Coronavirus Update: April 3

US: 258K+ Cases, 6,660 Dead -- Globally: 1 Million+ Cases, 54K+ Dead

U.S. Retail Furloughs Poised to Exceed 1 Million From Shutdown
Retailers have furloughed nearly 1 million workers this week amid an unprecedented shutdown of shopping in America, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Neiman Marcus Group to Ross Stores Inc. are among the latest major chains to announce they’re halting pay for their workers while maintaining benefits. Nonessential retail stores are closed across much of the U.S. in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus. The total of furloughed workers now stands at about 900,000.

Millions more workers are at risk of being furloughed or fired the more re-opening dates get pushed back. Most retailers had hoped to return to business as usual in April and guaranteed two weeks of pay for workers in March, but with coronavirus cases and fatalities still on the rise, there’s no telling when that could happen. Tailored Brands Inc., owner of Men’s Wearhouse and JoS. A. Bank, for example, has already committed to stay shut until at least May.

The retail industry employs nearly 16 million people, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Store salespeople account for about 5 million of those jobs. bloomberg.com

New Retail Layoffs & Furloughs

Bed Bath & Beyond announces it will furlough majority of associates & some corporate employees

American Eagle Outfitters furloughing store, field & corporate associates beginning April 5

Under Armour to furlough U.S. store associates & distribution center employees

Disney to furlough nonessential workers as coronavirus closures continue

Almost half of British companies expect to furlough 50%+ of their workforce
 

On van Gogh’s birthday, brazen theft raises alarms about crimes of opportunism during the coronavirus crisis
Holding valuable artworks can be a liability for public museums, especially in times of crisis. The risks have been brought home by the overnight theft of a painting by Vincent van Gogh, “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884,” from the Singer Laren museum, a small museum east of Amsterdam.

On Monday, van Gogh’s birthday, thieves broke into the museum, which has been closed because of the coronavirus, at around 3:15 a.m. They smashed a glass door at the entrance and, although an alarm was triggered, made off with the painting before police arrived.

Museum directors and security guards around the world will have taken note. During the coronavirus crisis, many museums find themselves custodians not only of their own collections but also valuable works from other collections, public and private, that have been lent for temporary exhibitions and are now stranded away from their owners as museums close and travel restrictions take hold.

Lack of crowds and security potentially compromised by staffing issues during the virus outbreak may present an invitation to opportunistic thieves. washingtonpost.com

Bosses Panic-Buy Spy Software to Keep Tabs on Remote Workers

Phones are ringing off the hook at companies providing a bit of Big Brother

We’re watching you, it told Axos Financial Inc. employees working from home. We’re capturing your keystrokes. We’re logging the websites you visit. Every 10 minutes or so, we’re taking a screen shot.

“Companies have been scrambling,” said Brad Miller, CEO of surveillance-software maker InterGuard. “They’re trying to allow their employees to work from home but trying to maintain a level of security and productivity.”

Axos spokesman Gregory Frost said in a statement that “the enhanced monitoring of at-home employees we implemented will ensure that those members of our workforce who work from home will continue” to meet quality and productivity standards that are expected from all workers.

Along with InterGuard, software makers include Time Doctor, Teramind, VeriClock, innerActiv, ActivTrak and Hubstaff. All provide a combination of screen monitoring and productivity metrics, such as number of emails sent, to reassure managers that their charges are doing their jobs.

ActivTrak’s inbound requests have tripled in recent weeks, according to CEO Rita Selvaggi. Teramind has seen a similar increase, said Eli Sutton, vice president of global operations. Jim Mazotas, innerActive’s founder, said phones have been ringing off the hook.

“It’s not because of lack of trust,” Miller said, who compared the software to banks using security cameras. “It’s because it’s imprudent not to do it.”

“So my personal advice is to use it as an advantage, as a way to prove to your manager that you’re capable of working autonomously.” bloomberg.com

CEOs Grapple With the Toughest Calls of Their Careers
No one weeps for the corporate bosses behind the decisions to lay off many of those people, but these bosses are struggling as they make the toughest calls of their careers. Marriott International Inc.’s CEO told analysts this surpasses the magnitude of 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis combined. In a letter to employees, General Electric Co.’s CEO said this is an era where the unknowns outweigh the knowns.

Business leaders live by the calendar, attaching forecasts, projects and goals to a specific date or period of time. No one knows when state-issued mandates to stay at home will lift, and that renders a calendar about as useful in 2020 as an eight-track player. It is like stumbling around in the dark.

As quarterly earnings conference calls take place in the coming weeks, expect to hear a lot of “we don’t know,” “it’s hard to say,” and “I wish I had a crystal ball.” These terms aren’t typical for the managing class.

One CEO told his 38,000 employees “We are in a big, massive storm,” he told employees March 25. “We have no idea how long the storm is, or how bad it’s going to get. What I’m trying to do is make sure I keep everybody on this ship staying intact and alive. That’s all.”

“I’m never going to be faster than the bear,” Mr. Akradi told me. “I just have to be faster than a lot of other folks.” wjs.com

Virus’s Toll on N.Y. Police: 1 in 6 Officers Is Out Sick
“It’s a worst-case scenario across the board,” one sergeant said. The virus has strained the Police Department even as it has been asked to help enforce rules to slow its spread.

One out of every six New York City police officers is out sick or in quarantine. A veteran detective and seven civilian workers have died from the disease caused by the coronavirus. And two chiefs and the deputy commissioner in charge of counterterrorism are among more than 1,500 others in the department who have been infected.

With weeks to go before the epidemic is expected to peak, the virus has already strained the Police Department at a time when its 36,000 officers have been asked to step up and help fight it by enforcing emergency rules intended to slow its spread.

The epidemic has also added a new level of risk and anxiety to police work, even as reports of most serious crimes have dropped steeply since the city imposed the new rules. Every arrest or interview now carries the potential for infection, officers say.

Police departments across the country are facing similar challenges. In Detroit, for instance, a fifth of the police force is quarantined, and the chief of police is one of about 40 officers infected. But the magnitude of the crisis for police in New York dwarfs the dozens of cases reported in other big-city police departments and sheriffs offices, like those in Houston and Los Angeles.  Read more here

First County to Extend into May
Dallas County extends coronavirus stay-at-home order until May 20
Dallas County commissioners on Friday gave Judge Clay Jenkins the authority to continue emergency orders that ultimately extend the state’s first stay-at-home mandate. The decision came after a tense two-hour meeting punctuated by debates over hospital readiness, the cost of the coronavirus pandemic and how best to help the region’s most vulnerable.

But it likely makes Dallas County the state’s first and only municipality to extend the restrictions until May. Harris County, which includes Houston, has only prolonged its order until April 30, which mirrors the state. dallasnews.com

Retail's New Direction - Limiting Traffic - One-Way Traffic - Cashier Shields & PPI

Target & Lowe's to LIMIT & Monitor Traffic
Beginning April 4, the discounter said it will actively monitor and, when needed, limit the total number of people inside a store based on the location’s specific square footage. If metering is needed, an employee will help shoppers into a designated waiting area outside with social distancing markers. Other employees will guide shoppers inside the store and keep things moving quickly and conveniently, Target said.

In addition, during the next two weeks, Target will start providing store and distribution centers employees with high-quality, disposable face masks and gloves at the beginning of every shift, and will “strongly encourage” the employees to wear them while on the job. It will also provide masks and gloves to Shipt shoppers as they enter Target stores. (Target’s announcement comes on the same day that Lowe’s said it will limit store traffic and provide facial masks to employees; Amazon is also providing facial masks to employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic.)

The new measures follow other enhancements Target has made in recent weeks to encourage social distancing and promote store safety, including greatly enhanced cleaning routines and the installation of Plexiglass partitions at checklanes and other stations. chainstoreage.com

4/2/20 Target's coronavirus response Target’s Latest Safety Measures Are Designed to Promote Social Distancing

4/2/20: Lowe’s Temporarily Increases Hourly Wages and Implements New Safety Efforts in Response to COVID-19

4/2/20: Walmart Email to All U.S.- Based Associates - Your Are Making a Difference, From Doug McMillion, President and CEO

Dallas Judge Says: Hobby Lobby, Michael's & Joann 'Not Essential'
- Forcing Closures
Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby hasn’t responded to a request for comment. The chain particularly attracted attention as police forced the closings of stores in Indiana and Wisconsin, according to published reports. Hobby Lobby’s store in North Dallas told customers on Wednesday that it was open because it sells supplies to make masks. dallasnews.com

Editor's Note: Just last week Hobby Lobby's CEO said his wife had heard a message from God to stay open in an email to employees. A number of which responded off-the-record saying they were upset and felt forced. Meanwhile Joann had stayed open and offered free material for seamstresses to make masks and gowns.

Hobby Lobby Defies Shutdown Orders
a memo where Hobby Lobby explained to managers in states with mandatory lockdowns how to deal with local authorities. Some Hobby Lobby employees, who expressed fear for their safety after being expected to come to work with a lack of proper protection and inadequate sick pay.

"We are being forced to stay open with no type of protection for employees," a Hobby Lobby employee in Texas wrote in an email to Business Insider. "We are trying to be a part of the solution for stopping the spread of this deadly virus instead of the problem."  businessinsider.com
 

Retailers Under Growing Pressure to Let Workers Wear Masks
At Office Depot, employees have been told that they cannot wear masks in the store. Some Walgreens workers say they were also discouraged from wearing them. Many other large retailers, including Target, have started to allow masks, but are leaving it up to employees to procure their own supplies.

Federal health officials appear ready to recommend that Americans of all ages start wearing masks for protection against the coronavirus, but millions of retail workers have been interacting with the public for weeks without them. Sometimes, they have been told that wearing masks could scare shoppers. Now many are scrambling to find available gear.

The retailers' different positions on masks, which follow those of the government, are indicative of how the industry has been fumbling through the fast-moving pandemic, potentially endangering workers. nytimes.com

Editor's Note: This activity will end up in the courts. Just a thought

Lululemon leverages RFID, supplier relationships to manage inventory amid coronavirus demand drop
Lululemon will maintain operations in "key e-commerce DCs" with social-distancing and health monitoring measures in place, as well as restaffing some stores to fulfill e-commerce orders starting this week, executives said on an earnings call Friday. The retailer's North American and European stores have been closed since March 16. Previous investments in RFID inventory tracking will enable the flexible e-commerce fulfillment model and allow Lululemon to proactively manage inventory trough this indefinite, dramatic drop in consumer demand, executives said. supplychaindive.com

Great Prediction & Possibly Dead-On
Will off-pricers be major share gainers post-coronavirus?

TJX to be Biggest Beneficiary Globally

Analysts have upgraded TJX Cos. and Ross Stores in recent days as the uncertainty and downturn caused by the coronavirus spurs defensive measures from full-line retailers.

In upgrading TJX to “outperform,” Credit Suisse analyst Michael Binetti wrote in a note to clients that he believes the widespread cancellation of orders by full-line retailers “will create the greatest buying environment for off-price in a decade.” Conversations with brands, including those working to reduce their off-price exposure in recent years, indicate they expect to re-engage to clear inventory starting in the second half of 2020.

Moreover, Mr. Binetti expects the inventory overhang to linger well into 2021. “Like in the last recession, the consumer will continue value-seeking behavior even as economic conditions improve,” he wrote.

The COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate consolidation among broad-line retail. The analyst wrote in a note, “With retail bankruptcies likely to mount in the coming months and further industry consolidation ahead, we expect big to get bigger, with TJX likely to be the biggest share beneficiary globally.” retailwire.com

Remote Work Policies Should Now Stress Flexibility
Organizations are implementing remote-work arrangements for their employees due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak—many for the first time—and need to be able to outline expectations and guidelines for working outside the office.

Generally, remote-work policies cover eligibility, working expectations, legal considerations and technology issues, but, during these extraordinary circumstances, flexibility is paramount. shrm.org

Companies Put Employees First During Pandemic
PepsiCo is among a growing number of companies across the country that are boosting pay for front-line workers, continuing to pay those who are unable to work because of COVID-19, and offering other assistance to employees who are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

PepsiCo is giving at least an extra $100 per week to employees who produce, transport or deliver its products; providing full salary for 14 days for any employee who must be quarantined because of COVID-19; and, after those 14 days are up, providing at least two-thirds of regular pay for up to 10 weeks to those who are sick with the virus or caring for a loved one with the virus. Those sick-pay measures are mandated in the just-passed Families First Coronavirus Response Act, but the law applies only to employers with fewer than 500 employees.

Any employee who is unable to work from home but must care for a child who can't go to school or day care is also receiving at least two-thirds of his or her pay for up to 12 weeks. shrm.org

Shoe Carnival Extends Store Closures

Publix implements plexiglass shields, other methods for store safety

LinkedIn Provides Overview of Content & Engagement Trends Related to COVID-19 [Infographic]

NYC Leasing Agent Sees Retail Vacancy Rates Hitting 50%

UBS: Close to 20% of Restaurants Across US Could Permanently Close - 3% Already Have

T-Mobile Absorbs Sprint After Two-Year Battle


With Webinars & Virtual Events Increasing Here's Some Tips
Five Ways to Create Better Engagement During Virtual Events

What is your organization doing during the shut down?
Let us know @ lpnews@d-ddaily.net and we'll share it.


Quarterly Results
Walgreens Q2 Retail Pharmacy comp's up 2.7%, Pharmacy comp's up 3.7%,
retail comp's up 0.6%, sales up 3.7%

Cheesecake Factory March sales down 46%

H&M’s March sales plunged by 46 percent

New LPRC CrimeScience Episode: COVID-19 and Retail’s Forecast

This episode will cover global retail lessons, how COVID-19 affects LP/AP, transformational strategies, and the retail forecast for the rest of 2020. Also included are upcoming LPRC initiatives and the resources the research team will provide to help retailers and practitioners, hosted by Dr. Read Hayes (LPRC), featuring Tony D’onofrio (TD Insights).

View the episode here.
 

Remote Work & Product Shortages Impact
Coronavirus Poised to Upend How Boards Consider Data Protection, Privacy

Corporate directors in Europe and the U.S. are taking a more active role in discussions of remote work, data sharing

As the pandemic creates economic uncertainty, some directors are attending frequent virtual meetings to discuss their concerns with management. Hackers are capitalizing on coronavirus fear with phishing campaigns and are seeking out vulnerable home networks and video-conferencing apps. Risk and audit committees, in particular, are asking executives to spell out cybersecurity measures that their company is taking to protect data while employees work remotely, and to develop contingency plans to address such risks.

“Boards are getting in deeper,” said Howard Brownstein, president of Philadelphia-based restructuring firm Brownstein Corp. “We’re not going to wait for our next quarterly meeting.”

“It’s a perfect storm of crisis and business continuity challenges,” she said.

Ms. Bonime-Blanc recommends directors ask management for specific details about how the company backs up data to make sure it remains accessible during a crisis, how critical data is protected and whether suppliers are secure.

Because of product shortages companies are experiencing during the pandemic, board members may become more willing to share data with governments, suppliers and other companies because doing so could make supply chains more resilient, said Michael Hilb, a professor of corporate governance at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Directors have “taken a very conservative approach, particularly in Europe, towards any kind of data sharing. The attitude has changed or will change,” he said. wsj.com

New coronavirus-era surveillance and biometric systems pose logistical, privacy problems
Governments and companies are using biometrics and geolocation to identify and track potential coronavirus victims in the name of public safety.

Silicon Valley giants, including Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook, have already been called into the White House to brainstorm ways to use geolocation, public media scraping and other technologies to track users in ways that ostensibly don't violate users' privacy. Meanwhile, phone carriers across Europe are sharing data with authorities while Israeli intelligence agencies are using phone tracking technology initially developed to combat terrorism in the fight against COVID-19.

Emerging biometrics combine new and old technology

In the US, threat detection screening company Athena Security, whose system was previously used to detect guns, now offers what it calls its "Fever Detection COVID19 Screening System." It deploys "artificially intelligent thermal cameras" to detect fevers and alert customers to the presence of someone who may be carrying the coronavirus. Athena is pitching its product to be used in grocery stores, hospitals and voting locations and is currently deploying it at government agencies, airports and Fortune 500 companies. csoonline.com

With 10M Filing For Unemployment - What Does it Mean for Cybersecurity Workforce?

IT Security is Essential at a Time When Cybercriminals are at the Door

Steve Durbin, managing director of the Information Security Forum, a London-based authority on cyber, information security and risk management: “The issue is not that there may be layoffs, it’s that there still aren’t enough skilled resources available in security today. Shortages in skills and capabilities are being revealed as major security incidents damage organizational performance and reputation. Building tomorrow’s security workforce is essential to address this challenge and deliver robust and long-term security for organizations in an age where we are seeing more and more remote workers.

Fausto Oliveira, Principal Security Architect at Acceptto, a Portland, Oregon-based provider of Continuous Behavioral Authentication: As companies layoff part of their workforce, the cybersecurity function may be impacted at a time when threat actors are increasingly using the current crisis to perform attacks. Losing cybersecurity and IT staff at this point in time increases the risk of a successful attack and may impair the ability of a company to sustain the large volume of remote workers.

Chris Morales, head of security analytics at Vectra, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of technology which applies AI to detect and hunt for cyber attackers: “The volume of jobs in cybersecurity and IT far exceeds the available people to do those jobs. The only employees I could imagine are losing their jobs are from companies that are in a very bad position right now and are laying off a large mass of personnel. securitymagazine.com

Coalition Offers Remote Workforce Security Tips

Andy Bates of Global Cyber Alliance on 'Work From Home, Secure Your Business'

The Global Cyber Alliance is one of 13 nonprofit organizations that have banded together to help businesses secure their newly remote workforces, offering insights called: Work From Home. Secure Your Business. Andy Bates, executive director of the alliance, discusses the coalition's core guidelines for reducing cyber risk.

In a video interview with Information Security Media Group, Bates discusses:

• How the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the threat landscape;
• Long-term challenges of supporting a fully remote workforce;
• Recommendations for improving remote workforce cybersecurity. govinfosecurity.com
 

Retail Alert
 

Magecart Credit Card Attacks Spiking
Coronavirus: Magecart attacks on online retailers jump 20%

RiskIQ has observed a sharp uptick in Magecart credit card attacks, driven by increased traffic to online retailers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cyber criminals are taking advantage of unprecedented volumes of traffic to online shopping websites during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, with Magecart credit card skimming attacks ramping up, according to RiskIQ researchers Jordan Herman and Mia Ihm.

New data released by RiskIQ show that attacks leveraging Magecart – a credit card fraud technique that skims card numbers in a supply chain attack by injecting malicious JavaScript into online checkout software systems – have grown 20% amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As a case in point, several different versions of MakeFrame have been found sporting various levels of obfuscation, including dev versions in clear code, and finalised versions using encryption. computerweekly.com

The SOC Emergency Room Faces Malware Pandemic
Attackers are exploiting the high volume of remote users logged into the organization, presenting a new, very distributed and volumetric, baseline of remote logins. This makes it very hard to identify unusual remote logins and makes it harder to detect credential theft cases; devices that are used to log in for the first time are no longer an anomaly, and so may not be identified. This is the new normal with user behavior and access patterns that have never been seen before, so most organizations are in the area of experiencing "unknown unknowns." They don't even know what they don't know. darkreading.com

Phishers Try 'Text Direction Deception' Technique to Bypass Email Filters
One example is "text direction deception," a tactic where an attacker forces an HTML rendering engine to correctly display text that has been deliberately entered backward in the code — for example, getting text that exists in HTML code as "563 eciffO" to render forward correctly as "Office 365."

Security vendor Inky Technologies discovered the direction deception tactic being used in an email that was part of a phishing campaign. In a report this week, the company described the tactic as designed to trick security controls that filter email messages based on whether the emails contain text and text sequences that have been previously associated with phishing scams. darkreading.com

There's now COVID-19 malware that will wipe your PC and rewrite your MBR
With help from the infosec community, ZDNet has identified at least five malware strains, some distributed in the wild, while others appear to have been created only as tests or jokes.

The common theme among all four samples is that they use a coronavirus-theme and they're geared towards destruction, rather than financial gain. zdnet.com

Attack campaign hits thousands of MS-SQL servers for two years
Newly discovered Vollgar attack uses brute force to infect vulnerable Microsoft SQL servers at a high rate.

vpnMentor: 10 Best VPNs in 2020 (UPDATED for Coronavirus Quarantine)