Protos Security Whitepaper

Leveraging Law Enforcement and Security Measures to Combat ORC

Organized retail crime (ORC) poses a significant challenge to law enforcement and society as a whole. While it is well known that financial losses, public safety concerns, and broader societal impacts are all part of these issues, it is challenging to find a solution as crime rates continue to rise. The purpose of this whitepaper is to explore the role of law enforcement in combating organized retail crime. Retailers and consumers alike are negatively affected, which results in billions of dollars in losses each year. In order to effectively address this issue, law enforcement must work collaboratively with retailers and other stakeholders.

We present strategies and recommendations to enhance the fight against ORC, contributing to the protection of businesses and the safety of communities. A number of challenges associated with ORC are outlined, as well as strategies and best practices that retailers should follow to collaborate effectively with law enforcement and other stakeholders. The whitepaper also discusses solutions and strategies to combat this growing problem.

Download this whitepaper to learn more about law enforcement's vital role in creating a safer environment for society and communities while reducing organized retail crime.

Click here to download the whitepaper
 

The Zellman Group Can Support Your ORC Investigations

ORC Subject Vetting

The Zellman Group is a fully vetted and authorized user of several research products that allow us to see behind the curtain. With our access, we are able to provide full due diligence on current physical assets, past and present addresses, past and present phone(s), including cell phone, court records, email, work associations, relatives, liens, judgments bankruptcies and various other background details.

Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT)

Open-Source Intelligence is data collected from publicly available sources to be used in an intelligence context. "Open" refers to overt or openly available. However, just because it is openly available doesn't mean it is easy to gather. Often there is too much information and skill is required to determine what information is actually valuable. Information does not need to be secret to be valuable. Information sourced from blogs, market places and social media can provide an endless supply of information which contribute to our understanding of a situation or may provide detail for an investigation. Our experienced Intelligence Analysts research and gather information from e-commerce communities, classifieds, social networks, Dark Web and criminal data to identify persons suspected of being involved in ORC theft.

Organized Retail Crime Recovery (ORC)

Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Claims may include recovery of reasonable attorney fees, and investigation and litigation expenses as permitted by law, incurred as a result of collection efforts by The Law Offices of Michael Ira Asen. Zellman and Asen shall take all reasonable measures in their collection efforts of ORC Claims.

Learn more at www.zellmangroup.com

Hackers Targeting Retailers
What Can Retailers Do To Improve Cybersecurity?
As the world makes its way across the constantly changing landscape of cyber threats and attacks, each more sophisticated than previously recognised, being proactive is better than being reactive if and when a breach occurs. 2024 could witness a record of data breaches. Future attempts by hackers will affect companies with lots of customers - and, by default, sensitive data - and retail organisations must implement actionable steps to save time, money, and reputation in the long run. Malicious actors' tactics, techniques, and procedures can be complex and multifaceted, meaning you should react accordingly.

The scale of the problem is unbelievable, so organisations must now operate with a greater understanding of malicious attempts, which must be dealt with as soon as possible. There's no one-size-fits-all formula to protect yourself from the attack methods hackers use because today's operations span across various devices, systems, and locations, so your strategy is unique to your business and goals. Nevertheless, here are some best practices to prevent a security breach:

Perform A Cybersecurity Risk Assessment to Identify Vulnerabilities

Every organisation that has internet connectivity and some kind of IT infrastructure is at risk of a cyberattack. Retail is, by far, one of the most targeted industries for hacking disruption because it stores huge amounts of payment information, has a diverse list of sellers (suppliers, consultants, etc.), and the rate at which employees leave or are replaced is high. Undertake routine cybersecurity risk assessments to lessen the extent of the problem by isolating or containing threats. Malware, social engineering, and distributed denial of service, to name a few, are signs a malicious actor is trying to gain unauthorised access.

We'll take you through the process step by step:

• Specify the risk assessment parameters: A critical decision you need to make is whether you'll evaluate the entire organisation or a specific aspect of the business, like a web application or payment processing. It's not recommended to have a compliance-oriented or checklist approach when carrying out a cybersecurity risk assessment because ticking all the boxes doesn't mean you're not exposed to any risk.

• Identify cybersecurity risks: You can't protect what you don't know, so discover all the potential risks your business could face. Which ones are likely to occur and have the most significant impact? An SQL injection, for instance, can bypass application security measures, allowing threat actors to tamper with existing data to void transactions or change balances.

• Document and communicate risks effectively: The job isn't finished until the paperwork is done. Have a clear and concise overview of all risk scenarios and your strategies for protecting sensitive information and systems, which must be reviewed on a regular basis and updated to guarantee your business and its consumers are effectively protected.

Know Your Current Security Posture - Have A Disaster Recovery Plan to Respond Effectively to A Cyberattack - The Takeaway  365retail.co.uk


Bad Actors Pounce as Users Recover from Global Outage
Low-level cybercriminals are pouncing on CrowdStrike-connected outage

The malicious activity comes as CrowdStrike customers continue to recover from the July 18 outage.

Five days after a faulty update to CrowdStrike's Falcon security software hobbled millions of Windows computers around the world, cybercriminals and hacktivist personas are taking advantage of the situation with newly registered domains, malware attached to files with CrowdStrike-themed names and at least one apparent instance of a data wiper.

CrowdStrike has documented multiple instances of likely criminal activity tied to the incident, including a Word document laced with the Daolpu information stealer and a zip file targeting Latin American-based CrowdStrike customers with the HijackLoader malware, which is typically used to deliver other malware packages, and a Python-based information stealer tracked as "Connecio."

Additionally, a phishing email with a PDF purporting to explain how to remediate last week's Falcon issue delivered a zip file laced with wiper malware, according to sandbox company ANY.RUN, which called it one of the most "sophisticated" outage-related attacks thus far.

Jose Enrique Hernandez, threat research director at Splunk, said in a Tuesday post on X that he identified more than 2,000 CrowdStrike-related domains registered in the past seven days. An analysis of the top 25 suggests that "most of them are looking pretty funky," Hernandez wrote. cyberscoop.com


Infostealing Attacks Across the Globe
Cyberattackers Exploit Microsoft SmartScreen Bug in Stealer Campaign

The good news: Only organizations far behind on standard Windows patching have anything to worry about.

A Microsoft Defender SmartScreen vulnerability that was patched in February is still being used in infostealing attacks across the globe.

Now, five months later, Fortinet has flagged yet another campaign involving two more stealers: Meduza and ACR. Attacks thus far have reached the US, Spain, and Thailand.

Sometimes, organizations take their time updating third-party software. By contrast, "The attackers in this case are taking advantage of software that's native on Microsoft Windows, which would be updated in normal Microsoft patch cycles," notes Aamir Lakhani, global security strategist and researcher at Fortinet. "It's a little unclear and concerning when these vulnerabilities are not patched, because it could indicate there are other Microsoft vulnerabilities that are not being patched as well."  darkreading.com

CrowdStrike blames buggy testing software for disastrous update

Despite economic uncertainty, organizations are prioritizing SaaS security investments

Antioch, CA: Update: Police seek suspect in $500,000 jewelry theft from Antioch JCPenney store
Community, take a good look at these videos and help us find the man behind this jewelry smash and grab that happened at JCPenney in the Slatten Ranch shopping center off Slatten Ranch Road and Empire Avenue. We were just made aware of this theft that happened on June 15th. Antioch police officers responded to an alarm call just after 10:00 p.m. from the JCPenney on Slatten Ranch Road. Officers reviewed the store surveillance video which shows the suspect approaching the glass jewelry cases, taking a hammer or tool, smashing the glass and taking off with nearly half-a-million dollars in jewelry.  antiochherald.com


Cold Lake AB, Canada: Charges laid after $80,000 worth of electronics stolen from Cold Lake Staples store
Charges have now been laid following a break and enter that occurred in April in Cold Lake where about $80,000 worth of computers, tablets, mobile devices and other electronics were reportedly stolen. On April 13, Cold Lake RCMP responded to a break and enter in progress at the Staples store in the Tri-City area. "The suspects appeared to have disabled the power to the building and cut a hole in the wall to gain access," according to information released by RCMP on July 23. "The suspects left the Staples in a truck when police arrived on scene and were not located at the time."  stalbertgazette.com


Denver, CO: High-priced jewelry heist hits Cherry Creek Mall jeweler
A high-end Cherry Creek jewelry store was burglarized on Monday - it appears to be a jewelry heist taken right out of a movie script. 9NEWS Investigates did some digging on this story because the store seems to be keeping the details of the burglary quiet. Denver Police confirms the Hyde Park Jewelers store in the Cherry Creek Mall was burglarized in the early morning hours on Monday, while the mall was closed. Police confirmed several items were stolen, but they won't say what or how much the stolen jewelry is worth. The store is located on the second level of the mall, right outside the entrances to Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom. On most days, when you walk past the store, you usually see one or two security guards always keeping watch. patrolling the storefront. A quick tour of the store's website shows Rolexes, diamond bracelets and earrings, some priced as high as $40,000 or more.   9news.com


'Mount Dora, FL: Magician' thief nabs 11 rings worth $27K in heist at Mount Dora jewelry store
The Mount Dora Police Department is looking for four "master illusionists" after $27,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from a jewelry shop earlier this month. The department said the "jewelry heist" happened around 5 p.m. on July 14 at Mount Dora Gold Exchange. According to a Facebook post, a man and three women entered the store "expressing interest in buying jewelry." "While the owner was showing jewelry to the individuals, one of the females went into the safe box and began taking jewelry from the safe and concealing the items underneath her dress," a flyer reads. "One of them was playing magician and making 11 rings disappear-right under her dress!" Police said there were 11 rings taken, valuing at $27,000 total.  clickorlando.com


Raleigh, NC: Car stolen from Raleigh home crashes into Vape store; $7000 loss to theft and damages