Coronavirus Update


Coronavirus Map: March 10 Update

Tracking the Spread of the Outbreak in the U.S. and Abroad


   

CDC's Latest U.S. Numbers: 647 Cases - 25 Deaths

NRF Member Survey: Workplace policies surrounding COVID-19
From March 2-3, 2020, NRF conducted a quick poll of 57 retail members to understand the policies they're creating as a result of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. This survey download is a members-only resource. Please log in to access.

View NRF's full page of Coronavirus Resources & Updates for Retailers, here.

Walmart deploys new emergency leave policy after Kentucky associate tests positive for coronavirus
Walmart said Tuesday it is deploying an emergency employee leave program as the retailer confirms one of its store associates in Cynthiana, Kentucky, has tested positive for the coronavirus. The infected employee is a woman and Walmart said she is improving with medical care.

A memo sent to employees from Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner, Sam’s Club CEO Kath McLay and Chief People Officer Donna Morris details the new COVID-19 leave policies. The retailer also said it has “reinforced our cleaning and sanitizing protocol, and, with the support and encouragement of the state government, the [Kentucky] store remains open.” cnbc.com

What Are Companies’ Legal Obligations Around Coronavirus?
With the rapid global spread of coronavirus, companies should focus first and foremost on employee safety. And as they’re reviewing their strategies, policies, and procedures, many leaders are specifically wondering about their legal risk. Not having adequate communicable-illness policies and response plans could expose them to a laundry list of HR-related legal concerns.

Most countries have laws designed to protect employees from physical harm at work. In the United States, employees are protected under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, so if an employee becomes infected at work, in some circumstances the employer may face penalties. Unprepared employers may be exposed to lawsuits related to workers’ compensation, invasion of privacy, discrimination, unfair labor practice, and negligence.

The good news is that with careful attention to employee safety and legal preparedness, employers can minimize employees’ risk of infection and their own legal risks. Following are eight steps companies should take to these ends. The value of these efforts, of course, is relevant to any life-threatening infectious disease, not just coronavirus. hbr.org

Coronavirus Prompts Companies to Telework
Businesses in the U.S. should plan for "social distancing," such as canceling meetings and conferences and arranging for employees to work from home, according to the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Practical measures that businesses can take to reduce exposure in community settings include replacing in-person meetings with video or telephone conferences and allowing employees to telework. Employers around the world are telling their workers to stay home. In China, where the virus was first identified, millions of people are working remotely.

There are technological, process, security and compliance considerations employers must keep in mind to create an infrastructure that supports remote work and collaboration. shrm.org

Coronavirus is forcing employers to confront inequalities in their own ranks
In response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, big employers have been quick to take preventative measures - for instance, restricting travel, canceling large gatherings, and instructing employees to work from home.

But at many companies, the outbreak is also highlighting the gaps in how employers treat different classes of workers. The work-from-home guidelines generally apply to full-time employees with a full suite of health benefits and the ability to do their job from just about anywhere with an internet connection. Hourly or contract workers typically aren’t offered the same perks and have to be physically present to do their job.

Many of those workers are in food preparation, office cleaning, security, driving services, and retail sales, which are often low-wage jobs without benefits like paid leave or an ability to work from home. Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics last year shows that just 30% of workers in the lowest wage bracket have paid sick leave, compared with 93% in the highest. In total, 86% of US workers are employed in the service industry, according to BLS. qz.com

Companies That Got Out of China Before Coronavirus
Are Still Tangled in Its Supply Chains
The novel coronavirus is laying bare a central problem for the global manufacturing industry: China’s shadow has grown so long that even industries that have shifted production beyond the country can’t wriggle free of its grip on supply networks.

Tech and consumer electronics, industries nurtured in China on huge state incentives, have been hardest hit by the stalled production lines, supply-chain consultants say. Autos and pharmaceuticals are more moderately exposed, while older industries like apparel, where capacity already has begun to leave China, have lower risk - yet producers dependent on Chinese materials and expertise such as the Bangladesh lingerie factory haven’t been spared.

A persistent epidemic would compound price pressures and weigh on corporate profit as manufacturers refocus their resources on searching for substitutes in the supply chain.

China became the world’s largest exporter in 2009. It accounted for one-third of global trade in 2018, up from 1.2% in 2000, according to World Bank data, overtaking giants including Germany, Japan and Taiwan. China makes nearly a quarter of American imports, including nearly all of its Christmas decorations. wsj.com

NRF: 40% of retailers report coronavirus-related supply chain disruptions

Coronavirus: Travel industry crisis sparks comparisons to 9/11 aftermath

Apple reopens 90% of retail stores in China

Amazon tells employees in New Jersey and New York to work from home

CVS to make free Rx deliveries following coronavirus outbreak

Billionaires from Bill Gates to Jack Ma are donating millions to help alleviate the coronavirus crisis - but it may not go where it’s needed most

Guardian Angels Protect Asian Americans in NYC Chinatown From Coronavirus Hate Crimes

To Stop Coronavirus Spread, New York Enlists Disease Detectives

‘Mandatory Measures’ Considered to Combat Coronavirus in Washington State

Presentation: How hospitals are preparing for US coronavirus outbreak
 

Welcome to the Disruptive $30 Trillion Global Future of Retail

By Tony D'Onofrio, Global Retail Influencer

At the recent annual conference of the International Supply Chain Protection Organization (ISCPO), it was a great pleasure to deliver the latest edition of my continuously updated 'Disruptive Future of Retail' presentation. As it is top of mind for everyone, my opening remarks focused on supply chains and the growing global concerns with the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Timely to the conference was my last article, 'The Coronavirus and Its Predictable Future of Retail'. As I expressed to the audience, the end of the health crisis is uncertain but multiple historical lessons point to eventual retail recovery and stabilization.

"By stimulating (more aggressive China) demand for online shopping, the outbreak has highlighted the broader need for traditional retailers to keep moving away from a reliance on brick-and-mortar stores to an omnichannel model." As my futuristic presentation explores, China on multiple levels was already leading retail disruption. COVID-19 will accelerate digital transformation trends to the rest of the world.

This article summarizes just a few of the NEW charts from the 2020 edition of the Disruptive Future of Retail.


 

68 Arrested for $11.4 Million 'Fast and Furious'-Style Heists on Moving Trucks

Unprecedented Law Enforcement Operation Involving 5 Countries

An unprecedented law enforcement operation involving 5 countries has resulted in the takedown of one of the most active networks of cargo thieves operating across Europe. Composed of over 100 members, this organised crime group is believed to have committed over 150 acts of cargo theft for a total estimated damage worth in excess of 10 million euros ($11.4 million).

The coordinated actions took place under the umbrella of a joint investigation, code-named ‘ARROW’, coordinated by Europol at the international level. The latest phase of Operation ARROW has resulted in the arrest yesterday in Romania of 37 members of this highly professional criminal syndicate.

These arrests this week in Romania follow those in other European countries of other members of the same criminal group. 10 suspects were arrested in France earlier this year by the French National Gendarmerie as part of a parallel action. A further 10 suspects were arrested in Spain, 6 in the Netherlands and 5 in Sweden. European arrests warrants have been issued for the remaining members at large.

The arrested individuals, who are originally from Romania, are suspected of carrying out thefts from moving lorries (trucks), even as the drivers continued to drive – obvious to the crimes – at high speed on motorways. Executing such thefts requires a high degree of sophistication. One car would start to drive slowly in front of the lorry while two other cars held up the other traffic. A fourth car would drive up close behind the lorry. One of the criminals would climb out of the car’s sunroof onto the bonnet and break open the lock on the lorry with an angle grinder.

The valuable cargo would then either be transferred to their vehicle, or thrown on the side of the road to be picked up later. The driver of the lorry and other road-users were often completely unaware of what was going on. europol.europa.eu
 

ORC Cases Up 33% Over 5 Years - Flat Since 2018

Average Dollar Amount Doubled Since '16
- Up 37% Since '18
Most Suspects Ever Recorded - Male or Female
 

Loss Prevention Benevolent Fund Receives Over $4000 at Innovision 2020
On February 26th at the closing gala of Innovision 2020, the loss prevention community came together to support the Loss Prevention Benevolent Fund (LPBF). Through the generous support of sixteen solution provider sponsors and Innovision attendees, over $4000 was raised and donated to the LPBF.

The Loss Prevention Benevolent Fund, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) charity organization, was established by the Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) to honor LP professionals who are injured or killed while conducting the duties of their profession and to assist their families in their time of greatest need. yourlpf.org

LPF Announces January & February LPC and LPQ Professionals
The Loss Prevention Foundation would like to recognize and congratulate the following individuals who successfully completed all of the requirements set forth by the board of directors to be LPQualified (LPQ) and/or LPCertified (LPC). View Full List Here
 

H&M Inks $3.8M Deal To Settle Security Check Class Action
H&M has agreed to pay $3.8 million to resolve a proposed class action accusing the fashion retailer of violating California labor law by stiffing workers on pay for time they spent undergoing security checks after their shifts.

While the California Supreme Court held in February that Apple employees' time spent waiting for their bags and personal belongings to be screened at the end of their workday is compensable, that ruling came after the settlement was reached with H&M, the workers said. law360.com

Whitepaper: Theft in the Age of Digital Retail
Identity fraud is booming. And it’s increasingly targeting retailers and e-commerce companies. As retailers begin to rely on online experiences, new and evolving fraud schemes are being used to create new accounts or takeover an existing account. GIACT®, which helps companies positively identify and authenticate customers, developed a new report that details the latest identity fraud schemes impacting retailers as well as best practices to properly verify identity and mitigate fraud.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

● Payment methods and vulnerabilities
● The latest identity fraud schemes targeting retailers
● What retailers can do to improve their identity verification process and mitigate fraud



Why There’s No Substitute for High Endurance Storage for Smart Security
Today’s smart security solutions are providing more sophisticated capabilities than ever before. Video analytics with AI-enabled cameras for new, smarter ways to use video data in smart cities, smart transportation, smart retail and more, place higher demands on storage. Use cases such as heat maps in retail stores or on-camera pattern matching require 24×7 uptime, endurance and longevity from storage.

Security solution architects and integrators responsible for implementing smart security systems want them to run as reliably as possible, with minimal disruption and servicing. When designing a security solution, it’s important to utilize a commercial-grade -- not consumer-grade -- storage solution that’s designed for smart video. securitysales.com

Ross Stores to open 100 stores in 2020

Dick's Sporting Goods to cut hunt category from 440 more stores

Fleet Feet unveils inventory-less store concept

Albertsons files for IPO; cites improved performance
 

FBI arrests Russian behind Deer.io, a Shopify-like platform for cybercrime

Deer.io hosted hundreds of online shops where hackers sell hacked accounts

The FBI has arrested a Russian national believed to be behind Deer.io, a Shopify-like platform that hosts online stores where hackers advertise and sell hacked accounts and stolen user information.

The suspect, named Kirill Victorovich Firsov, was arrested on Saturday, March 7, at the John F. Kennedy Airport, in New York, according to an arrest warrant seen by ZDNet. US officials say Firsov has been in charge and running the Deer.io platform since its launch in October 2013.

The site, which lets users host online stores for around $12/month, is believed to have hosted more than 24,000 shops and made more than $17 million, according to claims posted by Firsov on the Deer.io platform. zdnet.com

Microsoft shares nightmare tale: 6 sets of hackers on a customer's network
Microsoft's first report from its Detection and Response Team (DART), which helps customers in deep cyber trouble, details the case of a large customer with six threat actors simultaneously on its network, including one state-sponsored hacker group that had been stealing data and email for 243 days.

The company announced DART in March 2019 as part of the $1bn-a-year push into enterprise cybersecurity announced by CEO Satya Nadella in 2017. Without revealing any customer names, Microsoft intends to publish regular updates about DART's activities, to illustrate how hackers are operating.

Its first report details an advanced persistent threat (APT) attacker that stole administrator credentials to penetrate the target's network and steal sensitive data and emails. Notably, the customer was not using multi-factor authentication (MFA), which could have prevented the breach. Microsoft revealed last week that 99.9% of compromised accounts didn't use MFA, and only 11% of enterprise accounts use MFA. zdnet.com

Malware campaign offering a "coronavirus map" delivers well-known data-stealer
Criminals are leveraging the Covid-19 epidemic to spread malware through a "Coronavirus Map" app that provides no useful information to victims but may provide the victims' user names, passwords, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information to the attacker.

The new campaign, described in a blog post by researchers at Reason Labs, uses a strain of malware called AZORult. AZORult is a data-stealer first recognized in 2016.

In addition to scraping data out of victims' Web browsers and applications, AZORult acts as a downloader, bringing additional malware onto an infected system. AZORult is commonly sold in online malware markets in Russia, and is one of the more commonly sold data-stealers in those forums. darkreading.com

Amateur Hackers Complicate Ransomware Payment Decision

Paying hackers to recover data doesn’t guarantee they will actually do so,
and sometimes it’s because they're "kids" who don’t know how

The availability of ransomware on dark-web forums means that anyone with the inclination and a relatively low level of technical ability can aim an attack at a company or a city, said Roy Hadley, special counsel at law firm Adams & Reese LLP who focuses on data security and privacy.

“Previously you had a few bad actors, but they knew what they were doing. Now you have kids who are infecting networks with ransomware who really don’t know how to do it right in the infection stage, and they definitely don’t know how to do it on the decryption stage,” he said.

Authorities such as the FBI advise companies not to pay ransoms, saying it encourages further attacks. Senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security have repeated that warning in recent weeks.

“It just feeds the beast,” said Maria Thompson, state chief risk and security officer for North Carolina, referring to paying ransoms.

In any case, Mr. Hadley said, paying ransoms only fixes the immediate problem, if it solves it at all. It does nothing to fix the underlying vulnerabilities that let attackers penetrate the network in the first place, he said, and those who neglect closing security holes could find themselves being extorted again in short order. wsj.com

Ransomware Gangs Hit Larger Targets, Seeking Bigger Paydays
Targeted ransomware attacks continue to increase as gangs seek to obtain bigger ransom payoffs from larger targets. While attacks against individuals and mom-and-pop shops persist, today's more prized targets are big businesses with deep pockets, John Fokker, head of cyber investigations and red teaming for McAfee Advanced Threat Research, tells Information Security Media Group.

"The news is dominated by larger corporations being breached, and what we see is that they charge a lot more money, so the ransom [demand] is much higher," he says, as is the demand for services that can help attackers gain and maintain access to these networks. govinfosecurity.com