Uber's Second Safety Report - 2019 & 2020
Uber releases safety data: 998 sexual assault incidents including 141 rape reports in 2020
As our report shows, Uber received 3,824 reports across the five most severe categories of sexual assault and misconduct, which range from "non-consensual kissing of a non-sexual body part" to "non-consensual sexual penetration," or rape. That's down from the 5,981 reports it recorded in 2017 and 2018, per its first report released in December 2019. Uber said that riders were the accused party 43% of the time in sexual assault incident reports, similar to its previous report (45%). With the rate of sexual assault reported on the Uber app decreased by 38%.

Even as its ridership was decimated by the pandemic in 2020, Uber recorded 141 reports of rape on its platform in the United States. In 2019 it recorded 247 rape reports which made up 0.00002% of total trips.

About 91% of the victims of rape were riders and about 7% of the victims were drivers. Women made up 81% of the victims while men comprised about 15% (nearly double that of the first report).

Uber also reported 20 fatalities as a result of physical assaults over the two-year period, 15 of which were riders. Uber notes that the increase is "similar to national homicide and aggravated assault statistics beginning in 2020 during the pandemic." It reported 101 motor vehicle fatalities occurred stemming from Uber-related crashes. The report claims that the motor vehicle fatality rate connected to Uber's platform in both 2019 and 2020 is approximately "half the national average."

Lyft, meanwhile, released its first ever safety report in October 2021, disclosing that it received 4,158 reports of sexual assault on its platform from 2017 to 2019. Lyft, unlike Uber, has not made public any commitment to release future reports on the topic.

Earlier this month, Lyft agreed to a $25 million settlement with shareholders pertaining to statements and disclosures about its business, including specifically around assault-related incidents, ahead of going public in 2019.

In March 2021, Uber and Lyft announced they would share the names of drivers who were deactivated over the most severe safety incidents including sexual assaults. cnn.com

Retail's Tech Expansion
The Incredible Shrinking Grocery Store
An array of innovative security solutions is paving the way for reducing the incredible shrinking grocery store in a way that has its finger on the pulse of current and future trends, making grocers and retailers alike happy. When considering these security measures, we must do so holistically, with the store design in mind, realizing that it is a cost, a burden, and can cause friction on the shopping experience, but also poses a way out and a way forward.

As the checkout becomes more of a challenge for loss prevention, with the checkout itself rapidly moving from inside the store to shoppers' personal devices and self-checkout, merchants are leveraging and looking for new solutions.

About Face

Facial recognition technology has made significant advancements worldwide, thanks to artificial intelligence and camera networks, but with this innovation comes consumer concerns regarding privacy and what data is being shared through a facial scan. The solution truly goes beyond simple loss prevention. Current technology can identify previous offenders based on whether their faces' data points match with ones in a shoplifter database. Then the system automatically notifies the store's security team when a match is found. Often simply offering customer service to a known shoplifter will deter them from stealing. In most cases, they'll leave the store when they're being watched. By using proactive facial recognition technology, you'll also have an opportunity to reduce violent crime alongside theft.

Some popular big-box retailers use facial recognition technology, and as it becomes more widely accepted, stores will need to become transparent about its use, which could mean a decline in shoplifting instances.

No Checkout Required

Amazon dominates the implementation efforts for the frictionless shop. Having introduced its Amazon Go store in 2016, the e-tailer markets itself as having the world's most advanced shopping technology, with no cashiers and no checkout, allowing customers to just grab and go. Amazon first filed a patent in 2015 naming it "Just Walk Out" technology. It uses a series of artificial intelligence, computer vision and data from sensors to monitor customers, who are only charged for items they pick up.  progressivegrocer.com

The Latest Retail Union Push
Trader Joe's Urges Workers To Vote Against Union Ahead Of Election

The upcoming vote in Massachusetts could give the grocer its first unionized store.

Trader Joe's managers have been encouraging workers to vote against forming a union in a potentially landmark election scheduled at the chain's Hadley, Massachusetts, store later this week.

Employees have been pulled off the floor for group meetings in which supervisors asked them to reject the new independent union Trader Joe's United, according to three workers who took part in them. The talks included the store's top manager, known as the "captain" in company lingo, as well as a pair of regional managers for the company, workers said.

Maeg Yosef, a spokesperson for Trader Joe's United, said it was the first time supervisors roped her into what's commonly called a "captive audience" meeting ahead of a union vote. Speaking on the store's loading dock, managers focused their discussion on how the union campaign had been hard on supervisors in the store, she said.

Two other workers told HuffPost their meetings included direct appeals to vote against the union. One of them, Skyler Lloyd, told HuffPost the meetings appeared to be happening throughout the day on Sunday, three days before workers begin casting their ballots. huffpost.com

Historic Flooding Leaves Businesses Under Water
Flooding shutters St. Louis-area businesses after historic rain
Tuesday's historic rainfall and subsequent flooding damaged and closed businesses across the St. Louis area.

The sewer backed up at the Southwest Diner in the Ellendale neighborhood in southwest St. Louis, leaving about 3 feet of water in the basement, said co-owner Jonathan Jones. The water affected the restaurant's dry storage, office, walk-in cooler and hot water heater, he said.

Farther west on Southwest Avenue, the Schlafly Bottleworks was also closed because of flooding, according to an employee at the Schalfly Tap Room downtown. Major flooding also hit the low-lying area around the intersection of Manchester and Hanley Roads in Brentwood.

At Fischer Window and Door, semi-trailer trucks parked at the loading docks were submerged at least to the level of the engines, with the bottom of the trailers also under water. Inside the store, the water was standing 6 to 12 inches high, said co-owner Ed Fischer. The flood hit both the warehouse portion of the business and the showroom. stltoday.com

Starbucks union surpasses 200-store milestone

Raising Cane's CEO buys Mega Millions tickets for all employees

Here are the 20 companies with the biggest pay gap between CEOs and workers in 2021, including Amazon, Apple, Starbucks, and McDonald's


Quarterly Results

LVMH first half sales up 28%

Albertsons Q1 comp's up 6.8%, digital up 28%, net sales up 9.4%

Sketches Q2 DTC up 4.3%, wholesale up 18.3%, sales up 12.4%

Alimentation Couche-Tard Q4 comp's up 2.3% in U.S., 6.2% in Europe, 0.1% in Canada

$8M C-Store Breach Settlement
Wawa Agrees to Pay $8 Million for 2019 Data Breach

Pennsylvania and six other states sued the Delaware County-headquartered convenience store chain after hackers used malware to access Wawa's network and payment processing servers. Millions of payment cards were "potentially exposed" to the hacker, the state attorney general said.

Wawa has agreed to pay $8 million to seven states after attorneys general sued the Delaware County-based convenience store chain over a hack that potentially exposed millions of people's credit and debit cards to digital thieves, according to a statement by Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Tuesday.

Malware running on Wawa's computer servers between April and December 2019 exposed more than 9.1 million payment cards to hackers, according to Shapiro's office.

Pennsylvania will get $2.5 million of the settlement. New Jersey and five other states will also receive payments. The money will go to the attorney general's office to pay, in part, for attorney's and court fees. The settlement agreement did not specify if any Wawa customers would receive any of the settlement money. A class action lawsuit was filed by customers in late December 2019 after the breach became public. The status of that suit could not immediately be determined Tuesday.

Wawa also agreed to "develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive information security program ... that is reasonably designed to protect the security, integrity, and confidentiality of Sensitive Personal Information Wawa collects, stores, transmits and/or maintains," according to the settlement.

"Today's settlement will help protect Pennsylvanians personal information going forward and will hold Wawa accountable for the data breach that occurred on their watch," Shapiro said. "Thanks to this work Wawa will adopt new corporate policies to deter data breaches in the future. Every corporation that does business in Pennsylvania needs to stay alert and protect their customer's personal data or they will have to answer to my office." nbcphiladelphia.com

Blockchain Security Business is Booming
Spree of multimillion dollar hacks creates booming business for blockchain security experts
Even as cryptocurrency markets face economic turbulence, there's one segment of blockchain-based industries where business is booming: blockchain security.

A boutique industry of auditing firms formed over the past few years to deal with the emerging technology now boasts up to a year-long wait time to even begin working with customers and a growing list of job openings they can't fill quickly enough.

And investors are flocking to get a piece of the action, too, pumping millions of dollars into firms that promise to help safeguard an increasingly fragile cryptocurrency ecosystem.

From the outside, the race for security seems like a long overdue course correction for an industry now plagued by near-weekly multi-million dollar hacks. However, security experts in the industry don't all necessarily see the boom in business as an unmitigated win for the industry, they tell CyberScoop. Instead, they say it points to a much deeper challenge for the industry: cultivating the kind of security talent needed to keep a growing financial industry under the constant threat of hacks safe.

Blockchain projects offer distinct challenges for security professionals. Foremost, many are written in newer and less common coding languages such as Solidity, narrowing the pool of individuals who can audit the code. Unlike many other systems, which are designed to be closed off in an effort to thwart attacks, the blockchain is public, meaning that hackers have an open book for vulnerabilities.

The bigger barrier to finding the right talent isn't so much teaching people about blockchain as it is finding someone with the right mindset, Schwed says.

Larger cryptocurrency companies take a similar approach in finding talent. Nick Percoco, the chief security officer at digital asset exchange Kraken, says that he looks for candidates who have both a strong security background and a hands-on interest in blockchain.

Percoco notes that while Kraken does use external audits for legal reasons, having an internal security team allows him to continuously test Kraken's products for potential vulnerabilities. It also helps develop a company-wide security culture, something especially important as criminal and nation-state hackers increasingly go after employees of digital currency firms. cyberscoop.com

Facebook Business Accounts Targeted
Targeted campaign uses infostealer to hijack Facebook Business accounts
WithSecure researchers have discovered an ongoing operation, dubbed "DUCKTAIL", that targets individuals and organizations operating on Facebook's Ads and Business platform.

Based upon analysis and gathered data, the company has high confidence that the operation is conducted by a Vietnamese threat actor. The chain of evidence suggests that the threat actor's motives are financially driven.

The campaign and malware

DUCKTAIL's operations utilize an infostealer malware component that includes functionality specifically designed to hijack Facebook Business accounts. This is the first instance of such functionality that WithSecure is aware of, and it separates DUCKTAIL from earlier Facebook-centric malware operations. The infostealer is designed to steal browser cookies and take advantage of authenticated Facebook sessions to steal information from the victim's Facebook account and ultimately hijack any Facebook Business account to which the victim has sufficient access.

The company has found DUCKTAIL scouting for and phishing its targets via LinkedIn, where it selects users likely to have high-level access to a Facebook Business account, especially those with admin privileges.

"We believe that the DUCKTAIL operators carefully select a small number of targets to increase their chances of success and remain unnoticed. We have observed individuals with managerial, digital marketing, digital media, and human resources roles in companies to have been targeted," said Mohammad Kazem Hassan Nejad, Researcher for WithSecure Intelligence. helpnetsecurity.com

Top Phishing Target: Microsoft
Microsoft Tops Brands Phishers Prefer

Wide use of Microsoft 365 applications by business lets phishers easily launch data theft, BEC, ransomware, and other attacks, new report finds.

Microsoft is the most popular brand targeted for phishing attack abuse, followed by Facebook, Crédit Agricole, WhatsApp, and Orange, according to newly released research.

The team at Vade has put together its "Phishers' Favorites" report for the first half of 2022. The report names Microsoft as the brand of choice for lures because of widespread use of Microsoft 365 applications by businesses of all sizes, as well as the veritable buffet of possible attacks a threat actor could launch for a compromised account, including ransomware, business email compromise (BEC), and more.

Additional findings in the phishing attack overview shows financial services is the most targeted sector for phishing attacks, with cloud, e-commerce/logistics, telecom, and social media following just behind.

"Detecting phishing emails is difficult not only for users but also for security vendors," the phishing report explains. "As the sophistication of attacks increases, so does the likelihood that a costly attack will bypass security and land in an inbox." darkreading.com
 
Major shifts and the growing risk of identity fraud

Why firms need to harness identity management before it spirals into an identity crisis

The Rise of Retail Robots
The warehouse robotics startups revolutionizing retail

E-commerce growth, lack of human capital and better automation capabilities have created a need for superior fulfillment capabilities

According to Verified Market Research (VMR), the Warehouse Robotics industry was valued at $4.5 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach $15 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 14.5%.

Three forces have led to this incredible growth. The first, automation technology has developed to become the top trend in tech according to McKinsey. The global industrial automation market is projected to grow from $200 billion in 2022 to $400 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 9.8% (Fortune Business insights).

In addition, Covid-19 created enormous growth for e-commerce companies. According to ARTS, e-commerce sales increased by 43% in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, rising from $570 billion in 2019 to $815 billion in 2020. Lastly, post Covid-19, many sectors that pay low wages have struggled to find employees. Companies that provide warehousing services clearly fall into that category. In the U.S., The Department of Labor suggests that there are now multiple warehouse positions per applicant.

All three market forces have created a growing need for efficient warehousing and inventory management systems. Large players in the e-commerce market such as Amazon and Walmart have begun operating robots in an effort to combat employee shortages and growing demand. Amazon, for example, has recently invested in the Israeli autonomous robot maker BionicHIVE. calcalistech.com

Halting Sunday Delivery Services
FedEx Ground acts to appease contractors by Sunday delivery suspension
Late Thursday, FedEx Ground said it would halt Sunday residential delivery services as of mid-August in what it described as "lower-population" markets where shippers would not be greatly affected. The unit did not specify which markets it would target. However, it is apparent the move will focus on rural and less-populated suburban areas. About 80% of the U.S. market will retain access to Sunday deliveries after the downsizing, according to FedEx Ground.

Spencer Patton, a Nashville, Tennessee-based contractor who runs 275 trucks across 10 states and has pushed the unit to rethink the viability of Sunday deliveries, told FreightWaves on Friday that about 15% of the contractor network will lose the service. Two of Patton's terminals were told they will cease operations this Sunday, he said.

In a memo to contractors, FedEx Ground said Sunday operations, which began nationwide in early 2020, have "posed various challenges" to the roughly 6,000 contractors, known as Contracted Service Providers (CSP), who deliver the unit's packages. The change is an opportunity for the unit and the provider network to "recalibrate operations for current market conditions," FedEx Ground said. freightwaves.com

Prime Day 2.0
Leaked documents show Amazon is planning another two-day Prime Day sales bonanza for October amid slowing e-commerce growth
Amazon is planning a second Prime Day-like deals bonanza in October called the Prime Early Access Sale, said internal documents seen by Insider. The event could juice Amazon sales amid what some industry watchers fear is an e-commerce slowdown driven by rising inflation and a return to in-person shopping. businessinsider.com

Retail E-Commerce Packaging Market expected to display exponential growth by 2027

Retail Logistics Market Size to Garner USD 622 Billion Revenue by 2030

Three South Carolina Men Are Sentenced To Prison for Defrauding Lowe's Of More Than $450,000
Bobby Cherry, 58, of Manning, South Carolina, to serve 41 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Russell Leroy Calvin, 43, of Sumter, South Carolina, was ordered to serve 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and Michael Marcel Montgomery, 48, also of Sumter, was sentenced to 27 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In addition to the prison terms imposed, the defendants were ordered to pay more than $450,000 jointly and severally as restitution. All three defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

From August 2019 to March 2020, Cherry, Calvin and Montgomery engaged in a conspiracy to defraud Lowe's stores in the southeastern United States. The defendants and other co-conspirators created business accounts for fraudulent landscaping and home improvement companies at Lowe's stores, passed fictitious and worthless checks to fund the fraudulent accounts, and then purchased expensive landscaping equipment, such as zero turn mowers, and other items using the account funds. In total, during the course of the scheme, the co-conspirators opened more than 30 such fraudulent business accounts which they used to obtain more than $450,000 in fraudulently purchased goods. During the scheme, the three defendants made purchases at local stores in Mecklenburg, Gaston, Union, Lincoln, Cleveland, and Iredell Counties in North Carolina, as well as stores in South Carolina and Georgia. justice.gov

Chicago, IL: Man wearing ankle monitor robs Target store as security does nothing
A man wearing an ankle monitor was filmed stealing wine and other food items from a Target store near Chicago last week. The man, wearing a mask, appeared to walk around the store filling a large sack with stolen items as a Target security employee followed him. The incident is only the latest in a nationwide trend of individuals stealing from stores with apparent impunity. Footage shows the unidentified man entering a wine and beer aisle, loading up his already nearly full bag with a bottle of wine. The bag makes a solid clinking noise as he shoulders it and moves on to find something that might pair well with the wine. foxnews.com

Vancouver, WA: 11 people arrested in Vancouver after police focus on retail thefts
Because of the recent rise in retail theft, the Vancouver Police Department partnered with multiple retailers for an operation that resulted in 11 arrests on two different days. On June 28, VPD worked with four retailers for four hours and arrested three people. On July 20, it worked with eight retailers for eight hours and arrested eight people. Police also seized two stolen cars and recovered stolen property. VPD said that although the focus was on retail theft, some of the people arrested were also charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, forgery, and violation of a protection order. The department will continue to work with retailers in the Vancouver area to address and deter theft. kptv.com

Shelbyville, IN: Man accused of stealing more than $3,500 in ammunition from Rural King store
According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff's Office, deputies were alerted to the theft of a large amount of ammunition around 8:40 p.m. on Friday, July 22. It happened at the Rural King store in Shelbyville. Deputies spotted the vehicle linked to the theft and initiated a traffic stop on North Marr Road. They took the suspect, identified as 39-year-old John Cornett of Hope, into custody without further incident. When police searched the Chevy HHR he was driving, they found multiple cases of ammunition in the back seat. According to court documents, a caller notified dispatchers after seeing a man, later identified as Cornett, take a cart full of ammunition without paying for it.

Deputies from Bartholomew County later found Cornett's vehicle and stopped him. All six boxes of ammunitions were still inside the vehicle. Cornett informed police that a "guy named Jack on a phone app called Kik" told him he would get a discount at Rural King and "all he had to do" was push the cart out of the store. A friend was supposed to pay for the ammunition, Cornett told police. Surveillance video, however, showed him entering the store with just himself and a toddler in the cart. Cornett did tell police he left the store without paying for the merchandise.  fox59.com

Portland, OR: Suspects sought after police chase, $3K of merchandise stolen from Home Depot

Toledo, OH: Police looking for suspects who stole 'thousands' worth of merchandise from Best Buy

Mansfield, PA: Three teens arrested for stealing $900 of toys, merchandise from Mansfield Walmart

Flint, MI: Woman arrested in Fenton for $700 self-checkout theft from Walmart; second-degree retail fraud

Gloucester Twp., NJ: Shoplifters Take $600 Worth Of Goods From Gloucester Premium Outlets