Workplace Safety Tech
Is Safety Tech Ready for Prime Time?

Augmented reality offers a high-tech and safer way to train new workers coming into dangerous situations.

"In talking with EHS professionals who work in manufacturing companies, many are starting to use some AR on the machinery because it's an effective way for them to provide simulations on how to operate machinery, which can lower the risk for both early-stage and new employees," says Gaughan.

Getting a feel for how things work can be applied across functions. "Crane operation is another application perfect for AR. You don't want someone picking up a 100-ton piece of metal just to practice, right? Using a virtual space provides an excellent way to understand and feel the movements." And AR is useful in fall protection training, too. "An employee can feel the height and practice tying off and staging," says Gaughan.

The adoption of this technology is becoming more widespread due to dramatic decreases in cost. "It's much more economical for a company to purchase 10 headsets, bring employees into a classroom and train everyone at the same time, thus lowering the ROI of the investment," she says. The headsets used to be big-ticket items, she notes, making it difficult for companies to gain a reasonable ROI.

However, both technologies will continue to show up in company training toolkits as they offer a workforce advantage: VR and AR are the preferred method of training for younger workers. Gaughan provides another example of a spray-painting simulation that doesn't use paint. "This is a safe and an inexpensive way for 18-, 19- or 20-year-olds to learn. They aren't exposed to some of the hazardous paints while practicing, and they learn very quickly using this method." ehstoday.com

Union-Busting Store Closures?
Are Starbucks and Chipotle union-busting by closing stores?
Big chains open and close stores all the time as a matter of course. But recent moves by Starbucks and Chipotle to close US stores in the wake of employee organizing efforts are drawing allegations from workers and labor advocates that the companies are engaging in union-busting.

Starbucks announced last week it was closing 16 US stores over concerns about crime and other community safety issues, including two stores that are unionized and one that had scheduled a union election. The company also closed a unionized store in Ithaca, New York, in June, citing concerns about the store's faulty grease trap as well as problems with staffing.

Chipotle, meanwhile, said this week it's closing a store in Augusta, Maine, that had recently announced plans to hold a union election-the first of the chain's restaurants to attempt to organize. Chipotle attributed the decision to chronic under-staffing. The company "went to extraordinary lengths trying to staff the restaurant" and ultimately could not justify keeping it open, Laurie Schalow, Chipotle's chief corporate affairs officer, said in a statement.

Starbucks and Chipotle workers affected by the closures have filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that the closures are both retaliation for organizing and an attempt to discourage employees at other locations from unionizing.

Labor history suggests there's good reason to wonder whether companies have ulterior motives when they decide to close stores during or after organizing drives. qz.com

Trader Joe Union Approved
1st Trader Joe's union approved at Massachusetts store
Employees at a Trader Joe's supermarket in Massachusetts on Thursday became the latest workers at a major company to approve a labor union. The store in Hadley, about 80 miles west of Boston, is the first Trader Joe's with an employees union, although workers at two other company locations have initiated unionization efforts.

The union vote, counted by National Labor Relations Board agents in front of witnesses from management and employees, passed 45-31 with one void. Eighty-one store workers - called crew members or merchants in company lingo - were eligible to vote.

The union, Trader Joe's United, said in a Twitter post "We won!" "This victory is historic, but not a surprise," the tweet said. "Since the moment we announced our campaign, a majority of the crew have enthusiastically supported our union, and despite the company's best efforts to bust us, our majority has never wavered."

The company has seven days to file an objection. A company spokesperson did not indicate whether there would be one. The company already has among the best package of pay, benefits, and working conditions in the grocery store business, the spokesperson said. boston.com

How Inflation is Hitting the Retail Industry
Why Retailers Should Worry About Inflation but Dread the Wealth Effect
Inflation robs all consumers of their purchasing power, unless their wages have kept pace, and influences decisions and tradeoffs about what they'll buy and from whom. The majority of consumers have lost a lot of purchasing power over the last year. Unfortunately, those least equipped to handle it - lower income and paycheck to paycheck consumers - have been hit hardest of all.

But it's the wealth effect that is the more important determinant of whether consumers with money to spend will actually open their digital wallets and spend it. That's particularly true for high earners - they have probably had the greatest proportion of wealth destroyed, in part by the massive drop in stock prices, and they could be hit more if the continued decrease in housing demand sends housing prices south.

Because high earners account for so much of the retail economy, their pull-back in spending could be the most damaging to it. pymnts.com

Flooding Slams the Vegas Strip
Las Vegas flooding: Multiple casinos, entire Strip, airport under water
Airports, parking lots, and the entire Las Vegas Strip, which houses some of the world's most famous casinos and hotels, were flooded Thursday night. Heavy rain filled countless buildings as the city put a flash flood and severe thunderstorm warning in place.

Video footage shared on Twitter shows the streets of Sin City consumed with floodwater. Other videos showed downtown streets turning into small rivers and water pouring into casinos. There are no injuries reported at this time, Las Vegas Fire Information Officer Tim Szymanski confirmed to The Post. Other videos posted on social media showed the inside of Circa sportsbook full of floodwater soaking the carpet.

Another clip shared online shows water pouring through a hole in the ceiling of Planet Hollywood Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard. Staffers can be seen recording the chaotic scenes on their cellphones. The iconic Caesar's Palace was also affected by floodwater, as a video posted online showed the ceiling unable to contain the water, which poured onto the carpets. nypost.com

Consumer spending surged in June amid higher fuel, food costs
Household spending climbed 1.1 percent, federal data show, as Americans continued to absorb stubbornly high inflation.

McDonald's says cutting off Russian business helped improve operating profitability
"The Russia business ... actually had an operating margin below our global average," CFO Kevin Ozan told investors. "So, by taking them out now actually helped improve the operating margin."

Target to open 3 new sortation centers in 'stores-as-hubs' push

Walmart launching "mini-retail experience" for travel

Hy-Vee names new CEO

DOJ Using Tech & Telecom Data to Fight Crime
US, UK law enforcement to implement data sharing law
The Department of Justice announced last week that it will begin using a controversial 2018 law meant to give law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and U.K. easier access to data from technology and telecom companies as part of criminal investigations.

The little noticed announcement that Justice will use the "data access agreement" beginning in October with U.K. officials comes more than four years after Congress passed what is known as the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act in March 2018. Justice has said the legislation will "speed access to electronic information held by U.S.-based global providers that is critical to our foreign partners' investigations of serious crime."

In an announcement posted to its website, Justice hailed the inaugural partnership with the U.K. as the "start a new era of cooperation." But digital rights advocates and tech policy experts are less bullish and note that the CLOUD Act passed with no debate as part of a $1.3 trillion government spending bill, a process the Electronic Frontier Foundation has said resulted in a "tacked-on piece of legislation [that] will erode privacy protections around the globe."

Nojeim, who serves as director of CDT's Security and Surveillance Project, said the bill's passage will reduce pressure on the U.S. government to deal with what can be a cumbersome process for complying with foreign government data requests in law enforcement matters. But he said that process protects civil rights: Until the CLOUD Act agreement with the U.K. takes effect in October, officials in Britain and Northern Ireland have to "meet a very high U.S. standard, the probable cause standard" to obtain such data, he said.

Because the CLOUD Act does not address a key gap in U.S. law regarding cross-border data demands, Nojeim said it will be possible for technology companies to share what's known as non-content, or data about users captured during account management and customer support activities such as name, street address and IP address.

As it stands, when a foreign government is seeking non-content data from a U.S. provider, the provider has complete discretion on whether to provide it, he said.

He said that Canada, India, Turkey, Japan and most of the countries in the European Union are now seeking a data-sharing agreement akin to the one with the U.K. government.

The Justice Department sees it differently. In its announcement regarding the U.K. agreement, Justice said the development will help law enforcement prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute serious crime "more quickly than ever before."  cyberscoop.com

Disgruntled Ex-Employees Driving Cyberattacks?
75% of Insider Cyber Attacks are the Work of Disgruntled Ex-Employees

Ransomware & business email compromise top the cyberattack charts this year, and economic pressures could encourage more people to enter a new career in cybercrime.

Ransomware and business email compromises (BEC) topped the list of the types of attacks on organizations in the past year, making up 70% of the total number, according to the 2022 Unit 42 Incident Response Report from Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity consultancy within the company.

Here's a quick breakdown of key findings:

● 77% of intrusions are suspected to be caused by three initial access vectors - phishing, exploitation of known software vulnerabilities, and brute-force credential attacks focused primarily on remote desktop protocol.

● Half of the compromised organizations lacked multifactor authentication on key internet-facing systems such as corporate webmail, virtual private network (VPN), and other remote access solutions.

● The seven most targeted industries were finance, professional and legal services, manufacturing, healthcare, high-tech, and wholesale and retail. These accounted for over 60% of cases, according to Unit 42.

Insider Threats

It's not always about the money, according to the report. Grudges matter, too. Insider threats made up just 5.4% of the incidents Unit 42 handled, "but they can be significant because they involve a malicious actor who knows exactly where to look to find sensitive data," the report said. What's more, 75% of insider threat cases involved a disgruntled ex-employee who left with company data, destroyed company data, or accessed company networks after their departure.

This could be exacerbated during a recession, as layoffs and frustrations rise. Researchers predict that declining economic conditions could push more people into cybercrime as a way to make ends meet. informationweek.com

'Cyber Tax' on Consumers
Average Data Breach Costs Soar to $4.4M in 2022

Call it a "cyber tax": Those costs are usually passed on to consumers, not investors, as compromised businesses raise prices for goods and services.

Sixty percent of breaches have resulted in companies recouping the cost of fines, clean-up, and technological improvements by increasing prices, essentially making consumers pay for breaches and companies' lack of preparedness, according to an annual report published on July 27.

The "Cost of Data Breach Report 2022" report, based on a survey of executives and security professionals at 550 companies, says the average cost of a data breach continued to rise in 2022, reaching an average of $4.4 million globally (up 13% since 2020) and $9.4 million in the United States. On average, companies required 277 days to identify and contain data breaches, down from 287 days in 2021, and 83% of companies had suffered more than one breach.

"It is clear that cyberattacks are evolving into market stressors that are triggering chain reactions, [and] we see that these breaches are contributing to those inflationary pressures," says John Hendley, head of strategy for IBM Security's X-Force research team. "We have to think about cyber events as factors that are capable of straining the economy, similar to COVID, the war in Ukraine, gas prices, all of that."

A "Cyber Tax" on Consumers

While cybersecurity experts have increasingly urged companies to count on having their systems compromised, they continue to have problems stopping attackers, and they are passing costs onto consumers, Hendley notes. This suggests that data breaches and cyberattacks are creating a cyber tax, he argues, increasing costs for downstream consumers and clients.

In addition to the labeling of breaches and fines as a cyber tax, the report highlighted various trends among industries dealing with cyberattacks. Companies that could reduce the overall breach detection and response time to less than 200 days saved $1.1 million, or 23% of the cost of the average breach. darkreading.com
 
Commercial Surveillance Tech a 'National Security Risk'?
House Intel Chairman vows to put 'greater emphasis' on fighting spyware
The powerful chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that he will fight foreign commercial surveillance with greater urgency, calling the technology a national security risk and universal threat to individual privacy.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he is alarmed by the proliferation of powerful spyware that "can be used against every member of this committee or in the executive branch, every journalist and political activist, every American citizen, every citizen of the world with an electronic device."

Schiff's call to action came during a House Intelligence hearing featuring prominent security researchers and a victim of spyware. cyberscoop.com
 
Cyber Insurance Price Hike Hits Local Governments Hard
Across the United States, many local governments and states - as well as private companies - are in the same boat. They're discovering their cyber insurance premiums have skyrocketed and that they must meet stricter guidelines if they want to get coverage or renew their policies.

"Cyber insurance used to be very cheap," said Alan Shark, executive director of the CompTIA Public Technology Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that provides consulting services to local governments. "But things have changed, and insurance companies are increasing rates dramatically and raising the bar and making it harder to get insurance. Some local governments may no longer be able to get it."  pewtrusts.org

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Amazon Poised to Bounce Back After Stalling
Amazon's retail business is 'out of fashion now,' analyst says
Though a recent tech rout has led to widespread pessimism about the sector, long-term investors should still be considering Big Tech names like Amazon, according to Jefferies Senior Research Analyst Brent Thill.

"Look, tech is at a discount right now," he told Yahoo Finance. "It's not the space where people want to be; they want to be in other sectors... I do think ultimately the opportunity is to tuck this away for three years, and you're going to be pretty happy three years from now."

Thill's especially optimistic about Amazon at the moment. Amazon Web Services, the company's cloud business, has thrived and, while the company's retail business is currently being overshadowed, he's expecting that business to bounce back.

"Right now, Amazon isn't where the consumer is," Thill said. "We're all traveling. We're not spending money online. We're [instead] out spending money in restaurants, shopping live, traveling, airlines, and hotels. So, I think investors for the long-term have an opportunity to buy the stock now and, over time, we think the retail business will come back into fashion. It's out of fashion now."

However, he's not expecting that bounce-back to be immediate.

"I do think it's going to take until into 2023 before the [e-commerce] business really finds its footing again," Thill told Yahoo Finance. "I think the consumer spend is away from where Amazon's core is, but I think it's going to come back over time and they'll return to growth and better margins."

Additionally, Thill thinks that still-new CEO Andy Jassy will be prioritizing "areas where [Amazon] can make money" and is looking for "predictability and recurring revenue," which he counts as positives in Amazon's story. finance.yahoo.com

Inflation Hits Amazon
Amazon hikes Prime membership prices by up to 43% in Europe as inflation bites

Amazon is hiking the price of Prime subscriptions for members across Europe.

Amazon is raising prices for its Prime subscription service in the U.K. and across Europe as the e-commerce giant grapples with the effects of rising inflation. In the U.K., Amazon is set to hike the annual price of a Prime membership to £95 ($114), up from £79, representing a 20% jump. The changes will take effect Sept. 15.

The company is enforcing even steeper price increases in European markets. In France, the price of an annual Prime membership is going up to 69.90 euros ($70) from 49 euros, a 43% increase. German Prime members can expect a 30% hike in their annual Prime prices to 89.90 euros, up from 69 euros.

The move follows similar price hikes Amazon announced in the U.S. In February, the company said it would raise the price of its annual Prime membership for Americans to $139 from $119, the first such increase to its discount loyalty program in the U.S. since 2018. cnbc.com

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Warren County, NJ: $70,000 of 9mm handguns stolen in Gun Shop Burglary
A gun shop in Warren County was robbed of nearly three dozen guns. The burglary took place at Tech Ops International Corporation in Lopatcong earlier this week while the store was closed. Gun store workers told News 12 less than 36 guns were stolen, and all of them were 9 mm handguns. Police said ammunition was taken, just the guns, that wholesale at around $36,000 and could retail at about $70,000. Authorities added were alerted when an employee at the nearby gas station was heading to work and noticed the open door. They are working to get surveillance video to try and identify the suspects. "It's concerning to have 36 guns stolen that we know will be distributed among criminal networks that are out there," Warren County Prosecutor Jim Pfeiffer said. newjersey.news12.com

Racine County, WI: Illinois woman allegedly switched bar codes to steal thousands in merchandise from Menards
An Illinois woman has been accused of stealing more than $6,000 from Menards across Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. Kelly A. Spears, 46, of Rockford, was charged with a felony count of retail theft altering price between $500-$5,000. An arrest warrant was issued Aug. 20, 2020, but she did not make an initial court appearance until Wednesday, nearly two full years later. chippewa.com

Houston, TX: 2 women wanted in $2,000 Versace sunglasses theft
Two women wanted for stealing $2,000 worth of designer sunglasses from a shop in the Rice Village area have yet to be identified, police said. Surveillance video released by Houston police shows the two suspects enter the Sunglass Hut in the 2500 block of Amherst back in June. Police said one woman grabbed a handful of Versace sunglasses worth about $2,000 while the other woman talked to an employee. After a few minutes, they both took off running and hopped into a black or brown Toyota Highlander, video shows. yahoo.com

Gloucester Township, NJ: 3 Wanted In $1,900 Wig Theft From Camden County Store

Mill Valley, CA : Man flees with 21 bottles of wine stolen from California grocery store

Tampa, FL: Pinellas man arrested for stealing Pokémon merchandise from Walmart