Checkpoint Releases RFID Label for Metallic Drug Packaging

The Spiro Plus M750 label, certified by the DoseID Consortium, is designed to offer strong performance in environments containing liquids and high tag densities.

Radio frequency identification is being used to track pharmaceutical products from the point of manufacture to administration to patients, though the packaging sometimes causes challenges for the technology, due to the presence of highly reflective glass, metallic materials and liquids. RFID technology company Checkpoint Systems, a division of CCL Industries, aims to resolve these challenges with a UHF RFID tag known as the Spiro Plus M750 label, which it released commercially in September 2021.

This is the company's first product aimed specifically at the pharmaceutical industry, according to Checkpoint Systems. In parallel with the new product offering, Checkpoint has joined the DoseID Consortium, an organization focused on ensuring the interoperability, quality and performance of RFID products as they manage medications and equipment. The consortium has certified the Spiro Plus for use by hospital pharmacies, drug manufacturers and other supply chain members.

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Sensormatic Predictions: What to Expect on Super Saturday 2021

For retailers, the finish line to this busy and unpredictable holiday season is in sight. Super Saturday is right around the corner, bringing with it the last full shopping week before Christmas Day. U.S. Retailers have had to adapt and adjust continuously over the past two years - especially during the two holiday seasons touched by COVID-19 so far - and this year's Super Saturday (Dec. 18) will be no exception.

Here's what U.S. retailers can expect on the predicted second busiest in-store shopping day of the holiday season.

1. Shipping delays and cut-offs will drive shoppers to brick-and-mortar stores.
2. Stores are going to be busy, despite lingering concerns about the safety of in-store shopping.
3. Most shoppers who go into stores are doing so because they want to see and touch products.
4. Demand for help on the floor will likely hit record highs.
5. Execution of BOPIS and curbside pickup will be crucial.

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Genetec shares insights on protecting against rising brazen retail theft this holiday season

Awareness, collaboration, and technology can slow the growth of organized retail crime

MONTRÉAL, December 8, 2021- A recent spree of "smash and grab theft," a category of organized retail crime (ORC) in major U.S. cities has retailers and shoppers on alert this holiday season. The size, audacity, and violence of incidents in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago have drawn major media attention, but ORC has been a growing threat for decades. Genetec Inc. ("Genetec"), a leading technology provider of unified security, public safety, operations, and business intelligence solutions, shared insights into the phenomenon and strategies for addressing it.

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3xLOGIC Wraps up a Busy, Successful Year, Looks Ahead to 2022

As 2021 winds to a close, 3xLOGIC, a leading provider of integrated and intelligent security solutions, will host a webinar to highlight the lengthy list of new product introductions and enhancements from the past year and provide attendees with a peek into the company's future.

During the hour-long webinar, scheduled for December 9 at 2 p.m. ET, 3xLOGIC will provide attendees with in-depth information on the innovative video and detection solutions the company introduced in 2021, and outline its plans for continuing the trend of innovation into the next year - and beyond.

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US: 50.2M Cases - 812.2K Dead - 39.7M Recovered
Worldwide: 267.5M Cases - 5.2M Dead - 240.9M 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: 545
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Newest U.S. COVID Hot Spot
Michigan sets hospitalization record, leads nation in new cases per capita
Michigan continues to struggle amid the pandemic, setting a record this week for Covid-19 hospitalizations and leading the nation in per capita case rates, new data reveal.

The state also recently reported its highest seven-day average of new daily cases, at 10,014, on December 3. The average dipped on Monday to 8,585 a day -- still more than double where it was at the end of October, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Last month, the state health department said the federal government was sending doctors, nurses and others to support certain hospitals.

As of Monday, about 55% of Michigan's population was fully vaccinated, tying it for 26th among the 50 states for that metric and below the US average of 60%, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. cnn.com

Retail's Post-COVID 'New Normal'
Retailers must consider tech, convenience, experience in post-COVID-19 'new normal': Report
The 'new normal' after the COVID-19 pandemic has created the need for retailers to constantly evolve and transform operating models to become more adaptable to technology and enhance the consumer experience, said Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTILLP) and Mapic India, in a joint report.

The report, "Rewriting the Rules of New Retail", was revealed at the annual edition of the MAPIC India (formerly known as India Retail Forum) 2021 conference. The report talks about seven key trends fueling the evolution of 'new retail' -- commoditisation and premiumisation; digital success likely to require more effort in the next few years; smaller and closer stores; new models, increasing impact; convenience as the new battleground; health and sustainability; and fragmentation and consolidation.

The modern retail era in the post-pandemic world is being redefined by "evolving behaviour", says the report, adding that business is being re-imagined with a "home cocooned consumer" being habituated to "subscribe" services and consider "convenience" as a critical element to have things being delivered to their doorsteps.

Understanding these needs, the report finds that retailers are adopting the omni-channel strategy -- digitising their operations and focusing on sustainable business practices to operate efficiently. They are also making efforts to be authentic to thrive in a new business landscape.

Amid lockdowns and in the phygital world, companies are adapting to Retail 4.0, which will be the "ultimate convergence of the traditional and online channels". businesstoday.in

Nullifying Biden's Federal Vaccine Mandate
Senate poised to pass resolution to nullify Biden vaccine mandate
The Senate is expected to vote as soon as Wednesday to nullify President Biden's vaccine mandate for large employers, giving Republicans a big symbolic victory.

Republicans say they expect the resolution will pass with at least 52 votes after centrist Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) announced their support for the proposal. Every single Republican senator will vote for it.

The Congressional Review Act (CRA), which was enacted in 1996, sets up a fast-track process in the Senate that allows the minority party to force a vote on a resolution to disapprove of a federal rule. The CRA, however, does not have a fast-track process for the House.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday he isn't worried about a few Democratic defections on the vaccine mandate.

The Senate's anticipated passage of the resolution will set up a battle in the House, where Republicans plan to circulate a discharge petition to force Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to schedule a vote on the resolution. thehill.com

Another Biden Vaccine Mandate Halted in Court
U.S. court temporarily halts Biden's vaccine mandate for federal contractors nationwide
A U.S. district court in Georgia halted the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for federal contractors on Tuesday, writing that the president likely exceeded his authority.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia said the Associated Builders and Contractors, a national trade group that represents the construction industry, are likely correct that President Joe Biden exceeded his authority under the Procurement Act when he issued the mandate.

"In its practical application, it operates as a regulation of public health," District Judge R. Stan Baker wrote in the order. "It will also have a major impact on the economy at large, as it limits contractors' and members of the workforce's ability to perform work on federal contracts. Accordingly, it appears to have vast economic and political significance," Baker wrote.

The court said the mandate is "costly, laborious and likely to result in a reduction in available members of the workforce." White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Justice Department will "vigorously defend" the mandate in court. cnn.com

Judge grants hearing to reconsider de Blasio's vax mandate for NYC workers

Pfizer Says its Booster Offers Significant Protection Against Omicron

Cybersecurity & Ransomware Provisions Stripped from Defense Bill
Cyber incident reporting mandates suffer another congressional setback

Backers hope they might be able to advance the proposal by other means after being left out of a popular defense policy bill.

House and Senate negotiators have excluded provisions from a must-pass defense bill that would have mandated many companies to report major cyberattacks and ransomware payments to federal officials.

A compromise version of the fiscal 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released Tuesday leaves out the language, which would set timeframes for when critical infrastructure owners and operators must report major incidents and some companies would have to report making ransomware payments. Supporters of the language ran out of time to reach an agreement on the final phrasing before NDAA sponsors moved ahead on their final compromise bill, a senior Senate aide said.

It's a big setback for backers of the reporting mandates, as attaching provisions to the annual NDAA has been the path for a number of monumental cyber ideas to become law. Still, some key disputes over the reporting mandate provisions have been resolved, and backers might be able to soon advance the language separately, the aide said.

Bipartisan momentum has built in both chambers about the notion of forcing critical infrastructure owners and operators to report major cyberattacks to the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, following the sweeping SolarWinds cyber-espionage campaign. That hack, in which suspected Russian spies breached nine federal agencies, only came to light after the security firm FireEye disclosed it voluntarily.

Lawmakers say that with ample notification, incident responders could more quickly respond to attacks that have potentially devastating consequences, mitigating the fallout.

Senate Homeland Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., said in a statement to CyberScoop that he would continue to press for passage of the reporting mandates. cyberscoop.com

Cybercriminal vs. Cybercriminal
The Dark Web Has Its Own People's Court

Many underground forums have processes for arbitrating disputes between cybercriminals.

There may be no honor among cyberthieves. But at least a few appear to be abiding by a set of underground rules for sorting out differences among themselves over broken promises, unpaid dues, and ineffective malware.

Researchers from threat intelligence firm Analyst1 recently analyzed the workings of several major cybercrime forums and discovered at least two of them to have an informal kind of court system in place where criminals can file grievances and settle disputes with peers. Analyst1's research showed that dozens of cases from around the Dark Web escalate to these courts daily and wait for forum administration members to settle the disputes.

Analyst1 counted over 600 threads pertaining to cases that have been filed in these courts. The amounts at dispute in such cases typically ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, though a handful involved disputes over much higher sums. In April 2021, for instance, an operator and penetration testing outfit affiliated with the Conti ransomware group were sued for $2 million for not living up to an agreement involving the hacking and encryption of data of a US-based school system.

That case ended in favor of the two Conti affiliates after a "trial" process that lasted some one-and-a-half months. But in many other instances, criminals filing the disputes have won, says Jon DiMaggio, chief security strategist at Analyst1.

"It happens all the time," DiMaggio says. "The system would not work if the plaintiffs were not paid once the arbitrator makes a decision." darkreading.com

New Era of Threats Requires New Era of Solutions
From DDoS to bots and everything in between: Preparing for the new and improved attacker toolbox
A quick glance at global headlines shows a new breach, ransomware, DDoS, or bot attack on a near-daily basis. Orchestrating these attacks and selling hacking tools has become a lucrative business strategy for those on the dark side. Much of the increased success of attacks can be attributed to how threat actors and cybercriminals have industrialized their toolboxes to remain one step ahead of defenses and stay off radar.

To protect themselves, organizations need to take a step back to gain a wide-angle view of their defenses against cyberthreats. Defenses that only alert or stop one method will leave organizations exposed to others. Understanding the context behind attacks gives security teams the insight to monitor and block suspicious behavior and mount a more holistic defense.

Further, it is important to take an attacker-centric approach to defense. This mindset shift is more proactive than reactive and ensures attackers are both identified and tracked, even if their IP or identifying traits morph. This approach allows for adaptive enforcement and action in which attackers, both human and non-human, are systematically confronted to understand their intent. These actions could include blocking entities, interrogating, and mitigating, or tarpitting suspicious traffic.

The good news is that while the nature of cyberthreats has evolved over the years, so have cybersecurity defenses. It is imperative that organizations choose defense techniques that provide solutions for the modern problems they face. The best way to remain an easy target is to remain static by using outdated defense techniques. helpnetsecurity.com

Seizing Websites from Chinese Espionage Group
Court hands Microsoft control of websites linked to spying by Chinese hackers
Microsoft obtained a court order to seize websites from a Chinese government-linked espionage group that was using the sites to attack government agencies, think tanks and human rights organizations in 29 countries, the company said Monday.

The legal move is aimed at a hacking outfit that Microsoft calls Nickel, which is also known as APT15, Ke3chang or Vixen Panda. It's been around since at least 2010, and frequently spies on foreign affairs of interest to China.

"Obtaining control of the malicious websites and redirecting traffic from those sites to Microsoft's secure servers will help us protect existing and future victims while learning more about Nickel's activities," wrote Tom Burt, Microsoft's corporate vice president for customer security and trust. "Our disruption will not prevent Nickel from continuing other hacking activities, but we do believe we have removed a key piece of the infrastructure the group has been relying on for this latest wave of attacks."

Nickel's targets, whom Microsoft didn't name, included some in the U.S.

China has proven difficult to dissuade from conducting cyber-espionage. Even after taking fire this summer from an international coalition that blamed Beijing for exploiting Microsoft Exchange Server flaws in a manner that enabled a ransomware spree across the globe, China has since been tied to numerous other digital snooping campaigns. cyberscoop.com

2021 will be a record-breaking year for data breaches, what about 2022?
 

Canada Experiencing the Same Retail Crime Spike
Calgary, AB: Sannabis store owners ramp up security following violent robberies
Some cannabis shop owners in Calgary are increasing security measures after being targeted by thieves. Lake City Cannabis was robbed back in September, reportedly by three men who said they were armed.

There has been a rise in robberies at cannabis stores across Calgary. There have been 19 to date in 2021. Police said that's at least double the number reported in 2020. In some cases, the stores have been targeted repeatedly and the thieves have brandished weapons.

Police added that like pharmacy robberies, thefts at cannabis stores are usually violent.

"It's an aggressive-style takeover," Acting Det. Anthony Thompson said. "They don't just walk in and meander. They rush in, they rush over, they jump over the counter."

Police also said it is quite difficult to find the culprits of any robbery due to the fact everyone is masked up.

Thompson said shop owners may want to adopt "controlled access entry." "Leave the door locked, let them (customers) ring the doorbell," he advised. "Make them remove their mask, show some ID at the door, and then let them in."

Roch has been working with police to ramp up security at his store. He has also called on government and industry regulators to improve visibility and safety at cannabis stores, especially when it comes to storefronts. Right now most have an opaque covering on them.

"Anything that would help increase visibility into the store," he added. "So that anybody on the outside could see in and obviously our staff could see on the outside and be better prepared for what's (who's) coming in."
globalnews.ca

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Massive Amazon Outage
Major outage hits Amazon Web Services affecting many U.S. and global businesses
Amazon's cloud-service network suffered a major outage Tuesday, the company said, disrupting access to many popular sites. The service provides remote computing services to many governments, universities and companies, including The Associated Press.

Downdetector showed outages Tuesday for many Amazon services, including streaming service Prime Music, videoconferencing tool Chime and home-security system Ring. Many third-party applications that sit on top of Amazon's cloud were also receiving outage reports on Downdetector, such as Ticketmaster and streaming services from Walt Disney Co. and Netflix Inc. Some media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, experienced delayed publishing.

Roughly five hours after numerous companies and other organizations began reporting issues with Amazon Web Services, the company said in a post on the AWS status page that it had "mitigated" the underlying problem responsible for the outage. Shortly thereafter, it reported that "many services have already recovered" but noted that others were still working toward full recovery.

The issue primarily affected Amazon web services in the eastern U.S., it said. Problems began midmorning on the U.S. East Coast, said Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik Inc, a network intelligence firm - among them, Amazon's own e-commerce operations.

In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Richard Rocha confirmed that Amazon's warehouse and delivery operations had also experienced issues as a result of the AWS outage. Rocha added that the company is "working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible."

It was unclear how, or whether, the outage was affecting the federal government. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in an email response to questions that it was working with Amazon "to understand any potential impacts this outage may have for federal agencies or other partners." marketwatch.com  wsj.com

How Amazon Dodged the Supply Chain Crisis
Amazon is making its own containers and bypassing supply chain chaos with chartered ships and long-haul planes
For years, Amazon has been quietly chartering private cargo ships, making its own containers, and leasing planes to better control the complicated shipping journey of an online order. Now, as many retailers panic over supply chain chaos, Amazon's costly early moves are helping it avoid the long wait times for available dock space and workers at the country's busiest ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

"Los Angeles, there's 79 vessels sitting out there up to 45 days waiting to come into the harbor," ocean freight analyst Steve Ferreira told CNBC in November. "Amazon's latest venture that I've been tracking in the last two days, it waited two days in the harbor."

By chartering private cargo vessels to carry its goods, Amazon can control where its goods go, avoiding the most congested ports.

"Who else would think of putting something going into an obscure port in Washington, and then trucking it down to L.A.? Most people are thinking, well, just bring the ship into L.A. But then you're experiencing those two-week and three-weeks delay. So Amazon's really taken advantage of some of the niche strategies I believe that the market needs to employ," Ferreira said.

Still, Amazon has seen a 14% rise in out-of-stock items and an average price increase of 25% since January 2021, according to e-commerce management platform CommerceIQ.

Amazon has been on a spending spree to control as much of the shipping process as possible. It spent more than $61 billion on shipping in 2020, up from just under $38 billion in 2019. Now, Amazon is shipping 72% of its own packages, up from less than 47% in 2019 according to SJ Consulting Group. cnbc.com

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Memphis, TN: Burglars steal $100k in streetwear in minutes
Memphis police are looking for a group of burglars who stole around $100,000 worth of items from a streetwear store during a smash and grab early Tuesday morning. Nate Packard who is one of the owners of 'Bad Timing' said the store's alarm alerted him at around 2 a.m. after the crooks broke out a window in their front doors. The burglary was all caught on camera and showed the thieves pulling off the heist in less than seven minutes. "It was definitely organized. They knew what they were doing," said Packard. "It was like nine people total. They all came in and went straight to the money racks." He said the burgers cleaned out two racks that contained one-of-a-kind, vintage designer streetwear. wreg.com

2 suspects tied to Organized Retail theft crew arrested in Redondo Beach as police see more thefts at the Galleria
Two people connected to an organized retail theft crew were arrested as they were leaving a Redondo Beach business with about $2,400 worth of stolen merchandise, police announced Monday. The arrests come as police in Redondo Beach have seen an increase in retail thefts at the Galleria mall in recent months, Redondo Beach Police Department officials said in a news release.

Since Nov. 5, a group of thieves has repeatedly targeted a specific retailer at the mall, police said. The same store, which did not wish to be identified, was hit seven times, Redondo Beach Police Lt. Fabian Saucedo said. The group of about three to four people would run into the business, fill up bags with merchandise and then run out. "They clean out the store in front of the employees and customers," Saucedo said. "They don't care. It's very blatant."

The group has so far stolen more than $15,000 in merchandise, according to the Police Department. Detectives in Redondo Beach tied the organized retail theft crew to similar thefts in Orange and Los Angeles counties, including in Downey, Westminster and Palos Verdes. On Saturday, Redondo Beach officers arrested two people who were leaving a retail business on Hawthorne Boulevard with $2,400 worth of stolen merchandise, police said.

Redondo Beach police are among several law enforcement agencies that have had to step up patrols near malls as California sees a recent rash of brazen "flash mob style" smash-and-grab robberies. ktla.com

Two Businessmen Charged With Running Fencing Operation Out of Suburban Chicago Stores
CHICAGO - Two businessmen have been charged in federal court with running a fencing operation out of their suburban Chicago stores.

ZIAD I. ZAYED, also known as "Zee," 46, and MOSAS I. ZAYED, 33, both of Frankfort, Ill., are charged with conspiracy to receive and dispose of stolen property across state lines. The Zayeds, who are brothers.

The Zayeds used their store - Crestwood Electronics Inc. in Crestwood, Ill. - and other businesses to knowingly purchase stolen electronic devices and other merchandise, re-package the items, and then ship them to re-sellers out of state and overseas. Some of the items fenced by the Zayeds included laptop computers, fitness tracking devices, and digital cameras that were stolen last year from railcars near Chicago, the charges allege. justice.gov

DOJ: Hartford Man Charged with Offenses Stemming from Theft of Firearms from South Windsor Warehouse

50 Pistols Stolen in Transit

SHAMEIK CAMARA, 32, of Hartford, was arrested yesterday on a federal criminal complaint charging him with offenses related to the theft of firearms from a South Windsor warehouse in August.

in August 2021, a shipment of 50 Zigana, Model PX-9G2 pistols was stolen from R&L Carriers, a national freight shipping company with a warehouse located at 540 Sullivan Avenue in South Windsor. Even though R&L employees were aware of the theft shortly after it occurred in mid-August. Investigators identified Camara after seeing Facebook Marketplace and Offer Up posts selling high-end speakers and sports trading cards that were similar to items stolen from the R&L warehouse at about the same time of the firearm shipment theft. It is alleged that Camara, a previously convicted felon, possessed one of the stolen firearms at the time of his arrest. Two additional stolen firearms have been recovered by law enforcement. justice.gov

Miami, FL: Surveillance Captures Thieves Stealing $62K Gold Chain From West Miami Jewelry Store
Police are looking for two people who were caught by surveillance cameras stealing a $62,000 gold chain from a West Miami jewelry store. The theft happened Monday at Wilian Diaz Joyería along Southwest 8th Street, police said. One suspect was with an employee looking at the gold chain inside the store. His accomplice comes to the front door from outside and rings the doorbell to get in, police said. When the employee opens the door, the suspect inside darts out of the store with the gold chain. The store is offering a $5,000 reward if anyone can return the necklace or identify the suspects. nbcmiami.com

Hernando County, FL: HCSO catches up with barcode-wielding thieves in $10k thefts
Detectives from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) caught up earlier this month with a team of thieves suspected of using a bogus barcode to steal more than $10,000 worth of merchandise from Walmart stores in Spring Hill and Brooksville. The team is also suspected to have been responsible for similar thefts in Pasco County. Earlier this year, Jeffrey Evans 56, his 54-year-old brother Timothy Evans and Tracy Sullivan age 50 were suspects in the theft of merchandise from the Walmart Spring Hill. According to HCSO Deputy Public Information Office (PIO) Michael Terry, the trio allegedly used a barcode from a lesser priced item to purchase items of greater value in 40 separate incidents over the course of two months totaling $3,683. The same three suspects allegedly used the same method to steal $6,379 worth of merchandise in 66 incidents from the Walmart store in Brooksville. hernandosun.com

Delavan, WI: Man arrested after trying to steal power tools, guns, crossbow from Fleet Farm
A man reportedly caught stealing a $750 power tool brought his own tools inside Delavan's Fleet Farm with the intention to steal merchandise, including guns. Hayden Johnson Taylor, 27, of Capron, Ill., is being charged with felony theft, intentionally taking more than $500; attempted theft, movable property; and attempted misdemeanor theft.  lakegenevanews.net

Big Flats, NY: Smash-and-grab thieves steal 'substantial amount' of jewelry at Arnot Mall