Inside Look At Walmart's Massive Cybersecurity Operation
A first-hand look inside Walmart’s robust security operations

The scope of Walmart’s security operations speaks to the lengths enterprises must go to remain secure.

If security is not a priority for a customer, Geisler said, Walmart still wants customers to trust it will do what’s right.

Many businesses don’t make security a priority until it’s too late. The costs of cybercrime damage are expected to reach $8 trillion this year, up from $6 trillion in 2022, and the World Economic Forum is warning of the potential for global instability following a catastrophic cyber event.

Yet, continued investment in business cybersecurity is not guaranteed as the market navigates a downturn.

In an era where breaches are the norm and consumers grow apathetic to privacy, an emphasis on security and trust goes underappreciated. Fines imposed by the Federal Trade Commission or the European Union’s data privacy efforts do little to change enterprise treatment of data. Repeat offenders say they are investing in cyber, but additional spending does little to show security cultures can change.

For Walmart, its seriousness about security is depicted through its scale. Its cyber hubs have a global footprint, allowing Walmart to run security operations 24/7/365 with the help of shift work and time zones (a security operations center in Bangalore, India complements the schedules of U.S.-based security staff, for example).

Each year, those SOCs process an average of six trillion data points each year — data Walmart internalizes and shares with the broader security community. The company also operates a fully accredited forensics lab to aid data recovery, complete with a clean room, specialized X-ray technology and hot-air soldering. And a tour of one of its data centers, where rule-enforcing staff flanked curious guests, illustrated operational redundancy.

There’s little room for failure, just failover.

Walmart does not share information on how much it spends on cybersecurity, nor does it say what percent of its 20,000 Walmart Global Tech employees — responsible for operating the retailer’s foundational technology — work in infosec. A tour of Walmart’s facilities only hints at the scope of its operations, but an up close look close indicates few companies could independently run at such scale.

Walmart’s cybersecurity is not just a best-in-show example. It may be the exception. cybersecuritydive.com


Cybersecurity Industry Not Immune to Latest Layoff Spree
The Effect of Cybersecurity Layoffs on Cybersecurity Recruitment

How a layoff-induced influx of experienced professionals into the job seeker market is affecting or might affect, the skills gap and recruitment in cybersecurity.

Cybersecurity is not immune to the current round of staff trimming – and it includes security leaders as well as security engineers. Ultimately, it’s a cost cutting exercise; and organizations can save as much money by cutting one leader’s position as they can by cutting two engineers. “Organizations are asking themselves if they can survive letting one person go but still get the job done with the remaining team,” explains Sasson. “If the answer is yes or even maybe, they’re tending to let go of the more highly paid and highly skilled people because they think maybe they can do more with less.”

That’s a top-down approach to staff reductions, but the same argument is used in a bottom-up approach. Joseph Thomssen is senior cybersecurity recruiter at NinjaJobs (a community-run job platform developed by information security professionals). “A company that is not security focused may feel like they can rely on their senior employees to pick up lower-level responsibilities,” he said, “and this can be detrimental to a security team.”

The overall result is that we now have laid off cybersecurity engineers looking for new employment, and we have employed cybersecurity leaders looking for alternative and safer positions. “Many of these layoffs in cybersecurity seem to be short-term attempts to save money,” adds Thomssen – but he fears it may backfire on companies reducing their security workforce. Expecting fewer staff to take on more responsibility will likely have a detrimental effect – it may cause burnout. “I call it the layoff/quit combination,” he said.

Of course, there are many cybersecurity experts who believe this is a false and dangerous approach, and that cybersecurity is a necessity that should be expanded rather than cut. But that is an argument put forward by every business department in times of economic stress.

One effect of the cybersecurity layoffs and the accompanying increase in the number of experienced people seeking employment is that the recruitment market is moving from a candidate market toward a hirer market – just like home buying fluctuates between a buyer and a seller market depending on supply (properties available) and demand (money to buy).  securityweek.com


More Global Cybercrime Cooperation
The Abraham Accords expand with cybersecurity collaboration
The United States and four allies in the Middle East and North Africa are announcing today that they’re formally expanding a 2020 deal normalizing relations between Israel and a handful of other nations in the region to include cybersecurity.

The arrangement, which is still developing, will involve increased sharing of information on cybersecurity threats, as well as the potential for tabletop exercises and more, among some signatories of the Abraham Accords. Department of Homeland Security Undersecretary for Strategy, Policy and Plans Rob Silvers, who traveled to Israel for the announcement and further talks, said the expansion builds on existing cyber collaboration between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United States to include Bahrain and Morocco.

“We’ll be meeting as a group to chart out how we can deepen our work on cyberdefense,” Silvers told The Cybersecurity 202 in an exclusive interview. “Our countries face common cyber challenges — obviously, we all face cybercrime, ransomware and so forth.

“Iran is a dangerous, destabilizing actor across the region,” Silvers said. “We have seen their attacks on U.S. targets as well as targets across the Middle East.”

One potential policy concern arising from the agreement: Bahrain, Morocco and the UAE have all been accused of abusing spyware, and the UAE in particular has a history of using cyber for malign purposes. Critics say it’s concerning that the U.S. government, which has sanctioned spyware firms like NSO Group, would support those countries’ cyber activities given their histories of allegedly using hacking tools maliciously. washingtonpost.com


New CISA Supply Chain Security Office
CISA establishes new office to ‘operationalize’ supply chain security
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is building out a new supply chain risk management office to help agencies, industry and other partners put a torrent of recent guidance and policies into practice.

The new office is being spearheaded by Shon Lyublanovits, a former General Services Administration official. She now leads the project management office for cyber supply chain risk management (C-SCRM) within CISA’s cybersecurity division.

In 2018, Congress passed the Strengthening and Enhancing Cyber-capabilities by Utilizing Risk Exposure (SECURE) Technology Act, establishing the Federal Acquisition Security Council to develop government-wide policies and criteria for security IT supply chains.

The council has designated CISA as its “information sharing agency,” according to Sean Peters, deputy program manager for the FASC at the Office of Management and Budget.

Agencies have jump-started efforts to develop their own C-SCRM programs, while new laws and executive orders continue to pile on additional requirements and considerations for managing risks in the technologies the government purchases. federalnewsnetwork.com


On deck for the business of cybersecurity: Fire sales and due diligence

Got pop-ups? How to stop them, according to cyber security experts

Confessions of a Canadian Shoplifter
As food costs soar and self-checkouts multiply, more people are stealing — and they’re not sorry

Retailers are losing billions & fear a recession will only make the problem worse.

Tony has been shoplifting most of his food and he feels no guilt. “I shoplift 80 per cent of my groceries,” the Toronto-based 32-year-old said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Since moving to the city from North York two years ago, his monthly pay of $2,000 isn’t enough to live on amid rising costs, he said, and he’s struggling to pay the bills.

Shoplifting — theft under $5,000 — is a criminal offence in Canada. But that hasn’t deterred Tony, who feels that stealing from big supermarket chains to survive should not be a crime.

Shoplifting has surged across the country in recent months thanks to rising prices and the introduction of more self-checkout machines, retailers and industry experts say. Ironically, retailers’ increasing reliance on self-checkouts to slash labour costs and fill staffing gaps is now making it easier for shoppers to steal — and it’s costing stores billions.

Shoplifting on the rise

While data on shoplifting incidents for 2022 is not yet available, shoplifting was on the rise well before the pandemic hit. Before 2020, rates of shoplifting had been increasing for six years, with larger increases in 2018 and 2019, according to data from Statistics Canada. From 2010 to 2019, the rate of shoplifting incidents jumped 39 per cent.

But as businesses were forced shut and Canadians stayed indoors due to nationwide lockdowns beginning in March 2020, shoplifting incidents plummeted, declining by 35 per cent during the first pandemic year, and then rising three per cent when stores reopened to in-person shopping in 2021.

‘Taking advantage’

Consumers grappling with soaring food prices are directing their ire at supermarkets, with accusations they are profiting from the worst inflation Canadians have seen in decades. And in fact, the country’s big three supermarket chains — Loblaw, Empire (Sobeys) and Metro — have seen their profits rise as food prices have climbed, according to a recent Star analysis.

In response, some shoplifters are justifying their actions as retaliation for what they see as corporate greed or simply as a means to obtain necessities they can no longer afford.  thestar.com


Armed Store Robberies Front & Center in Canada's Supreme Court Ruling
Canada's high court upholds mandatory prison sentences for two separate armed robbery cases

Mandatory minimum sentences for gun crime constitutional: Supreme Court
Sentencing convicted criminals who break the law with firearms to mandatory prison terms doesn’t violate Canada’s Constitution, the country’s top court ruled Friday.

In a majority decision, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled mandatory sentences handed out in two separate armed robberies by Alberta courts do not amount to a violation of Sec. 12 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment.

Two cases formed the basis of the decision. In September 2016, Curtis Zwozdesky acted as the getaway driver for two masked men who robbed a store in northeastern Alberta — a crime that saw the two hold-up men assault employees and fire a gun at a shelf.

Arrested and pleading guilty to robbery with a firearm, Zwozdesky challenged the mandatory four years handed to him during sentencing. The judge found his sentence wasn’t grossly disproportionate, but still handed him three years.

Another case involved the robbery of an Edmonton store in June 2017 where 24-year-old Ocean William Storm Hilbach and his 13-year-old accomplice violently robbed and assaulted employees, making away with $290 in lottery tickets.

Hilbach, who was on probation and subject to a firearms prohibition, held an unloaded shotgun on employees while his accomplice assaulted them. At trial, Hilbach pleaded guilty to robbery using a prohibited firearm and was handed the offence’s mandatory minimum of five years in prison.

The previous government, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, introduced mandatory minimum sentences for a number of offences — an effort to crack down on crime. Conservative justice critic Rob Moore praised the Supreme Court for upholding what he called a “common sense” policy.

Moore accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of undoing work by the Conservative Harper government to take action on violent crime, contributing to a “catch-and-release” style justice system. o.canada.com


Canada Dealing With Crime Closures
Crime-plagued Canadian McDonald's that police had to visit on daily basis

'When you come here, you're afraid,' one resident said of McDonald's location

A crime-plagued Canadian McDonald’s that gained international notoriety nearly a decade ago for a viral video of a brawl involving a raccoon is set to close. The franchise owner of the McDonald’s on Rideau Street in Ottawa told Insider this month that the location will close, saying it was "a business decision based on the viability of this specific site."

Crime was part of the routine at the fast-food spot, where police responded to various incidents of drug use and violence.

"Officers attend this location on a daily basis to address issues including vagrancy, liquor license violations, illicit drug use, and incidents of violence," former Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau wrote to the CEO of McDonald's Canada in March 2019, Insider reported.

In 2017 alone, local police responded to the McDonald’s 900 times, according to Bordeleau, and received 843 calls for police in 2018. Police responded to the location seven times a day for two days in a row in April 2019, he said. foxbusiness.com


Canada's Supply Chain Issues Will Continue
Supply Chain Issues For Canadian Retailers Expected Into 2025: Expert
Interestingly 2022 was a period of adjustment across the supply chain, and it still continues to evolve as we enter 2023, says expert Gary Newbury.

“As consumers flocked back to stores, retailers found, once again, they were in a mad scramble to rebalance demand and their, often disjointed inventory position. War broke out late February and the world discovered complex supply chains originating or going via Ukraine. Energy reliance within the EU on Russia became abundantly clear, spiking further inflationary pressures. Some doubt has existed whether Canada is in a recession. The rapid upward trajectory of interest rates during 2022, suggested the Bank of Canada thought we were and started market interventions to calm inflationary pressures, I would argue a year too late.”

Newbury said the years 2023 and 2024 need to be looked at together as he believes we still have another two years of supply chain adjustment and transformation ahead until the final stage of rebalancing during 2025 arrives. retail-insider.com


'I Couldn't Stay Closed':
How Canadian Tire helped Port Colborne citizens through the storm

Best Buy Canada reportedly laying off 700

Zellers To Launch Food Trucks In Effort To Drive Traffic To Bay Stores

Subway Strategically Increasing Pace Of Canadian Location Expansion