Global Video Surveillance Leader March Networks® Acquired by Delta

March Networks plans to accelerate growth and fast-track transition to cloud video surveillance with new parent company

Canadian-based video surveillance and business intelligence leader March Networks® today announced the completion of its acquisition by Delta, a global leader in power and thermal management solutions.

Through its subsidiary Delta International Holding Limited B.V., Delta acquired 100% of the shares in Infinova (Canada) Ltd., owner of March Networks, from Infinova International Ltd.

Headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March Networks is a global leader in enterprise video surveillance and video-based business intelligence solutions. The company works with many Fortune 500 businesses including leading banks, retailers, and transit agencies, as well as commercial and government organizations.

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US: 49.5M Cases - 805K Dead - 39.3M Recovered
Worldwide: 263.9M Cases - 5.2M Dead - 238.2M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 328   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 542
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Omicron Reaches the U.S.
First confirmed US case of Omicron coronavirus variant detected in California
The United States' first confirmed case of the Omicron coronavirus variant has been identified in California.

In a White House news briefing, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the case was in an individual who traveled from South Africa on November 22 -- before travel restrictions were in place -- and tested positive for Covid-19 on November 29.

That individual, Fauci said, is self-quarantining and close contacts have tested negative for the coronavirus so far.

The person was fully vaccinated and is experiencing "mild symptoms, which are improving at this point," Fauci said. Dr. Grant Colfax, San Francisco's director of public health, said the person had not had a booster shot. cnn.com

Will Omicron Variant Drive Retail Vaccine Mandates?
Op-Ed: Omicron Should Push Retailers to Deploy Vaccine Mandates

Merchants know that Covid vaccinations save lives. They should act like it.

The omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus has already appeared in the U.S. soon, but the country's retailers still aren't interested in doing the one thing that would protect millions of workers before it arrives: mandate vaccinations.

It's the holiday shopping season, of course. Retailers that depend on this stretch to ring up strong annual sales worry that mandates will turn off a big portion of the 665,000 temporary workers they have to hire to move goods. Those temps would supplement about 32 million other more permanent U.S. retail employees. As science and data have already taught us, unvaccinated workers are more vulnerable than vaccinated ones to Covid's predations. By extension, customers are also safer being served by vaccinated workers.

"We all agree with the premise that vaccines are good and vaccines save lives," Stephanie Martz, a senior official with a large trade group, the National Retail Federation, told the New York Times last week. "But by the same token, you can't just say, 'OK, make it so.'"

Why not? If they wanted, retailers could certainly say, "Make it so." If they really believe vaccines save lives, they should embrace every measure available to ensure their use. Instituting mandates is a clear demonstration of that commitment. Retailers don't want to make it so because they have bottom lines to look after and fear worker shortages. That fear is understandable, and retailers have asked the Biden administration to allow them to wait until late winter - after the holiday shopping rush - before adopting the Labor Department's new testing and vaccination mandates for workplaces with 100 or more employees.

But even if retailers' fear of alienating workers is understandable, it may not be rational. Some companies that have already instituted mandates and then stayed the course haven't experienced mass worker departures. United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc. are just a couple of those success stories. Governors and mayors in New York and Illinois have had similar results after they instituted mandates for their workforces. The biggest of the big-box retailers, Walmart Inc., has said that "the overwhelming majority" of workers it required to get vaccinated did so. bloomberg.com

35% of Hiring Managers Reject Unvaccinated Applicants
It's Starting Already - Vax Status Now Part of Resume

A new survey found 35% of hiring managers will automatically reject candidates who don't provide vaccine status on their resumes.

Those of us who are vaccinated have learned to keep our cards with us or at least keep a photo on our phones. But has anyone thought of including that data on a resume? Well, it seems hiring managers have.

In an October survey conducted by ResumeOk of 1,379 hiring managers in the U.S., 35% will automatically reject candidates who do not write their COVID-19 vaccine status on their resumes.

The survey also found other variations with 39% of hiring managers preferring to see the candidate's vax status on their resume while 26% said that the status wasn't part of their hiring decision.

And 86% of hiring managers are more likely to call candidates who provide vaccine information.

This, of course, makes sense given the pending mandate that all companies employing more than 100 people must mandate vaccination. Before the mandate, only 32% of hiring managers had started to prioritize hiring vaccinated candidates. As of today, 63% of U.S. companies have mandates already on the books. ehstoday.com

The Debate Over Hazard Pay for Frontline Workers
Who's a hero? Some states, cities still debating hazard pay
State and local governments have struggled to determine who among the many workers who braved the raging coronavirus pandemic before vaccines became available should qualify: Only government workers, or private employees, too? Should it go to a small pool of essential workers like nurses or be spread around to others, including grocery store workers?

"It's a bad position for us to be in because you have your local government trying to pick winners and losers, if you would, or recipients and nonrecipients. And hence by default, you're saying importance versus not important," said Jason Levesque, the Republican mayor of Auburn, Maine, where officials have not yet decided who will receive hazard pay from the city's American Rescue Plan funds.

A year and a half into the pandemic, such decisions have taken on political implications for some leaders as unions lobby for expanded eligibility, with workers who end up being left out feeling embittered.

Interim federal rules published six months ago allow state and local COVID-19 recovery funds to be spent on premium pay for essential workers of up to $13 per hour, in addition to their regular wages. The amount cannot exceed $25,000 per employee. pbs.org

As More Cops Get Vaxxed, Chicago Drops Lawsuit Over Mandate
Chicago Drops Lawsuit Against Police Union Over Vaccine Mandate
Chicago has dropped its lawsuit against the city's largest police union over its COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

The city sued the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Lodge 7 in October, accusing its president, John Catanzara, of encouraging an "illegal work stoppage or strike."

Catanzara had encouraged officers to not comply with a mandate that required city employees to report their vaccination status by October 15 or be put on "no-pay status". The union countered with its own lawsuit against the city in a bid to suspend the policy.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she had directed officials to dismiss the lawsuit against the union without prejudice, saying it was unnecessary as more officers have complied. newsweek.com

Meta scrubbed a fake scientist's account that spread bogus COVID-19 claims
In total, Facebook removed 524 Facebook accounts, 20 pages, four Groups and 86 Instagram accounts a part of the network.

Moderna exec says company could have Omicron booster ready in March

Walmart Joins New Federal Cyber Advisory Panel
CISA panel is announced, set to make recommendations on major cyber topics
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Wednesday named members to a new cyber advisory panel that will make recommendations on subjects ranging from battling misinformation to gaining aid from the hacker community on national cyber defense.

Among the 23 members selected are leaders from social media, cybersecurity companies, major technology firms and critical infrastructure sectors such as finance and energy. It includes officials from Johnson & Johnson and Walmart, as well as a longtime cybersecurity journalist and the mayor of Austin, Texas.

"We're at a pivotal moment in our history - one that demands we think anew about ensuring the security and resilience of our digital infrastructure in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats," said CISA Director Jen Easterly, whose agency is a part of the Department of Homeland Security. "I look forward to partnering with these distinguished leaders from across industry, academia, and government to tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time."

The panel springs from the most recently enacted annual defense policy bill, which amounted to perhaps the most significant cybersecurity legislation ever passed. Like much of what was included in that legislation, the new advisory committee represented a recommendation from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission.

New York Rep. John Katko, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, had long advocated for such a panel.

In introducing legislation on the subject in 2019, he said his bill "takes steps towards equipping the agencies within the Department of Homeland Security with the necessary tools to respond to evolving cyber threats. By creating a Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, we can facilitate a vital dialogue between public and private partners and better secure the U.S."

Bylaws for the committee published in July said it would address subjects like critical infrastructure protection, information sharing, risk management and public-private partnerships. Wednesday's announcement added potential subjects like the cyber workforce and disinformation. Its first meeting is Dec. 10. cyberscoop.com

Flurry of New Cybersecurity Legislation
House passes bipartisan bills to strengthen network security, cyber literacy
The House on Wednesday passed three bipartisan bills intended to shore up network security and increase cyber literacy across the nation, following a difficult year fraught with several significant cybersecurity attacks.

The Understanding Cybersecurity of Mobile Networks Act, sponsored by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), was approved by a vote of 404-19. The bill would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to examine and report back on cybersecurity vulnerabilities in mobile networks.

The second bill passed Wednesday, the American Cybersecurity Literacy Act, was approved by a 408-17 vote, and would require the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to develop and roll out a cybersecurity literacy program to educate Americans about cyber risks.

The FUTURE Networks Act was also approved by the House Wednesday, by a vote of 394-27, which would require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to establish a sixth generation (6G) wireless technology taskforce to examine potential vulnerabilities and advantages in the future use of 6G technology.

The bills were passed as Congress continues to focus on approving cybersecurity-related legislation after a year that saw high-profile ransomware attacks on groups including Colonial Pipeline and JBS USA, and other major incidents like the Russian-linked SolarWinds hack. thehill.com

Add This New Ransomware Strain to Threat List
New Ransomware Variant Could Become Next Big Threat

"Yanluowang" strain appears to be establishing itself in the cybercrime marketplace, experts say.

Enterprise security teams might want to add "Yanluowang" to the long and growing list of ransomware threats they need to watch out for. Researchers from Symantec say a threat actor who has been mounting targeted attacks against US organizations since at least August recently began to use the new ransomware in its campaigns.

The threat actor was previously linked to attacks involving the use of another ransomware family called Thieflock, available via a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation called the Canthroid group. The Thieflock affiliate appears to have now switched to the rival Yanluowang ransomware strain and is currently the only attack group using the malware.

Its targets include organizations in the financial services industry and in the manufacturing, IT services, and engineering sectors.

Alan Neville, threat analyst on Symantec's threat hunter team, says if the authors of Yanluowang are also operating a RaaS, then it's very likely that other groups will soon begin using the malware as well.

"For us, the main takeaway is that Yanluowang appears to be establishing itself on the cybercrime marketplace and is gaining traction among potential collaborators," Neville says. "If Yanluowang is here to stay, organizations should familiarize themselves with the TTPs associated with this group and ensure they're well-placed to defend against them."

Yanluowang is one among numerous new ransomware variants that have surfaced this year amid continuing law enforcement takedowns of major ransomware operators, such as those behind the REvil and Cl0p variants. Just this week, Red Canary researchers reported observing a threat actor exploiting the ProxyShell set of vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange to deploy a new ransomware variant called BlackByte, which others, such as TrustWave's SpiderLabs, have recently warned about as well.

Double Trouble

Many of the new ransomware strains have been used in so-called double-extortion attacks where threat actors have encrypted and stolen sensitive enterprise data, as well as threatened to leak the data to try and extort money from victims.

According to the NCC Group, in October alone some 314 organizations worldwide became victims of double-extortion attacks - a 65% increase over the prior month. Some 35% of the victims of these attacks were organizations in the industrial sector. Among the worst offenders were gangs beyond ransomware families such as Lockbit, Conti, Hive, and Blackmatter. darkreading.com

New Phishing Technique Takes Off in Russia, China & India
APT Groups Adopt New Phishing Method. Will Cybercriminals Follow?

APT actors from Russia, China, and India have been observed using the RTF-template injection technique that researchers say is poised for wider adoption.

APT groups from Russia, China, and India have adopted a new and easily implemented phishing method throughout the second and third quarters of this year that researchers say is poised for broader adoption among cybercriminals as well.

The Proofpoint research team observed growing adoption of the so-called RTF (rich text format)-template injection technique among APT groups from February 2021 through April 2021. While the tactic isn't necessarily new - other security researchers spotted it as early as January - today's findings mark a renewed surge of the attack technique.

RTF template injection is a technique in which an RTF file with decoy content can be changed to retrieve content hosted at an external URL when the RTF file is opened. By altering document formatting properties of an RTF file, the attacker can weaponize it to access remote content by specifying a URL resource instead of an accessible file destination, researchers wrote in a blog. darkreading.com

Malware variants in 2021: Harder to detect and respond to

CIOs describe their cybersecurity investment plans for the next 5 years
 

Fake Review Epidemic
Amazon's never-ending fake reviews problem, explained

Those five-star reviews are reassuring. But what if a seller asks you to write one -- for cash?

This isn't a new phenomenon. Some Amazon shoppers accept refunds and gift cards in exchange for positive reviews, despite the company's ban on the activity. The e-commerce giant calls these "incentivized reviews," because they come from real shoppers who are paid for their positive opinion. Before Amazon banned the practice in 2016, reviewers would often admit they got a product for free in exchange for a review, but the practice is now fully in the shadows.

Amazon has cracked down on the practice, kicking companies off its marketplace when it finds out the seller has broken the rules. In May, it removed listings for electronics sold by Aukey and Mpow amid reports the companies had engaged in incentivized review schemes. Amazon also says it puts resources into removing fake reviews and the accounts that post them, adding that it blocked 200 million suspected fake reviews before they were posted in 2020. A company spokesperson said that 99% of the time it's taken action against incentivized reviews has been proactive.

"We want Amazon customers to shop with confidence knowing that the reviews they read are authentic and relevant," the Amazon spokesperson said.

But the problem remains pervasive enough -- with many retailers eager to edge out their competitors -- that shoppers can't really tell if the number of five-star reviews on a product is legit or artificially inflated. That leaves consumers unsure of what to believe when they're up against the prospects of dozens of copycat items in an Amazon marketplace that hosts nearly 2 million sellers globally. Amazon also struggles to identify fake reviews that come from real customers who've bought and used a product. Their behavior looks legitimate, and the same customer might write some reviews that are paid and others that aren't.

Another major challenge to Amazon is that the fake reviews are often coordinated on social media sites the company doesn't control. In May, a UK regulator said it would continue scrutinizing these groups on Facebook and Instagram, and noted that 16,000 social media groups that coordinated refunds for fake Amazon reviews had been removed. cnet.com

App Makers Join Epic's Bid To Enforce 'Vital' App Store Order
A number of other app makers have come out in support of Fortnite owner Epic Games as it tries to stop Apple from pausing an injunction that will force the tech giant to allow alternative payment links to be included in any apps on the iOS platform.

App makers like Epic, Spotify and many others have long criticised Apple's App Store rules which they say are anti-competitive. A key gripe, of course, is the rule that in-app payments must be taken via Apple's commission charging transactions platform, and the accompanying 'anti-steering' rule that says alternative payment options elsewhere on the internet can't be sign-posted within the app. completemusicupdate.com

Boxed Enters Rapid Delivery Market
Online wholesale retailer and e-commerce grocery platform to acquire New York's MaxDelivery

PayPal offers Wix merchants BNPL options

Spanish Fort, AL: Best Buy theft valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
It's been nearly a week since some bold thieves broke into the Spanish Fort Best Buy store, stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars-worth of merchandise. Police say they continue to work leads but so far, no arrests have been made. Wednesday, December 1, 2021 they released some more surveillance video, asking the public to offer an opinion on the department's Facebook page. "We've been looking at the video quite a bit. I spent the morning watching the videos," said Spanish Ft. Police Chief, John Barber. "We really want to solve this case, so there's been some debate over the gender of one or both of the suspects and so, I thought that it would be interesting to think what the public thought."

Calculated, methodical and with little concern is how police describe the overnight break-in at Best Buy last week. The newly released video shows two burglars crawling along the floor, presumedly to not trigger alarm sensors. The thieves spent more than two hours in the store, targeting very particular merchandise. Most of it was Apple products. "It was over three hundred items that they stole out of this store and as far as the dollar amount, significant...multiple six figures," Barber said.

It's what wasn't taken from the store that gives investigators hope in solving the crime. The ladder used to enter the store from the roof, reported stolen from a business in Mobile. A large quantity of tools, some of which police said also have ties to Mobile. Investigators said another key in solving this crime could be the white Ford, 15-passenger van used by the burglars. The tag was stolen but there are only so many vans of this type in the area. fox10tv.com

Costa Mesa, CA: California woman arrested in thefts totaling over $300,000 from Gucci, Prada and other high-end stores
A Costa Mesa woman was arrested on suspicion of stealing over $300,000 worth of retail items from high-end stores in Southern California, officials said Wednesday. Ekaterina Zharkova, 38, was observed by California Highway Patrol officers stealing from retailers such as Gucci, Prada, Ramy Brook, Dodo Bar and Jimmy Choo using tools to disable security sensor devices, according to a news release from the CHP Border Division's Organized Retail Crime Task Force. Investigators believed Zharkova stored the items at her home to re-sell them online.

Zharkova was arrested on Nov. 23 after investigators followed her into the Nordstrom Rack at Metro Pointe at South Coast in Costa Mesa, where the CHP says she left the store with over $3,500 of stolen merchandise. A search warrant for Zharkova's home revealed "stolen merchandise packed wall to wall in every room," according to the news release. Over 2,300 items valued at $328,683, including clothing and hats, were recovered and retail industry representatives are working with investigators to inventory the merchandise.

Zharkova was booked into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of grand theft and was released on bail. The CHP didn't immediately say when the thefts started and when the task force started investigating the suspect. The Organized Retail Crime Task Force was formed in 2019 and Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill during a visit to Long Beach earlier this year that aims to curb retail theft. eastbaytimes.com

Lower Macungie, PA: Group steals $20k in products during flash robbery at Ulta
Police say it took a group of masked thieves less than a minute to steal $20k worth of items during a flash robbery at an Ulta Beauty store in Lower Macungie on Monday. Investigators say five men wearing face coverings entered the Ulta on North Krocks Road around 6:30 p.m. and started filling their bags with beauty products. The flash robbery took just 40 seconds before the thieves fled the store with $20k worth of items.  fox29.com

St George, UT: Officers recover personal information on dozens of people, along with 100 gift, debit cards during arrest
Three suspects from Nevada are being held without bail following a call reporting a retail theft that subsequently led to the recovery of more than 100 gift and debit cards, as well as documents listing the personal information of more than 75 individuals. The arrest was set in motion Friday just before midnight, when officers were dispatched to Walmart on Pioneer Road on a call involving a retail theft. According to charging documents filed with the courts, the store's loss prevention agents called authorities to report a suspect who had just left the store with a number of items that were never paid for. The suspect was first seen on surveillance video removing the theft-control tags from the merchandise before walking out of the store, the report stated, adding that from there, the suspect got into a vehicle and drove away. Officers located a vehicle less than 100 yards from the store in the parking lot of Dickey's Barbeque Pit that matched the car described by loss prevention.

Three occupants were in the vehicle, including the driver, 30-year-old Lloyd James Hoch; 33-year-old Wade Ryan Perkins, the suspect allegedly seen cutting the theft control tags off the merchandise; and a third suspect, 52-year-old Melissa Jean Robinson. All three suspects hailed from Las Vegas, Nevada. While speaking to the occupants, the report states, officers noticed drug paraphernalia located inside of the vehicle, and shortly thereafter a search ensued. During the search, officers recovered at least 100 gift cards, two debit cards and a notebook containing several lists documenting the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers belonging to at least 75 other individuals. Officers also recovered a number of tools typically used to pick locks, as well as suspected heroin wrapped in tin foil and a number of other drug-related items and paraphernalia. stgeorgeutah.com

Louisville, MS: Thieves steal 18 rifles, including AR-15s, after tearing hole in back of Mississippi pawnshop
The owners of City Gun and Pawn in Louisville woke up last Monday morning to find a hole in the back of their store and 18 of their best rifles gone. "It's a terrible impact to the community for those weapons to be running around," says Winston County Sheriff Jason Pugh. "The city police department is working diligently on this and we've offered to assist them and other agencies in any way that we can."

Investigators believe the break-in happened Saturday, November 20, at around 6 p.m. The Louisville Police Department is leading the investigation with help from the Winston County Sheriff's Department. "There was an alarm system on the building, and actually a good alarm system," said Sheriff Pugh. The sheriff says suspects bypassed the building's alarm system by tearing a hole in the tin wall at the back of the store. The burglary was not discovered until City Gun and Pawn management went to open the store around 8 a.m. wlbt.com

Hartford Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Northeast "Grab and Go" Theft Scheme
Leonard C Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANDRES BARCLETT, also known as "Coolie," 27, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 15 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for participating in an extensive commercial larceny spree. This case stems from "Operation American Steal," a long-term multi-agency investigation into numerous "grab and go" thefts from various retail fashion stores in Connecticut and nearby states. A "grab-and-go" scheme is a type of theft where one or more perpetrators enter a retail store, grab as many items of clothing or other goods as they can carry, leave the store without paying for the merchandise, and depart in a waiting getaway vehicle.

Barclett was part of a network of individuals who in 2019 and 2020 committed more than 50 grab and go thefts from Polo Ralph Lauren, T.J. Maxx, Balenciaga, Burberry, Macy's, Marshalls, Dick's Sporting Goods, Tommy Hilfiger, Sephora and other stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. They then transported the stolen merchandise to Connecticut and sold the items on the internet or the street. Barclett participated in at least 13 thefts resulting in losses of more than $50,000. Judge Bryant ordered Barclett to pay $19,968.85 in restitution. justice.gov

Riverside, CA: 'Mission Impossible'-Style Burglar Slithers Through Calif. Salon to Steal $8K

Update: San Francisco, CA: The woman charged with stealing $40,000 in Target merchandise is being released from jail ...now what?

Walnut Creek, CA: 2 Nordstrom retail theft suspects released from custody

Cary, NC: $40,000 worth of items stolen from Cary boutique

Mt Pleasant, WI: Racine woman allegedly stole more than $1,000 in merchandise from Festival Foods