Coronavirus Update

The U.S. is Coming to a Complete Halt
Quarantine Zones - Domestic Air Travel Warnings - Event Cancellations

Coronavirus Map: March 11 Update

US: 1,032 Cases in 39 States, 31 Dead --
 Globally: 124,000+ Cases, 4,575 Dead

WHO declares that virus crisis is now a pandemic

"COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic"

Expressing alarm both about mounting infections and slow government responses, the World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic but also said it's not too late for countries to act.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who heads the U.N. agency, said the WHO is “deeply concerned by the alarming levels of spread and severity” of the outbreak. He also expressed concern about “the alarming levels of inaction.”

“All countries can still change the course of this pandemic. If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace and mobilize their people in the response,” Tedros said. apnews.com

Containment Area Planned for New York Suburb to Stem Coronavirus Spread

Is this coming to the US? Italy shuts down completely, telling citizens to stay home

NIH official suggests large gatherings should be canceled across the U.S.

Washington state bans gatherings of 250+ people in Seattle area

United Airlines Reports Total Collapse of Asian & European Air Travel; Domestic Bookings Down 70%

Coronavirus Is Changing How Consumers Shop:

Coronavirus is hurting store traffic and e-commerce won't help much, analysts say
More than one-third of U.S. adults are shopping less at stores and more than half expect to this month due to the spread of COVID-19, according to a client note Wednesday from Wedbush analysts.

Similarly, Morgan Stanley analysts led by Kimberly Greenberger found that last week total retail traffic fell 9.1%, apparel retail traffic fell 3.9% and luxury retail traffic declined by 14.7%, which analysts in a Wednesday note attributed to expanding news coverage of the virus in the U.S. The second week of March could mean steeper declines, they said.

Neither Wedbush nor Morgan Stanley analysts believe that e-commerce will fully mitigate the declines in shopping, according to their reports. retaildive.com

Two People Who Attended RSA Cyber Security Conference Contract Coronavirus
Two cybersecurity company employees who attended an annual industry conference last month in San Francisco have tested positive for the coronavirus. At least one is seriously ill with respiratory issues.

One of the workers at Exabeam Inc., a data security solutions company, is a 45-year-old engineer who began experiencing symptoms when he returned home to Connecticut from California on Feb. 28 after attending the RSA cybersecurity conference, his wife said in an email. His condition deteriorated the following week and he was hospitalized in respiratory distress on March 6, she said. The man was placed into a medically induced coma and is now on a ventilator in “guarded condition.” The individual is predisposed for pneumonia due to an underlying heart condition.

The second person, who is unidentified, also worked at Exabeam and attended RSA, the Foster City, California-based company said Tuesday in a statement. bloomberg.com

Retail SPECS Show 2020 Postponed - Date Changed to June 28-30, 2020

OSHA Issues Workplace Guidance for Coronavirus
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today published “Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19” to help companies respond in the event of coronavirus in the workplace. The guidance was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). The document provides practical guidance for preventing the spread of COVID-19, also known as novel coronavirus, and contains information on safe work practices and appropriate personal protective equipment based on the risk level of exposure.

In addition to the guidance, OSHA recently launched a COVID-19 webpage that provides infection prevention information specifically for workers and employers, and is actively reviewing and responding to any complaints regarding workplace protection from novel coronavirus, as well as conducting outreach activities.

For further information about Coronavirus, please visit the HHS’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. dol.gov

CDC Official Asks Employers to Do All They Can to Slow Coronavirus
During a webcast by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Dr. Jay C. Butler, deputy director for infectious diseases at the CDC, spelled out the rationale for his agency's repeated calls for employers to consider generous sick-leave policies, rethink large gatherings, and communicate the importance of proper hand washing and sanitization.

To that end, Butler said the most important thing employers can do at this time is encourage sick employees to stay home. They must act quickly, at the first sign of illness, because the virus appears to be most contagious in the first days that a person is sick. "Some of your workers may want to tough it out, but this is not a good time for that," Butler said. "It's important to communicate as early as possible and have flexible telework options so people can minimize their contact at the early phase."

He also reiterated the need for routine environmental cleaning, especially wiping down any high-touch surfaces, such as door handles, remote controls and elevator buttons, with bleach or alcohol-based wipes. The virus can survive on hard surfaces for minutes, hours, even days, depending on the type of surface, temperature and humidity. Although no such cases have been confirmed to date, Butler said "we're assuming it is possible that transmission may occur via surfaces." shrm.org

CDC: Americans over 60 should 'stock up' on supplies, avoid crowds
Older Americans, especially those with underlying health conditions, should stockpile supplies and avoid unnecessary travel, a top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday. Most Americans are likely at risk of catching the novel strain of the coronavirus, said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Older Americans are especially susceptible to serious outcomes. "The reason to stock up now is to kind of stick close to home." thehill.com

McDonald's hourly workers in U.S. demand paid sick leave as virus spreads
Hourly wage workers at McDonald’s Corp on Tuesday sought paid sick leave for those working at its U.S. restaurants and an update to the safety protocols as coronavirus cases in the United States rise. The burger chain has not trained or given any guidelines on the epidemic, McDonald's cooks and cashiers associated with labor group Fight for $15 and a Union said in an email statement here. The labor group asked the company to pay workers for any missed shifts if its restaurant shuts down due to the spread of COVID-19. reuters.com

Walmart, Apple and Olive Garden are among major employers updating sick leave policies as coronavirus cases spread

Starbucks will offer ‘catastrophe pay’ to baristas exposed to the coronavirus

Target stores cleaning touchscreens, other surfaces at least every 30 minutes

Google asks all North American employees to work from home due to coronavirus

8 Tech Tips for Working From Home

Rising Coronavirus Fears Prompt Mass Event Cancellations at NYC Restaurants
 

China firm develops system to recognize faces behind coronavirus masks
A Chinese company says it has developed the country’s first facial recognition technology that can identify people when they are wearing a mask, as most are these days because of the coronavirus, and help in the fight against the disease.

China employs some of the world’s most sophisticated systems of electronic surveillance, including facial recognition. But the coronavirus, which emerged in Hubei province late last year, has resulted in almost everyone wearing a surgical mask outdoors in the hope of warding off the virus - posing a particular problem for surveillance.

Now Hanwang Technology Ltd, which also goes by the English name Hanvon, said it has come up technology that can successfully recognize people even when they are wearing masks. reuters.com

FaceFirst Algorithm Detects Individuals With Occlusions (Facial Obstructions)
Most facial recognition companies with solid algorithms can detect individuals with only a portion of the face in view. The system developed by U.S.-based FaceFirst is trained to deal with occlusions (face obstructions) like the masks referenced in the article above. So the Chinese firm's technology making headlines this week is nothing new. This is no different than training an algorithm to work with people that grow facial hair or wear sunglasses. All of the best algorithms can work with only “parts” of the face.

Before Clearview Became a Police Tool, It Was a Secret Plaything of the Rich
Investors and clients of the facial recognition start-up freely used the app on dates and at parties - and to spy on the public.

Retailers & Foreign Agencies Revealed Among Clearview Facial Biometrics Users as Apple blocks app
Secretive hardware division developing cameras and wearables

Clearview AI sought every US mugshot from past 15 years, Vermont sues over web-scraping
 

In Case You Missed It

U.S. Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Combat Organized Retail Crime

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation Tuesday to fight the online sale of stolen, counterfeit and dangerous consumer products by requiring extensive transparency of large-volume third-party sellers in online retail marketplaces.

The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM) Act would mandate online retail marketplaces that include third-party sellers of consumer products to authenticate the identity of “high-volume third-party sellers,” which will help equalize transparency among brick-and-mortar retailers and prevent organized retail crime rings from stealing items from these stores to resell those items in bulk online. Read our Special Report here.
 

Nike investigates reports of forced labor in Chinese factories
Nike said it was reviewing its suppliers’ hiring practices in China, after The Washington Post and an Australian think tank reported that members of the Uighur Muslim minority were making shoes for the American brand in conditions that suggested they were coerced.

One of its biggest suppliers in the world, the South Korean-owned Qingdao Taekwang Shoes Co., was now looking for ways to end the contracts of Uighur workers making Nikes in its factory, the American company said in a statement posted on its website. washingtonpost.com

Joint statement from NRF, AAFA, FDRA, RILA and USFIA
on reports of forced labor in Xinjiang
We are deeply concerned by reports of forced labor and the treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minority workers in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) and elsewhere in China. The reported situation is of a scale, scope, and complexity that is unprecedented during the modern era of global supply chains. Companies across the industry are considering all available approaches to address the situation. Brands and retailers are drawing on expert guidance and assembling industry stakeholders to address the situation. nrf.com

UK: C-stores lost $273 million in 2019 as a result of crime, research reveals
Over the last year, local shops have lost out to the tune of over £211m ($273m) as a direct result of crime, according to an annual crime survey by the trade body for the sector, the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS). This is despite investment of £209m in crime prevention measures like CCTV, cash handling systems and external security. In practical terms, the £211m lost last year to crime equates to a 7p ‘crime tax’ on every transaction in a convenience store, the ACS says. professionalsecurity.co.uk

U.S. Ex-Inspector General Indicted for Stealing Data on 250,000 DHS Employees

Neiman Marcus to shutter almost all Last Call off-price stores


Quarterly Results
Dicks Q4 comp's up 5.3%, net sales up 4.7%; full-year net sales up 3.7%
Christopher & Banks Q4 comp's up 3.6%, net sales up 4.5%; full-year comp's up 0.2%, net sales flat
 

RLPSA: Virus Prevention Video for your Employees

At the Restaurant Loss Prevention & Security Association (RLPSA), we strive to provide our members timely resources to help them deal with their hottest challenges. For the current challenge we’re all facing with the Coronavirus, we’re providing a video describing CDC-sourced information on how to wash hands, travel tips, how to cough/sneeze, and what to do if you feel ill.

This video is perfect to share with your employees to ensure we're doing all we can to keep our most valuable assets healthy!

Take a look to determine if you can benefit from sharing this with your restaurant employees. If so, log in and download a high resolution version.

Don’t miss our Annual Conference August 2-5 at the Renaissance SeaWorld Orlando:

No Honor Among Thieves:
Hackers are targeting other hackers by infecting their tools with malware

Opens backdoor to any system or assets the hacker has already breached

A newly discovered malware campaign suggests that hackers have themselves become the targets of other hackers, who are infecting and repackaging popular hacking tools with malware.

Cybereason’s Amit Serper found that the attackers in this years-long campaign are taking existing hacking tools — some of which are designed to exfiltrate data from a database through cracks and product key generators that unlock full versions of trial software — and injecting a powerful remote-access trojan. When the tools are opened, the hackers gain full access to the target’s computer.

Serper said the attackers are “baiting” other hackers by posting the repackaged tools on hacking forums.

But it’s not just a case of hackers targeting other hackers, Serper told TechCrunch. These maliciously repackaged tools are not only opening a backdoor to the hacker’s systems, but also any system that the hacker has already breached.

“If hackers are targeting you or your business and they are using these trojanized tools it means that whoever is hacking the hackers will have access to your assets as well,” Serper said. techcrunch.com

Congress, Warning of Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities, Recommends Overhaul
A yearlong congressional study of American cyberspace strategy concludes that the United States remains ill-prepared to deter attacks, including from Russia, North Korea and Iran. It calls for an overhaul of how the United States manages its offensive and defensive cyberoperations.

The report, mandated by Congress and led by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, says the military needs far more personnel trained for cyberoperations. It also says Congress needs to dedicate committees to cyberoperations, and the public and private sectors need vastly improved defenses created in layers, along with more aggressive offensive actions inside the networks of other nations. nytimes.com

Departing Execs Often Walk Away With Their Company's Intellectual Property

3 Tips to Stay Secure When You Lose an Employee

Research indicates that January and February are the most popular job-hunting months. With the annual job shuffle still hot, it's important to note that nobody wants a bad professional breakup resulting in burned bridges, hurt feelings, and lost — sometimes stolen — property.

By "property" we mean valuable assets such as proprietary data, confidential information, and identity credentials. Unfortunately, that property can be compromised — often unintentionally.

● A large percentage of departing employees — including executives — take their company's intellectual property with them because they created it and think it's theirs.

● A significant number of enterprises don't have policies or technologies in place to prevent loss of intellectual property (IP).

● Most IP loss from unintentional inside breaches occurs from employee ignorance or a lack of awareness of company policy and IP law.

At the time of year when so many people are leaving their jobs to start new ones, it's a good time to be reminded how to protect your IP. Here are three tips, followed by a closer look at each:

1. Have maximum visibility into who has access — and how much — into your network and systems.

2. Vigilantly enforce that access with identity governance and administration (IGA) policies.

3. Deprovision access when situations change, especially when employees leave. darkreading.com