11/4/19

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

2019 GLPS - Group LP Selfies
Your Team - Your Pride - Our Industry
Building Industry Pride - One Team Selfie at a Time
 

Victra's Asset Protection Team "Connecting technology to life in the most trustworthy, fun, and profitable way"

Back row (left to right): Mark Robinson (Area Director of AP), BJ Day (Regional AP Manager), and Justin Hallstrom (Regional AP Manager)

Middle Row: Jessica Nixon (Regional AP Manager), Cristina Hanson (Director of AP Operations), Dave Patel (Regional AP Manager), Steve Mick (VP of AP), and Ed Fuentes (Area Director of AP)

Front Row: Chris Voity (Regional AP Manager), Lauren Linsenbach (Regional AP Manager), and Ashley Fernando (Regional AP Manager)

Thanks to Steve Mick, VP of Asset Protection, Risk Management, and Revenue Assurance at Victra, for submitting this GLPS.

Inside Guardian's PDQ Award-Winning
False Alarm Reduction Techniques

Guardian Protection earned the 2019 Police Dispatch Quality Award by exercising proven best practices to determine if police response is warranted. Here's how.

Batman had Robin, The Green Hornet had Kato and thousands of law enforcement officers have Guardian Protection - only the latter is much more impactful for being a real-life partner in fighting crime.

Not only is Guardian one of the nation's largest security systems installation and monitored services providers but also among the most diligent when it comes to managing false alarms and verifying alarm signals before summoning first responders.

Guardian Protection's consistent execution of proven best practices for the deployment and ongoing monitoring of security systems has helped it deliver on the mission to protect people and property - thereby making the firm and its associates heroes in the eyes of law enforcement and customers alike.

That commitment and posting false alarm dispatch rates of just 0.2 for its residential accounts and 1.1 on the commercial side have led to Guardian being named winner of the 2019 Police Dispatch Quality (PDQ) Award, the company's first such recognition in the program's 14-year history.

Established by SIAC and Security Sales & Integration and officially endorsed by the Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR) and the Installation Quality (IQ) program, the PDQ Award annually recognizes a security company that best demonstrates a proactive, cooperative and successful effort in false alarm reduction strategies.

The program's mission is to raise industrywide awareness, promote partnering with responding agencies for public safety, motivate alarm companies to be proactive and provide workable models.

"Historically and to this day, we work side-by-side with law enforcement as necessary to implement false alarm reduction tactics within our company," says Vice President Care and Monitoring Operations Jason Bradley. "We seek input from law enforcement at the beginning of our policy-making processes rather than at the end. We begin those conversations by using our industry's false alarm reduction best practices as a foundation, thereby adding credibility to our working together."

Founded in 1950 as Guardian Alarm Systems of Pittsburgh and in 1991 being acquired by the Armstrong Group of Companies, Guardian Protection has grown to its present status providing a broad range of systems and services to hundreds of thousands of residential and commercial clients.

Continue on to find out more about Guardian Protection and its PDQ-winning program, and check out the slideshow for an inside look at the company. Read More Here

Over the last few weeks we (WZ) have been packing up our office in anticipation of moving to a new location. I've moved more times in my life than I'd like to count as I'm sure many of you in the field have done the same. The moving process can be stressful, time-consuming and tedious - but it can also be reflective and humbling. Packing up boxes of folders, files and office supplies may seem like a monotonous task that could be done expeditiously - and it should. However, I can't seem to pack an item without reflecting on when I acquired it and the experience that surrounded it. Before you think I'm crazy, I'm not referring to having an inspirational moment with my stapler or rolodex (yes I still have one). I'm referencing challenge coins, books, conference badges and mementos that bring me back to an event or a relationship I made while in the field. There are a lot of professionals that have a wall in their office with certificates they've earned or a shelf with awards they've been given. We should be proud of what we accomplished, but truth be told, we should never forget where we were before the walls become so decorated.

Read more here

How has your organization's risk level changed in the past 12 months?
More than half of risk professionals worldwide say their organization's risk levels have increased in the past 12 months, according to new research from ISACA, CMMI Institute and Infosecurity Group.

The State of Enterprise Risk Management 2020 report reveals that only 29 percent of respondents have a high degree of confidence that their enterprise can accurately predict the impact of threats and vulnerabilities associated with emerging technologies.
Additionally, fewer than a third (31 percent) of security pros say their enterprises can respond quickly when new threats are identified, a problematic dynamic given today's fast pace of business and technology-driven change.
The top five cybersecurity risk management challenges are changes/advances in technology, changes in types of threats, too few security personnel, missing skills in existing cybersecurity personnel, and increased number and frequency of threats. helpnetsecurity.com

Risk identification processes commonly adopted, but infrequently optimized
Global regions face wide spectrum of cybersecurity threats
Management and governance gap revealed

Q3 Ransomware Detailed Report
Retail in Top 5 Targeted Industries
Ransomware: Average Ransom Payout Increases to $41,000
Sodinokibi and Globelmposter Gangs Target Larger Victims, Coveware Warns

For the third quarter of this year, the average ransom amount paid was $41,198, an increase of 13 percent compared to the second quarter and a nearly six-fold increase from the third quarter of 2018, according to ransomware incident response firm Coveware. The five most-targeted industries in the third quarter were professional services, the public sector, healthcare, software services and retail.

"The rate of increase has plateaued, reflecting resistance to paying by victims who are increasingly finding new ways to restore and recreate data, rather than pay," Coveware says in a new report. "Ryuk continued to make headlines, and other similar Hermes variants like DopplePaymer and I-Encrypt became more prevalent, suggesting that threat actors are rotating through different kits."

Siegel says that one surprise from the research is how much ransomware continues to evolve, with many more groups adapting network intrusion techniques previously used by nation-states' advanced persistent threat groups or only the most advanced cybercrime gangs.

"The year-over-year changes are the most stark," he says. "Ransomware has gone from being an autonomous threat that companies tried to deflect at their perimeter to being a targeted threat where the methods of intrusion and attack are closer to that of APTs than spam campaigns. It puts a lot of pressure on CISOs to have a multilayered approach."

Under the Gun: IT Service Providers

Coveware says the increase in ransomware payments is due to increased ransom demands being made by attackers who wield Ryuk, with the average demand increasing from $267,742 in Q2 to $377,026 in Q3.

Target: Remote Desktop Protocol

Coveware says 51 percent of the intrusions its customers experienced in the third quarter traced to attackers accessing its network stolen remote desktop protocol credentials, which remain easy and inexpensive to procure on cybercrime marketplaces. Another 39 percent of ransomware outbreaks traced to phishing and 8 percent to a software vulnerability exploited by attackers

Bitcoin continues to be the dominant virtual currency being demanded by attackers, with Coveware saying that 99 percent of all payments get made using bitcoins.

Paying a Ransom: Just the Beginning

When organizations do choose to pay their ransomware attackers, there are no guarantees that they'll receive a decryption tool, or that it will work.

Coveware notes, however, that from July to September, 98 percent of the companies it worked with that paid a ransom did receive a working decryption tool, a slight increase from the prior three-month period. It notes that some threat actors are reliable, while others - especially those using Rapid and Dharma ransomware - often default after being paid.

Just because victims receive a decryptor, however, doesn't mean they're getting all of their data back. In the third quarter, "victims who paid for a decryptor successfully decrypted 94 percent of their encrypted data," Coveware says, which was a slight improvement from the second quarter.

Red Flags for Victims

Cybercrime remains a business, and Coveware's Siegel says attackers who don't provide working decryptors are shooting themselves in the foot. That's because ransomware victims are well aware of whether a gang has a history of defaulting on their promises after they've been paid. govinfosecurity.com

Ransomware School: The Rise of GandCrab Disciples
Upskilled Hackers Have Moved to Sodinokibi Ransomware-as-a-Service and Beyond

Criminal innovation continues to thrive online, facilitated by the highly specialized cybercrime-as-a-service economy. Ransomware-as-a-service offerings such as Sodinokibi - also known as REvil or Sodin - have made high-quality crypto-locking code available to any attacker who wants to subscribe and share profits.

This industrialization and democratization of RaaS offerings has led to a profound shift in how ransomware attacks get waged.

"The underground community [has reacted] by developing multidimensional structures of criminal alliances, shadow auctions, trusted groups, secretive relationships and partnerships designed to maximize the revenue of the expanding ransomware market," according to a new report released by New York-based cyber intelligence firm Advanced Intelligence, or AdvIntel. "These fragile unions bring together experts from all across the dark web, who join the efforts to attack the most secure and lucrative targets." govinfosecurity.com

Europol Publishes Law Enforcement and Industry Report on Spear Phishing
Today, 4 November 2019, Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) published a strategic report on spear phishing, reflecting the views of both law enforcement and private industry on one of the most prevalent cyber threats currently affecting organisations across the EU. 

Spear phishing describes the practice of targeting specific individuals within an organisation or business for the purposes of distributing malware or extracting sensitive information. As reflected in this year's Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), spear phishing is the number one attack vector and enabler for the vast majority of cybercrimes. 

The report is the result of a two-day meeting with the European Cybercrime Centre's 70 key industry partners from internet security, telecommunications and financial services. The Joint Advisory Group Meeting, which took place on 26 - 27 March 2019, gathered representatives from industry and law enforcement at Europol's headquarters in The Hague to discuss what can be done to help mitigate this type of crime.

The report highlights the role of spear phishing as the main attack vector for cybercriminals and  contains the definition of the main modi operandi that criminals use to deceive the target (among others, emails coming from trusted accounts, malicious attachments or links to fraudulent websites). Moreover, the document collects conclusions and recommendations for organisations on how to effectively combat this threat on a technical, educational, as well as operational level -enforcing security policies, implementing artificial intelligence and a raising public awareness on the topic. europol.europa.eu

Download the report here

What to Know about PCIP Requalification
PCI Professional (PCIP) Qualification
The Payment Card Industry Professional (PCIP) is an individual, entry-level qualification in payment security information and provides you with the tools to help your organization build a secure payment environment. Becoming a PCIP demonstrates a level of understanding that can provide a strong foundation for a career in the payments security industry.

Support your organization's or client's ongoing security and compliance efforts through your knowledge of how to apply PCI Standards.

The PCIP certification must be renewed every three years. Requalification questions about the how and what often come in when someone has missed their requalification date. The month of October shows nearly 100 PCIPs who must requalify. We thought this would be a great time to remind everyone how the process works and exactly what must be done when to ensure a smooth requalification. pcisecuritystandards.org

Editor's Note: Great certification for a team member in 2020. Just a thought

Senior Job: Director, Enterprise Security posted for U.S. Cellular in Chicago, IL

Locking down the datacentre: A security checklist for IT administrators

Redefining Ethics & At What Costs
AI in E-Commerce: Risk or Competitive Advantage?
If AI lets you implement discriminatory pricing or restrict access to a product based on a customer's race, age or gender, should you?

You browse an e-commerce site on your mobile device, looking for a pair of shoes. Then, with every swipe on your phone, you see ads from other retailers offering you shoes, shoes and more shoes. Are you flattered that the retailer shared your session cookie with third parties? Or do you shake your head, annoyed that these ads are following you everywhere?

You visit an online retailer and can't find what you're looking for. Up pops a chat window. You have a great and very successful conversation with Brenda and discover it was a chatbot. Are you delighted at the store's efficiency? Or do you feel duped?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the face of e-commerce. From chatbots to recommendation engines to image search to smart logistics, the pace of technological advances in e-commerce is outstripping the pace of regulatory and ethical frameworks. But are these advancements coming at a price?

According to a study conducted in 2019 by Capgemini, most executives (77%) are uncertain about the ethics and transparency of their AI systems. More tellingly, executives in nine out of 10 organizations believe the use of AI systems have created ethical issues during the last two to three years. Consumer sentiment echoes this trend, with close to half of consumers believing they have felt the impact of an ethical issue caused by AI.

AI and ethics defined

AI's impressive functionality raises many ethical questions over the design, development and deployment of AI-based technology -- and businesses and government agencies are scrambling to keep pace.

Notably, the European Commission last year launched a study into the ethics of AI, with the aim to provide an appropriate ethical and legal framework for the increasing public and private investments in AI. The resulting 41-page "Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI" report outlines seven key requirements for ethical AI. The Capgemini report further consolidates those into four critical recommended elements: informationweek.com

The Amazon 'Chainsaw' Massacre
Amazon is dominating the holiday price war
With the holiday sales season underway, Amazon is pricing 20% below other online retailers on average in key product categories.

Walmart was the closest behind Amazon, with prices 4.1% more on average than the e-commerce giant's. Target was 10.6% more expensive than Amazon overall. Walmart's Jet unit was 11.3% more expensive, according to the study.

Meanwhile, category specialists like Best Buy, Staples, Dick's and Wayfair were generally priced well above Amazon. That, according to Profitero, signals those retailers "choosing to compete on non-price factors to win with shoppers."

For retailers hoping for an end to perennial holiday price wars - sorry. Amazon has entered the holiday sales fracas with a chainsaw, meaning things likely won't get better anytime soon. 

Walmart trailed Amazon by just over 4%, according to Profitero. In individual categories, the disparity is narrower. Walmart was only 0.2% behind Amazon's prices on baby products, 1.3% behind on pet supplies and 1.7% behind on toys. The same goes for Target, which was within 5% of Amazon on price in toys, household supplies and beauty products.

"Instead, they are competing on value beyond price, offering memberships, personalized services, personalized promotions and private label products consumers can't find elsewhere," Anderson said of category specialists. "This is the recipe for how retailers - and even brands selling direct-to-consumer - can compete long term in this age of algorithmic-driven pricing." retaildive.com

'Cyber Week' will generate 20% of total holiday revenue

Gilbert, AZ: Arizona couple busted in $2.7 million stolen beauty products operation
An Arizona couple was arrested for allegedly operating an interstate stolen goods operation that took in more than $2.7 million from online sales. Gilbert police Sgt. Mark Marino said 42-year-old Zach Robbins and his wife, 47-year-old Jie Robbins, were arrested after a search warrant was served at their home near Higley and Warner roads. Their arrest came after a three-month investigation. Detectives said they found around $500,000 to $750,000 worth of stolen over-the-counter health and beauty products inside the home. Police believe the married couple had been conducting interstate sales of stolen property for more than four years. Investigators also believe that the pair would pay others to shoplift items from local stores. Marino said the couple would then resell the merchandise through eBay and Amazon storefronts. The two were booked on charges of trafficking stolen property, money laundering, and illegal control of an enterprise. fox6now.com

Detroit, MI: Michigan State Police seized over $300K in goods stolen from big box retail stores
MNET Investigation: Over the past eight months the Metro Narcotics Enforcement Team (MNET) has been investigating a business owner engaged in organized retail crime that spans the Metro Detroit Area. Detectives with the state police and other law enforcement agencies began about eight months ago investigating a business owner they say was selling the stolen items. The business owner is accused of recruiting people to steal merchandise from retailers that he would resell at a profit or for his own personal use, officials said. Police said an undercover detective infiltrated the operation and sold the suspect more than $6,000 worth of stolen property. After multiple undercover operations and hours of surveillance, authorities said, police executed search warrants at the suspect's business and at his home. Troopers and officers seized $300,000 and $15,000 in fraudulently purchased merchandise. detroitnews.com

St George, UT: 2 men face felonies after stealing computers from business, trying to resell to chain store
A monthlong investigation by a Washington City Police detective led to the arrest of two men suspected in a business burglary where police allege that equipment, furniture and mail valued at nearly $10,000 was stolen. The two men - Jonathan McAlister and Matthew Anastacio, were arrested Wednesday. They appeared in 5th District Court on multiple charges Thursday. Both men face one count of second-degree felony theft and one third-degree felony count of burglary, along with one misdemeanor charge for mail theft. The charges stem from an incident reported Oct. 1 when officers responded to a burglary in Washington City where they learned that several computers, equipment and a box of U.S. mail had been taken. stgeorgeutah.com

Fairview Heights, IL: Metro East suspect pretends to sneeze to steal 71-year-old's wallet, buys $2,000 worth of gift cards
Metro East Police are searching for a robbery duo who pick-pocketed a man's wallet at a Bob Evans restaurant late October. Police said a 71-year-old Belleville man had finished eating breakfast at a Bob Evans on Ludwig Drive around 10:30 a.m. when he paid for his meal and began to leave. Surveillance video shows a man watching the 71-year-old from the corner of the restaurant. He is seen exiting the entryway in front of the victim. Police said one of the suspects allegedly sneezed, which stopped the victim from moving forward. As the pair was stopped in the entrance, another male suspect bumped into the victim from behind. Fifteen minutes later, the victim got an email that one of his credit cards was used at a CVS in Swansea and then noticed his wallet was missing. Investigators said the suspects were able to purchase several gift cards that cost up to $2,000. The victim's stolen wallet also had cash inside. kmov.com

Merced, CA: Apple products stolen during Burglary at Target
Merced Police are investigating burglary at Target in Merced. According to Sgt. Emily Foster, authorities responded to the Target store located at 3280 R Street, for a report of a burglary at about 7:14 p.m. Saturday. Foster said described the thieves as three adult black males. They stole Apple products from the store before fleeing the scene, according to police. The total value of the items stolen remained unclear Sunday. mercedsunstar.com
 

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Submit Your New Hires/Promotions or New Position

Featured Job Spotlights

 

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