Leading Australia and New Zealand retailer, Kathmandu, deploys ShopperTrak Analytics from Sensormatic Solutions

Outdoor adventure destination uses shopper traffic counting solution to make better informed decisions

Johnson Controls today announced that Sensormatic Solutions, its leading global retail solutions portfolio, is deploying the ShopperTrak retail traffic solution with advanced analytics to help Kathmandu make data-driven decisions in everything from marketing campaigns to managing staff schedules to operational effectiveness.

A market leader with over 160 stores across Australia and New Zealand, Kathmandu offers innovative outdoor apparel and gear designed for rugged landscapes and adventure-seeking consumers. As retailers today are reimagining their businesses with advanced technologies that present meaningful customer engagement opportunities and create a direct path toward higher profit margins, Kathmandu is no exception. sensormatic.com

Retail sales expected to climb between 3.5% and 4.1% in 2020, unless coronavirus derails growth, NRF says
Retail sales in 2020 are forecast to rise between 3.5% and 4.1%, topping $3.9 trillion, despite the headwinds of a lingering trade war, the coronavirus outbreak and an upcoming presidential election, the industry’s trade group said Tuesday.

“The nation’s record-long economic expansion is continuing, and consumers remain the drivers of that expansion,” National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement.

NRF said its 2020 forecast assumes the coronavirus does not become a global pandemic.

“We are not seeing any deterioration in the financial health of the consumer,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “Consumers are in better shape than any time in the last few years. Most important for the year ahead will be the ongoing strength in the job market, which will support the consumer income and spending that are both key drivers of the economy. The bottom line is that the economy is in a good place despite the ups and downs of the stock market and other uncertainties. Growth remains solid.” nrf.com

Coronavirus Update

Coronavirus is Officially Here With 1st "Community Spread" Case in Sacramento

CDC warns to prepare for spread of coronavirus symptoms, cases
U.S. health officials issued what appears to be a strong warning about novel coronavirus on Tuesday - it is not a matter of if, but when it will spread in communities in the U.S. and that Americans should prepare for "significant disruption" to their lives as a result of the virus.

"Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in this country," Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a coronavirus news conference.
Messonnier added that Americans should channel their concern about the virus, officially called COVID-19, into preparing for its arrival.

Coronavirus Symptoms: abc7ny.com

Trump Requests $1.8 Billion for Coronavirus Response
The request includes $1.25 billion in new spending for the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the ability to use $535 million in previously appropriated funds set aside to fight the Ebola virus. The spending request would give HHS flexibility in its response, but much of the funding would be used for vaccines and vaccine development. associationsnow.com

San Francisco declared a state of emergency over coronavirus
San Francisco Mayor London Breed recently declared a state of emergency in preparation for a possible coronavirus outbreak. businessinsider.com

ASAE Provides Issue Roundup: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-2019) Resources

Key Resources:

• NAFSA Coronavirus Critical Resources
• United States Travel Association Emergency Preparedness and Response: Coronavirus Toolkit
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce “Understanding the Coronavirus” webinar
• World Health Organization Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Summary
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Travel Notices

How coronavirus could force the work-from-home movement

U.S. Companies Discussing It Skyrockets

In February so far, 77 public company transcripts mention “work from home” or “working from home,” according to financial data platform Sentieo. That’s up from just four mentions of the phrase in the same month a year ago. The vast majority of those documents also mention coronavirus.

Remote workers make up anywhere from about 5 percent (those who typically work from home) to nearly two-thirds (who sometimes work remotely) of the workforce, depending on the measurement. What’s certain is that the trend has been ticking up and a pandemic like coronavirus has the potential to fast-track the move by making it more universally accepted and prominent. redcode.com

CSO: A security guide for pandemic planning: 7 key steps

Poll: Most Americans Concerned There Will Be a Major Coronavirus Outbreak in the U.S.

Zebra Donates Technology to China Hospitals to Assist in Epidemic Prevention Efforts

New York: Coronavirus concerns land 83 in voluntary isolation in Nassau County

Stay up to date on the CDC’s website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov
 

Clearview AI Facial Recognition
Hacked - Sued - Getting Grilled by Congress
 

Clearview AI, the world’s scariest facial recognition company, can’t even keep its own data secure

Clearview AI has recently attracted criticism from Congress for its cavalier use of facial recognition technology.

Clearview AI, the controversial and secretive facial recognition company, just experienced its first major data breach — a scary prospect considering the sheer amount and scope of personal information in its database, as well as the fact that access to it is supposed to be restricted to law enforcement agencies.

According to a memo sent to its customers which was obtained by the Daily Beast, an intruder gained “unauthorized access” to the company’s client list, its number of user accounts, and a number of searches its customers have conducted. That client list might be particularly sensitive, as Clearview claims it works with hundreds of federal and state law enforcement agencies. (A BuzzFeed News report said those numbers are inflated.)

The good news is that there is no evidence that Clearview’s database of 3 billion photos was hacked. But the fact that the company could be breached at all is worrisome enough. Clearview says it obtained these photos by scraping publicly available images from all over the internet. The company’s software uses proprietary facial recognition technology to help law enforcement agencies identify suspects by matching their images with those in the database. redcode.com

Clearview AI Facial Recogniton Database Hacked

Entire Client Files Stolen

A new facial recognition company, which claims to be used by over 600 law enforcement agencies, has suffered a data breach, according to the company.

Clearview AI confirmed with Fox News that its entire client list was stolen in the breach. According to the company, someone gained access to a list of all of Clearview’s customers, the number of accounts used by those customers and the number of searches they have conducted.

The software, first outed in a New York Times investigation earlier this year, claims to identify anyone with just a single image by instantly running an image through its database of over 3 billion internet photos. Law enforcement agencies had been using the app in secret, and have reported how accurate and helpful the technology has been in identifying suspects.

This breach is significant in that privacy advocates, and some law enforcement officials, have voiced cybersecurity concerns about the brand new app’s potential vulnerability to hacking. Clearview AI stopped short of calling this incident a hack.

Gurbir Grewal, the attorney general of New Jersey, has temporarily banned the application in the state's police departments, citing cybersecurity and privacy concerns, despite the fact that the application already has been used by one department to help identify a pedophile. Article continues here.

Clearview AI Class Action Lawsuit Over Privacy Concerns - Willful, Reckless & Negligent
Scraping Internet Images isn't Facial Recognition

Clearview facial recognition app may pose 'chilling' privacy risk, senator says

Click here to read today's full Clearview AI coverage
 

Payroll Scrutinized Drug Store Industry Scandal in the News Again
Walgreens embroiled in a stressed-out pharmacist scandal

Deleting Bullet Points - Removing Slides From Audit Presentation

Walgreens pharmacists have complained of being overwhelmed with work to the point of making errors, but a report seems to indicate that this was a message the retailer wanted to keep hidden from the public.

Last year, business consultancy Tata Consulting Services, which was working with Walgreens, discovered stressed-out, overworked pharmacists who attributed their mistakes to unreasonable workplace expectations at the stores, according to a New York Times article. Emails and chat logs, however, reveal that consultants were advised to keep that information out of a report that was presented this month.

Amy Bixler, director of pharmacy and retail operations at Walgreens, directed the consultants to delete a bullet point in a presentation that addressed how pharmacists ignore proper procedure in order to meet corporate metrics. One of the slides which directly addressed pharmacists making stress-related errors was also removed.

The retailer is not alone among pharmacies, however, in facing accusations of putting the public at risk due to the pressure they put on pharmacists, according to the Times. CVS and other major chains have drawn similar heat, with pharmacies described as “understaffed” and “chaotic.”

Walgreens worked last year to disentangle itself from a different scandal — its erstwhile partnership with fraudulent medical testing startup Theranos. In May of 2019, the chain faced a shareholder lawsuit over a perceived failure to vet Theranos, according to Bloomberg Law. Walgreens called for the lawsuit to be thrown out. retailwire.com

Reputation Lost Business for Scandalized Nygard Brand

Dillard's, with nearly 300 locations, has cancelled all orders with company founded by Canadian fashion mogul

Dillard's cutting business over recent sexual assault allegations against the company's founder, Peter Nygard.

The women are accusing the clothing company founder of raping them at his mansion in the Bahamas and operating what they say is a "sex trafficking ring."

"In light of the serious allegations concerning Peter Nygard, which are in direct opposition to our core values, Dillard's has refused current deliveries, cancelled all existing orders and suspended all future purchases from Nygard," Dillard's said in an emailed statement on Wednesday. cbc.ca

4 Best Practices for Second-Chance Hiring

How to successfully hire candidates with criminal records

Today, two-thirds of HR professionals surveyed reported that their companies have hired people with a criminal record, with only 14 percent of respondents saying they would be unwilling to hire such an applicant.

Here are strategies that can help organizations make the best hires with the best outcomes.

Make second-chance hiring part of your corporate culture. Second-chance hiring is less likely to work if an organization is doing it for the wrong reasons.

It's also important to note that—for those companies that have hired second-chance candidates— 82 percent of hiring managers said the quality of those candidates is as good as, if not better than, someone without a criminal record, said Richard Bronson, CEO of 70 Million Jobs, a job-search site dedicated to this population.

Provide training and work support.

Establish mentoring. Fewer than 3 in 10 companies have a formal mentoring program, but research has shown that it can improve employee retention rates and boost employee satisfaction. The practice is even more beneficial for second-chance candidates since it can help those employees feel like part of the organization more quickly and help them avoid common job pitfalls,

Default to transparency—but keep employee details confidential. You might think that it's important to let managers and executives know which new hires have prison records, but this is a very bad idea, Martin said. "The HR team should treat that information like a medical condition. Very rarely should anyone know about it," she said.

That doesn't mean you don't talk about the initiative, though, Bronson said. While people have a right to privacy, you still need to let current employees know that you're embracing second-chance hiring and why you're doing it. The facts regarding hiring those with records are much different than the widely held negative biases. Educate your workforce on why you're accessing this pool of talent. Let them share ownership [and] they'll also be sharing pride." shrm.org

SHRM's Workplace Violence Resource Center
The Society of Human Resources provides resources and educational programs for a host of subject as one might expect.

Certainly, all of which discuss the subjects from the HR prospective. An important channel to the organization and to the LP and AP efforts. And the SHRM is one of the strongest specialty trade associations in the U.S. So they have the resources to produce great content. Content that can benefit our community. Just a thought. -Gus Downing
 

Stage Stores Cuts Jobs HQ & Closing 60 of Gordman's stores

National Restaurant Association Releases 2020 State of the Restaurant Industry Report


Quarterly Results
*Carvana Q4 Units sold 50,370 up 82% YoY, Q4 Revenue up 89% YoY, Full Yr. Units sold 117,549 up 89% YoY, Full Yr. Revenue ($3.94B) up 101% YOY
Fastest organic growth of any automotive retailer in U.S. history (+83,441 retail units)

*MedMen Q2 revenue $44.1M - up 50% YoY

Best Buy Q4 comp's up 3.2%, Domestic comp's up 3.4%, Inter. comp's up 1.6%, Domestic online up 18.7%,
Best Buy Full Yr. comp's up 2.1%, Domestic comp's up 2.3%, Inter. comp's down 0.5%, Domestic online up 17%

L Brands Q4 consolidated comp's down 2%, sales down 2.8%, full yr. comp's down 1%, sales down 2.4%
   Victoria's Secret comp's down 10%, full yr comp's down 7%, sales down 8%
   Bath & Body comp's up 10%, full yr comp's up 10%, sales up 12%

J.C. Penney Q4 comp's down 7%, net sales down 7.7%, full yr. comp's down 7.7%, net sales down 8.1%

* Carvana reports selling used cars as units and doesn't break it down by location obviously.
* MedMen, a marijuana manufacturer, distributor and retailer does not provide a complete store breakdown of sales yet.
 

RSA Conference - Day 3 Recap

Keynote Highlights, Early Stage Expo, Launch Pad, and More

Another exciting day at RSAC in the books! We’ve learned a lot in the past few days and shared some incredible moments, from hearing the exciting tales of sailing around the world and travels in space to witnessing many fantastic speakers discuss the latest in cybersecurity. We’re officially past the halfway mark, but the fun isn’t over just yet. Let’s see what took place on Day 3.

Nine keynotes took the South and West stages. The day opened with Hacking Exposed: Global Threat Brief, where attendees heard Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of Crowdstrike, discuss the most novel attacks in the current global landscape, including the cyber strategies of various nation states. “Policy is the next frontier,” shared Alperovitch. “Norms are established by government inaction or action, and in the coming years, government regulation, like GDPR, CCPA, Section 230 and national data breach laws, among others, establishes what sort of attacks we tolerate and which we do not.”

The Genomics: A New Frontier for Privacy and Security panel featured a wide-range of experts representing the healthcare, security and genetic testing industries. They explored the opportunities and challenges of genomics for individuals, companies and law enforcement, all with unique privacy implications.

Sharon Terry, President and CEO of Genetic Alliance, said, “Consumers must be the central focus and rewarded for sharing this information,” while Kathy Hibbs, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer of 23andMe, noted that the company’s customers “spend the most time on the privacy page of our website.” Mike Wilson, SVP and Chief Security Officer of Molina Healthcare, wrapped up the discussion by saying that “privacy is largely a philosophical discussion and should continue as this technology evolves.”

In an afternoon keynote, Navigating Privacy in a Data-Driven World: Treating Privacy as a Human Right, Jules Polonetsky, Chief Executive Officer at the Future of Privacy Forum, discussed why privacy is a basic human right in the ever-evolving technology industry. Jules explored how society is at a tipping point because new high-tech products like drones or biometric clothing are integrating themselves in our lives and, as the world around becomes more advanced, society must adjust. To protect consumer privacy, he argued, new legislation needs to be created because “if we mess up the same way we messed up with cookies” it will be similar but worse. rsaconference.com
 

NIST Releases Roadmap to Creating Partnerships to Build the Cybersecurity Workforce

Partnerships to Build the Cybersecurity Workforce

The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) released a report outlining best practices in building the cybersecurity workforce through regional partnerships.

The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) is addressing the critical issue by energizing and promoting a robust network and ecosystem of cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development. Supporting this mission, objective 3.3 of the NICE Strategic Plan emphasizes guiding career development and workforce planning by facilitating state and regional consortia to identify cybersecurity pathways addressing local workforce needs.

According to NIST, "This publication was created for those seeking guidance on how to organize and facilitate regional efforts to enhance cybersecurity education and workforce development. While this document explores some elements for consideration when forming alliances, it is not intended to be a how-to guide that gives specific instructions. NIST believes that this is best left to the local or regional experts who are familiar with the needs of their specific community."

(NIST) is pleased to announce the NIST Internal Report (NISTIR) 8287: A Roadmap for Successful Regional Alliances and Multistakeholder Partnerships to Build the Cybersecurity Workforce.

Click here to access full report. nist.gov

Modified Draft CCPA Regulations: How They Impact Businesses

A Privacy Expert Sorts Through the Clarifications of Law's Requirements

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra recently issued modified draft regulations to carry out the California Consumer Privacy Act that are designed to help businesses take a more pragmatic approach to privacy. The proposed regulations clarify, for example, that businesses are not obligated to search for personal information in response to a consumer's request if certain conditions are met, says Caitlin Fennessy, research director at the International Association of Privacy Professionals. govinfosecurity.com

Ensure Your Cloud Security Is as Modern as Your Business
After speaking with CISOs, CTOs, and chief data officers, it's clear to me that we're still not speaking the language of cloud security in a way everybody can easily understand.

In addition, clarity is missing on who owns what part of cloud security and who is doing the necessary work to maintain it throughout the organization. It doesn't help that there is hidden or abstracted complexity in cloud platforms that's difficult to account for at all times. Combined with the rapid pace of technology change in general and the pressure that comes from the "push to production" in typical organizations, these factors all add to the overall risk we face in the cloud.

Here are three steps to consider that will make sure your cloud security is as modern as your business:

1. Converge Your People
Align your IT decision-makers and your IT organization around an end-to-end view of infrastructure security and information protection that includes cloud environments. Start by standardizing the language used to discuss cloud and data security. It's the first step in furthering your organization's collective understanding.

2. Converge Your Services and Tools
On the cloud development side, there has been an explosion of tools and services being built for specific purposes. While many of these are consumed as managed services, they introduce a new demand on resources and potentially can increase risk. This is likely to continue until we see simplification and convergence.

3. Plan for a Data-Fluid Future
Adopting the cloud means your organization's data moves between users, apps, and cloud environments in more dynamic ways. All of this requires a data-centric approach to security protocols. Deciding to migrate workloads or adopt new cloud applications is the easy part; maintaining the right level of corresponding permissions and policies won't happen without a clear cloud security and information protection strategy.

There's no magic bullet for getting cloud security right. Take a comprehensive approach to better protect your organization. Security hygiene is still a must, but also look at your risk posture through a data protection lens and implement DLP and behavioral analytics. darkreading.com

Insider Threat & The Cloud
Cloud-based collaboration tools are a major driver of data exfiltration
Cloud-based collaboration technologies and workforce turnover have become major drivers of data exfiltration as insider threat programs fail to keep pace with today's digital workplace, a Code42 survey reveals.

"When it comes to data loss, leak and theft, for too many companies, the inside is their blindside," said Joe Payne, Code42's president and CEO. "Insider threat programs are not keeping up with today's collaborative work culture. People and data are on the move now more than ever. Workers are switching jobs, and company files are being uploaded to the web, emailed as attachments and synched to personal cloud accounts."

Workers opt for unsanctioned collaboration tools to share company files

Cloud-based collaboration tools have changed the workplace. As part of their regular work routines, employees are emailing, airdropping, messaging and slacking from desktops, mobile devices, on the road and in coffee shops.

According to the report, workers routinely use both authorized and unauthorized cloud-based platforms to share files and ideas with colleagues. They sidestep sanctioned tools because they believe they are too complicated, restrictive and slow-or don't have enough features.

Thirty-seven percent (37%) of workers use unauthorized apps daily while 26% use them weekly to share files with colleagues

Collaboration tools rated among top vectors for data exfiltration

While technology has made it easy for employees to share files legitimately via personal email and the cloud, it's also made it easier for them to exfiltrate - or even infiltrate - data like product ideas, source code and customer lists.

The risk of insider threat incidents is heightened because the very tools that workers use to collaborate are some of the most popular vectors for data exfiltration.

Insider threat programs earn a failing mark as workers change jobs

The simple act of changing jobs can tempt employees to take company data - and workers are changing jobs more frequently than ever. Security teams continue to grapple with how to effectively deal with data theft and misuse - whether accidental or intentional - when employees depart.

As workers move from company to company, they admit that they have not only taken data with them, they have done it more than once. The consequences of this behavior are even more damaging to a business when workers take data from a former employer and go to work for a competitor.

• Two-thirds (63%) of respondents who said they have taken data are repeat offenders

• One-third (32%) of respondents who had infiltrated data were encouraged by their new employers to share it with new colleagues. helpnetsecurity.com

New York City Bill Aims to Regulate AI Hiring Tools

Decathlon, the world’s largest sporting goods retailer exposes employee, customer data