complete Asset Protection Department responsibilities including but not limited to internal theft investigations, external theft investigations, and physical security...
	Asset Protection Coordinator Dover, NH - posted June 17 Preventing and deterring theft and limiting the loss of company assets in the stores through best-in-class service, healthy business partnerships, profit analysis, and investigations. Oversee and complete Asset Protection Department responsibilities including but not limited to internal theft investigations, external theft investigations, and physical security...
	Sr. Lead, Organized Retail Crime Baltimore, MD - posted May 25 The Sr Lead, Organized Retail Crime (ORC) is responsible for the direction and support of Organized Retail Crime (ORC) investigations, strategies and training to ensure the effective execution of asset protection and retail initiatives...
	Area Loss Prevention Manager Pittsburgh, PA - posted May 11 Our Area Loss Prevention Managers ensure safe and secure stores through the objective identification of loss and risk opportunities. Our Area Loss Prevention Managers plan and prioritize to provide an optimal customer experience to their portfolio of stores. They thrive on supporting and building high performance teams that execute with excellence...
	Area Loss Prevention Manager Sacramento, CA - posted April 20 Our Area Loss Prevention Managers ensure safe and secure stores through the objective identification of loss and risk opportunities. Our Area Loss Prevention Managers plan and prioritize to provide an optimal customer experience to their portfolio of stores. They thrive on supporting and building high performance teams that execute with excellence...
	Corporate Security Manager Calabasas, CA - posted April 6 The Corporate Security Manager will, among other things, (a) be responsible for ensuring a safe and secure environment for our employees, vendors, and visitors, (b) develop, manage, execute and continuously improve corporate security processes and protocols, and (c) lead a team of security specialists at our corporate offices...

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