Agilence's Catherine Penizotto Wins Stevie® Award for Executive of the Year in 2020 Stevie Awards for Women in Business

Penizotto Recognized for Accomplishments in Customer Service and Advocacy

Agilence's VP of Customer Success Catherine Penizotto has been named the winner of a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Female Executive of the Year category among businesses with up to 2,500 employees in the 17th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Penizotto was recognized not only for her team's astonishing performance metrics, including an industry-leading 80 NPS score and 99.5% overall customer success satisfaction rating, but also for her customer advocacy within Agilence.

"Catherine ensures the voice of our customer is heard in every initiative at Agilence," said Russ Hawkins, President and CEO of Agilence. "With her leadership, we've built a thriving customer community and truly embraced a culture of customer advocacy within our organization. I couldn't be happier that she's receiving this well-deserved recognition." Read More Here
 

NuTech National expanding National Sales Team, seeking Sales Representatives

NuTech National, an established and rapidly growing 40+ year electronic security company, is expanding our National Sales Team. Seeking motivated, driven and successful sales reps to expand our national retail and governmental vertical markets. Top pay, benefits and signing bonus available. Please apply to melissa@nutechnational.com
 

The Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) Announces
New Board Members & Executive Committee Member

Left to Right: James Cosseboom, Mark Stebbe, Mike Lamb

The Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) has announced the selection of its newest board members to assist in governing and providing strategic direction for the Foundation. James Cosseboom, LPC (Director of Asset Protection, Retail Business Services LLC, an Ahold-Delhaize USA Company) and Mark Stebbe, LPC (Vice President Asset Protection, Burlington Stores, Inc.) have accepted the nominations and have been approved by the LPF board to serve on the Foundation's Board of Directors.

Each new board member must demonstrate their support for industry-specific loss prevention certification. They must have a passion for improving our professional perception as an industry and feel professional certification is a critical step in achieving that goal.
 
In addition to the election of new members of the Board of Directors, the LPF would like to announce the appointment of Mike Lamb, LPC to the board's Executive Committee.


Introducing LPF's NEW Certificate Course - Essentials of Retail Asset Protection
Developed in partnership with ASIS, this certificate course is for professionals looking for entry-level education in Asset Protection / Loss Prevention. Entirely virtual, this course explains the fundamentals of retail asset protection and will equip you for security roles in today's retail environment. Earn your certificate today


LPF Announces August & September LPC and LPQ Professionals
The Loss Prevention Foundation would like to recognize and congratulate the following individuals who successfully completed all of the requirements set forth by the board of directors to be LPQualified (LPQ) and/or LPCertified (LPC). View Full List Here

 

Pinkerton Security Guard Charged With Murder
Denver, CO: Man shot, killed during protests Saturday;
Suspect acting as 'armed security guard' for local TV station in custody

City of Denver says he was unlicensed Guard & Unlicensed to Carry a Gun 'On the Job'

A man was shot and killed near the Denver Art Museum as dueling protests were winding down nearby Saturday afternoon. A suspect is in custody, police said.

The Denver Police Department said Saturday evening that the suspect in the shooting was a private security guard. He was identified Sunday as Matthew Dolloff, 30. He is being held for investigation of first-degree murder. Denver news outlet 9News said it had hired the private security guard through Pinkerton to accompany staff at the protest. 9News said it's been using security for months while covering the protests.

The victim was identified Monday by the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner as 49-year-old Lee Keltner. An autopsy was completed and the cause of death was from a gunshot wound. The manner of death is homicide, according to the report.

Suspect was not licensed in Denver
Denver7 has confirmed with the City of Denver that Dolloff does not have a license to operate as a security guard, or to carry a gun on the job, in the city, which is a legal requirement in Denver. A security guard operating without a license could be fined up to $999 and face up to a year in jail. thedenverchannel.com

Editor's Note: What's Pinkerton's liability for allowing an unlicensed guard and unlicensed to carry a gun 'on the job' as well, to operate? Obviously, 9News hired the firm to provide security guards, however, the article didn't report on the contract requirements or whether or not 9News had hired armed guard protection. Regardless, this one fell through the cracks. No one checked for licenses.

Protests Around Social Justice Prompt Conversations Nationwide
How to Move DEI Conversations Beyond Just Talk.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Conversations Generate Lots of Goodwill that Diminishes Over Time.
Last week, a roundtable of five association executives addressed what that action can look like. The virtual meeting, moderated by Vista Cova's Lowell Aplebaum, CAE, took its inspiration from CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, an initiative of PricewaterhouseCoopers that includes a pledge that CEOs lead DEI conversations, implement education on unconscious bias, be transparent about their experiences, and engage the board in their efforts. Thus far, more than 1,300 CEOs, including around 180 in the association and nonprofit space, have signed on to the pledge.

You can (and should) watch the entire conversation here:

But a few takeaways emerged from the conversation that deserve particular attention.

Do the research to understand the scope of the problem. - Bake DEI into every decision about decision-making. - The day-to-day stuff matters, too. - Track the benefits and make a business case. associationsnow.com

Nobody Really Wants Defunding
What happened to 'defund the police'?
Movement may be alive on social media and in protests, but some officials are questioning its feasibility

Calls to "defund the police" are still alive on social media and in protests amid civil unrest across the U.S., but spikes in violent crime have some officials questioning the feasibility of the movement.

"Maybe the ambitions of the 'defund the police movement' have scaled back somewhat," "When the ideas were first being announced, they were being announced in very grandiose terms, and the pushback has led to a very rapid reassessment and realignment of what the goals really were to much more modest proportions."

But recent spikes in violent crime in major U.S. cities have some officials questioning the effectiveness of the idea.

Cassell said while it's too early to tell whether there is any kind of correlation between the "defund the police" movement and spikes in violent crime, there appears to be a correlation between police reassignments amid nationwide protests and violent crime.

In his Sept. 10 research paper titled "Explaining the Recent Homicide Spikes in U.S. Cities: The 'Minneapolis Effect' and the Decline in Proactive Policing," Cassell notes that many police were reassigned from proactive policing duties to help control protests in cities across the country amid unrest this summer that has continued into the fall.

Cassell said crime spikes could be "projecting what would happen into the fall or next year if 'defunding the police' is taken to its logical conclusion."

"Defunding the police means, at some level, cutting back on law enforcement activities," he said. "... So I think we can project, just as the police have had to pull back this summer due to the protests, if they have to pull back due to defunding, we can expect high levels are particularly homicides or shootings to persist and maybe even increase further."

He added that he doesn't think "anyone wants to defund the police." foxnews.com

NYPD Ranks Dropping Amid Budget Cuts, Anti-Police Sentiment 
'Blue flight' retirements thinning NYPD ranks to levels not seen in nearly a decade
A wave of blue flight is pushing Police Department manpower down to levels not seen in nearly a decade. As of Thursday, there were 34,488 officers on the NYPD force, the lowest count since 2011. It's still the largest police department in the U.S. - but its ranks are down 2,567, or 7%, from last year.

"We're living through very challenging times," said NYPD Chief of Personnel Martin Morales. "We have officers retiring from all ranks, including very tenured investigators and very tenured supervisors.

Blame the exodus on low morale resulting from anti-police sentiment in New York since the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers, Morales said.

A $1 billion city budget cut and plans for a $335 million cut in overtime haven't helped Morales said. He also cited a new city law that bars officers from putting any pressure on someone's diaphragm. nydailynews.com

Amazon Prime Day protests are being held across US this week
Amazon warehouse workers and advocates will stage more than a dozen protests nationwide this week as the company holds its annual Prime Day, a two-day shopping event on Tuesday and Wednesday set to do billions in sales, anti-Amazon organization Athena told Yahoo Finance.

The protests over working conditions and air pollution at the tech giant's vast warehouse network come as a global pandemic has boosted Amazon's e-commerce business but also heightened the safety risks faced by its employees.

Workers will voice coronavirus fears less than two weeks after the company announced that nearly 20,000 of its frontline workers had been infected with or were presumed to have COVID-19 during a six-month period.

"For Amazon, it's their special day. People are unaware that shopping there is harming their communities," says Chris Smalls, an Amazon warehouse worker who was fired the same day he participated in a walkout, though Amazon says it terminated him for violating social distancing guidelines. finance.yahoo.com

Los Angeles: Over 76 people arrested for looting & violence during LA Lakers celebrations

Lafayette, LA: Police charge Louisiana woman for looting at Walgreens store during hurricane

Portland: Protest that took down statues of former presidents declared a riot by police

Germany: Amazon workers strike on busy Prime Day over conditions and pay
 

73% Of Voters Fear 'Violent Protests' Over Election Results
An overwhelming majority of voters say they are concerned about violent protests over the 2020 election results after President Donald Trump recently refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, a new poll shows.

According to the latest poll by Morning Consult/Politico, 73% of voters are "very" or "somewhat" concerned over violent protests occurring in response to the results of the 2020 presidential election. ibtimes.com

NYPD preps for more protests ahead of presidential election
To police the expected protests, the department will require most cops to report for duty in uniform and should "be prepared for deployment" starting Oct. 25, the memo states.

"This November 3rd will be the one of the most highly contested presidential elections in the modem era. There is also a strong likelihood that the winner of the presidential election may not be decided for several weeks," the memo states.

"Accordingly, we should anticipate and prepare for protests growing in size, frequency, and intensity leading up to the election and likely into the year 2021," it adds. nypost.com

Texas police are preparing for possible election night protests
Now, with a contentious election just a month away and with a nation bitterly divided, police are again preparing for protests across the state. Agencies in at least four major cities - Austin, El Paso, San Antonio and Fort Worth - confirmed they are planning for potential unrest around the Nov. 3 election. Officials in other Texas cities declined to say whether they're doing the same.

A San Antonio police official said the agency has a plan in place, "just as we have for the previous elections." An El Paso police spokesperson said the agency has developed "unrest contingency plans." In Houston, a police spokesperson said officers routinely monitor any major event, including elections, but declined to discuss plans for election night. texastribune.com
 

Can we require that employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine?
The answer "is far from clear," one management-side attorney
This may be the most significant question employers across the country will face in the coming months, management-side attorneys told HR Dive. But "the answer is far from clear," David L. Barron, member at Cozen O'Connor, said in an email.

The EEOC's 2009 guidance document on pandemic preparedness and the Americans with Disabilities Act, released during the H1N1 influenza pandemic and updated this year during the COVID-19 pandemic, said that an employer covered by the ADA may not compel all of its employees to receive an influenza vaccine regardless of their medical conditions or religious beliefs.

In fact, employees may be exempt from an influenza vaccine requirement based on an ADA-covered disability that prevents them from receiving the vaccine, which "would be a reasonable accommodation barring undue hardship," per the agency. hrdive.com

Hindrance Gaining Widespread Acceptance
Survey: C-Suite leaders find social distancing, remote work a hindrance
Of the 150 leaders surveyed, 40% said social distancing was the greatest hindrance to productivity while 37% cited remote work.

Sixty-nine percent said their companies are investing in more technology. Data and analytics platforms were the most common technology to be adopted during the pandemic, with 57% of survey respondents reporting trying the tech in the past six months, while 21% reported trying both artificial intelligence and machine learning. hrdive.com

Calif. Slowly Re-Opening Businesses
Californians hospitalized with COVID-19 at lowest level in 6 months
While the spread of the coronavirus accelerates in much of the nation, California is enjoying a moment of relief, as COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths have dropped to the lowest levels in months.

The state's positivity rate, a measure of tests for the virus that come back positive, is 2.6%, an all-time low, according to state data. These figures represent a major improvement following a massive spike earlier this year.

Govenor Newsom raised alarms about the upcoming flu season, which could create added challenges in battling the coronavirus, as well as the arrival of colder weather that may force people to spend more time indoors, where the virus is more likely to spread. On Friday, the state released guidelines for socializing that prohibit gatherings among more than three households.

Most recently, Ventura, Merced and Yuba counties were allowed to loosen restrictions on businesses, giving restaurants, movie theaters and gyms the ability to open indoors in limited capacity.  latimes.com

U.S. Covid-19 Hospitalizations Hit Highest Level in Nearly Six Weeks
About 41,000 new coronavirus infections are reported in the U.S.

While hospitalizations are rising, they are still lower than July's daily highs of more than 59,000. Hospitalizations are also rising in New Jersey, where the state's seven-day average of Covid-19 cases topped 700 on Monday for the fifth straight day, a benchmark New Jersey last hit in early June.

Although hospitalizations have risen, U.S. deaths have continued to fall. Deaths often lag new cases and hospitalizations, given the duration of the disease.

Hot spots: The Northeast, which had an early surge of cases, hospitalizations and deaths, is once again seeing a rise in all three metrics. New Jersey last week reported more than 1,000 new cases for the first time since May. New York had its seventh straight day of more than 1,000 new cases. wsj.com

Highest COVID #'s in 2 Months Driving Fear
'Like we're going into quarantine':
Americans plan to stockpile food over fears of COVID-19 surge, election unrest
Slightly more than half of Americans in a recent poll from Sports and Leisure Research Group say they already have or plan to stockpile food and other essentials. The chief reason: fears of a resurgent pandemic, which could lead to disruptions such as new restrictions on businesses. On Oct. 2, the number of COVID-19 cases in the USA was its highest in almost two months.

Survey's findings that while roughly 52% plan to stockpile this fall, about 48% said they aren't. Of those who are stockpiling, the majority are concerned about an increase in infection rates, but a smaller share of people say they are worried about unrest surrounding the election next month. usatoday.com

NYC's 2nd COVID Spike?
Hospitalizations increase in New York amid second COVID-19 spike
Hospitalizations have increased in New York alongside an alarming spike in coronavirus cases that have caused Gov. Andrew Cuomo to reinstate cluster containment zones and shut down schools in specific areas.

Last week the governor instituted a new "hot spot" cluster zone map including portions of Brooklyn and Queens, as well as Rockland, Orange and Broome counties.

Red, orange and yellow "zones" have been set up where positive virus infection rates have ballooned into double digits - blowing past the Empire State's cumulative, statewide infection rate that had been hovering around 1 percent for several months. The statewide infection rate recorded as of midnight is 1.1 percent, but independently, the cluster zones have a combined 3.7 percent positivity rate. nypost.com

Dallas COVID #'s Increase
Coronavirus numbers are rising, so is North Texas at the start of a
fall COVID-19 surge?
A COVID-19 forecast from UT Southwestern Medical Center predicts continued increases in hospitalizations in Dallas and Tarrant counties, which have already risen in recent weeks, and also projects 1,000 new infections a day in Dallas County by later this month.

The upward trend comes as Texas' governor allowed counties to reopen bars at half capacity - though some counties, including Dallas, won't reopen theirs - and as cases are surging elsewhere in the U.S.

The expected surge in deaths also accounts for national data that show a decrease in mask wearing. dallasnews.com

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Dakota's - 2nd COVID Spike
Second COVID-19 peak spreading more broadly in Minnesota
A second peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota is hitting a wider swath of the state than in the spring.

State health officials on Monday said the novel corona­virus that causes COVID-19 was centered earlier this year in the Twin Cities, long-term care facilities and large rural food-processing plants, but it's now spreading more broadly across Minnesota communities. The 1,178 infections reported Monday - a record fifth straight day of more than 1,000 infections - came from 69 of Minnesota's 87 counties.

Every U.S. state has an emergency or disaster order in effect now, according to the National Governors Association - with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issuing a new public health emergency declaration on Sept. 22 in response to rising spread of the virus.

"What we've seen happen in Wisconsin and literally pretty much every state around us is a cautionary example of how things can get even worse," Malcolm said, "when a state is seeing uncontrolled community transmission." startribune.com

COVID #'s Triple in UK - New 3-Tier System

UK defends new virus restrictions; critics say it's too late
Britain already has the deadliest outbreak in Europe, with nearly 43,000 reported deaths, and Europe as a whole reported a record number of new cases last week, over 700,000, according to the World Health Organization. Britain's number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has more than tripled in the last three weeks, with infection rates rising across all age groups and regions. inhomelandsecurity.com

Retailers in England escape further Covid restrictions
Retailers in England have escaped any further measures to clamp down on cornonavirus infections after the prime minister yesterday unveiled his new three-tier system of Covid restrictions. But, said Johnson, "retail, schools and universities will remain open". In Liverpool, gyms and leisure centres will also have to close, as will casinos and bookmakers. talkingretail.com

New Data: Mask Wearing Decreases Nationwide

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea Tells Police Force To Wear Masks As More Officers Call Out Sick

A 25-year-old man becomes first in the U.S. to contract coronavirus twice, with second infection 'more severe'

Last week's #1 article --

17 retailers that could go bankrupt as the COVID-19 era wears on

Analysis: Why Regulators Got Tough With H&M - With $41M Fine
The latest edition of the ISMG Security Report analyzes why clothing retailer H&M was hit with a hefty fine for violating the EU's General Data Protection Rule.

In this report, you'll hear:

● ISMG's Mathew Schwartz analyze why privacy regulators singled out H&M for a hefty fine;

● Tony Craddock, director general of the Emerging Payments Association, highlight the imperative for digital identities;

● Alissa "Dr. Jay" Abdullah, senior vice president and deputy CSO at Mastercard, outline her security priorities for 2021.

The ISMG Security Report appears on this and other ISMG websites on Fridays. Don't miss the Sept. 25 and Oct. 2 editions, which respectively discuss whether Darknet markets are here to stay and McAfee's Planned IPO. govinfosecurity.com

Mastercard's 'Dr. Jay' on the Future of Cybersecurity Leadership
She was deputy CIO at the White House and served as CISO at Xerox. Now, as deputy CSO at Mastercard, Alissa "Dr. Jay" Abdullah opens up on the accomplishments of her first year as well as new leadership techniques and strategies for refining talent and tools.

In her latest role, she's spent the majority of her year working remotely, but that has opened new doors for collaboration and multi-cloud environments at Mastercard, she says.

"I like giving businesses the ability to think outside of the box and do things outside of the box - but to do them in a secure way," Abdullah says. "When we can allow a company to - in a secure way - be innovative, not say 'no,' but then add all the different risk mitigation factors that are highly recommended ... it makes me happy, but it makes the company happy as well."

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group, Abdullah discusses:

● Her experience in the public and private sectors;
● Her focus in year one at Mastercard;
● Her passions for recruiting talent and for refining cybersecurity leadership techniques. govinfosecurity.com

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Securing Devices at Home and Work
The second blog highlighting NIST resources for Cybersecurity Awareness Month is from NIST's Julie Haney, Ph.D., lead for the NIST Usable Cybersecurity Program. In this blog post, Dr. Haney discusses some of the steps users and organizations can take to protect internet-connected devices for both personal and professional use.

How did you end up at NIST working on usable cybersecurity?
I am the lead for the NIST Usable Cybersecurity Program, where I conduct research at the intersection of cybersecurity and human factors. My background was originally in computer science. I worked as a cybersecurity professional in the Department of Defense for over 20 years doing vulnerability assessments, writing security guidance, and, in general, focusing on trying to convince organizations to implement various security best practices. That led me to come to NIST as a guest researcher to work on usable security projects back in 2016. I loved the work and organization so much that my 6-month detail turned into 18 months! I was then fortunate enough to be hired directly by NIST in the spring of 2018.

Please discuss NIST's resources for telework/remote work? What are some important steps people can take to ensure their devices are safe while working at home?
NIST has some great security resources for both teleworkers and organizations supporting telework. For teleworkers, there are some informative articles on the Cybersecurity Insights Blog with tips on telework security and protecting privacy during virtual meetings. For organizations supporting telework, NIST has issued a new draft revision of Special Publication 800-46 Guide to Enterprise Telework, Remote Access, and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Security that contains information on security considerations and recommendations when implementing remote access solutions. nist.gov

The cost of an unsecure remote environment to your organization? $5M to 10M
Cybersecurity in the Remote Work Era: A Global Risk Report, sponsored by Keeper Security and conducted by The Ponemon Institute, surfaced and examined the most pertinent new challenges organizations today face in preventing, detecting and containing cybersecurity attacks in the colloquial "new normal."

63% of U.S. companies have seen an increase in phishing/social engineering during the pandemic; 52% noted a jump in credential theft and 50% reported a rise in incidences of account takeover. Damages or theft to IT infrastructure cost 41% of U.S. businesses to lose $5 million to $10 million or more in the last year. The study also revealed the three major contributing forces that have led to this stark rise in attacks:

● A lack of training and guidance for employees working remotely,
● An ill-equipped and overwhelmed IT security workforce,
● And a surge in new technology being used to facilitate remote collaboration.

Remote employees are major liabilities, but it's not entirely through a fault of their own. Organizations fear a lack of control, but they feel helpless. securitymagazine.com

Half of all virtual appliances have outdated software and serious vulnerabilities
New study shows that even security vendors can use outdated and vulnerable virtual appliances. Top advice: Make sure your vulnerability management processes include virtual appliances. csoonline.com

Survey: Retailers of All Sizes Still Struggling to Achieve Outdoor EMV Compliance

Senior Job: Director, Security Services Engineering job posted for Netflix in Los Gatos, CA