NASP Partners with Corporate Counseling Associates to Provide Free Virtual Support Services for Retail Associates during Covid-19 Crisis

In a letter to its Retail Advisory Committee this week, the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP) announced a partnership with Corporate Counseling Associates (CCA) – an Employee Assistance Program provider to Fortune 500 companies. The partnership – born of the covid-19 pandemic – makes CCA’s virtual counseling and support resources readily available to retail associates at no cost to the retailer or their associates. Read More Here

Editor's Note: As NASP is located in the very heart of the NYC COVID-19 outbreak, their support of retail workers is an incredibly wonderful thing to do. They are LP Heroes - Thanks NASP!
 

Join Top Retailers on Navigating Uncertain Times With Security Technology

Join Genetec for a conversation with leaders from Retail and Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) TODAY, April 21st at 5:15 pm – 5:45 pm EDT/ 2:15 pm - 2:45 pm PDT. During this session, we will discuss current challenges facing the retail industry, and the importance of security technology in navigating these uncertain times.

Register here: www.genetec.com/connectdx

Here’s a video clip of the session.

Interface Security Systems & OpenEye Partner Up
Interface Security Systems, a managed services provider delivering managed network, interactive alarm monitoring, video surveillance and business intelligence solutions to distributed enterprises, announced a new strategic partnership with OpenEye, a provider of cloud-managed solutions for video security, business intelligence and loss prevention.

The strategic partnership will combine the proven solutions of both companies — Interface’s interactive monitoring service with OpenEye’s Web Services Platform (OWS) — to deliver a remote video surveillance solution with seamless cloud video management to retailers, restaurants and distributed enterprises. sdmmag.com

Prime Communications Once Again Increases Their Commitment to the LP Industry by Becoming the Newest Master Level Partner with The LP Foundation
The Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF) announced that Prime Communications has once again advanced its partnership to become the newest Master Level Scholarship Partner. Headquartered in Elkhorn, NE and founded in 2001, Prime Communications, Inc. (PCI) provides enterprise leaders with high performance physical security, infrastructure & network solutions. PCI was recently named to the SD&I’s Fast 50 List as a top systems integrator and is committed to delivering custom engineered security and network solutions. yourlpf.org

Prosegur USA Announces a New Remote Monitoring Video Solution that Doesn’t Require a DVR on Location

Genetec makes its digital evidence management system available at no-cost to help organizations collaborate remotely

Available Now: All 3xLOGIC and Sonitrol Online, On Demand Training is FREE

Knightscope Releases COVID-19 Public Safety Announcements Feature
 

Coronavirus Update: April 21

US: Over 800K Cases - 43K Dead - 75K Recovered

Worldwide: Over 2.5M Cases - 175K Dead - 670K Recovered

New Retail Layoffs & Furloughs

Kirkland's furloughs all part-time store employees & temporarily reduces pay of full-time managers

Tapestry cuts 10% of staff, plans to furlough “most” assistant store managers & sales associates at locations that haven’t reopened by May 30
 

NYPD Traffic Chief William Morris on life support with coronavirus
NYPD Chief of Traffic, William T. Morris, who is among the department’s top brass, is in the hospital on life support with COVID-19. Morris, 61 and a three-star chief, oversees traffic and highway patrol.  nypost.com

Special Note: The NYPD has been a fantastic ally and friend of the Daily for years and has supported out Live in NYC at the NRF Big Show event "LP's New Years Reception" by always addressing the group and sharing their real-life stories, advice and making us feel right @Home in NYC. We wish Chief Morris a speedy recovery along with the 3,000 other NYPD officers who have been impacted by COVID-19. Our prayers are with all of you. -Gus Downing

Commercial Burglaries Up
Some Crimes Are Spiking in America’s Major Cities

Lack of social interaction leads to overall decline in crime

Amid empty streets and shuttered shops, crime rates in some of the biggest U.S. cities have dropped -- with a few exceptions.

Car thefts and store robberies are spiking in some municipalities even as crime overall -- especially violent offenses -- dropped in 10 of the 20 most populated cities, more than halving in San Francisco alone, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of data from 10 major cities.

Burglaries are also on the rise in New York, up 26% year-to-date as compared to the same period in 2019. In the week ended April 12, they more than doubled in the southern half of Manhattan, where many stores are now unoccupied. Burglaries jumped almost 34% in Denver in March amid a growing number of break-ins at marijuana dispensaries. In Philadelphia, burglaries were down 6.7% overall, with residential break-ins falling 25% as more people stay home, but unoccupied businesses were hit hard, with commercial burglary rising 71%.

Charis Kubrin, a professor of criminology at the University of California, Irvine, who reviewed the data said the bulk of the burglaries in New York also appear to be at commercial properties. There are fewer store owners and bystanders who might witness crimes in action and report them — providing less deterrence for would-be offenders, she said. A reduction in policing might also be a contributing factor, Kubrin said. One in six NYPD officers was out sick at the beginning of the month.

Robberies and burglaries dropped more dramatically in Los Angeles than some other major U.S. cities, perhaps because it closed non-essential businesses and told people to stay at home earlier than other cities, Kubrin said. bloomberg.com

The Daily's Research on Commercial Burglaries
Commercial Burglaries From 3/1 Up 20% to 189% in U.S.

With the mean being 67%

Boulder, Colo. Sees 189% increase in burglaries since 3/1
Burlington, Vermont up almost 100% since 3/1
NYPD has seen a 75% increase in reports of burglaries from March 12 to 3/1
Nashville liquor store burglaries up 53%, in discount stores up 15% in Q1
Spoken, Wash. Sees 50% increase in burglaries since 3/1
Albuquerque, N.M., Sees a 50% to 66% increase in weekly burglaries since 3/1
Seattle up 21% over 28 days in March
Houston commercial burglaries up 20% last two weeks, dated 4/2/20

Facebook Provides New COVID-19 Symptom Maps to Assist in Response Planning
Facebook, in conjunction with Carnegie Melon, has this week published the first of its new COVID-19 symptom tracking maps, which may help authorities in planning for future outbreaks by highlighting where groups of people are experiencing coronavirus symptoms across the US.

The maps use self-reported symptom data from Facebook users, then pin that info onto map locations, highlighting key areas of potential spread.

That can provide key early indicators of potential problem areas - as explained by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg:

"Understanding how COVID-19 is spreading is critical for local governments and public health officials as they allocate scarce resources like ventilators and PPE, and eventually to decide when it is safe to start re-opening different places. Researchers believe these symptom survey maps can be an important tool in making these decisions."  socialmediatoday.com
 

Safety - OSHA - Mental Health During the Pandemic
Re-Starting - Revised Guidances - Whistleblowers Spike?

With Retailers Just Starting Their Engines, Safety Should be Priority #1

Which poses a lot of questions that will impact your stores

From testing returning workers to issuing PPE and expanding sick leave, retailers have a major responsibility to their associates, consumers, and to the community's they serve/impact.

And retailers have to be sensitive to the trends of the industry at large as well.

Right out of the box what the retail leaders are doing will inevitably become the duty of care and what's reported publicly then becomes your reputation in the market. And as everyone knows Chipotle had a heck of a time for over two years gaining their customers back. Costing millions in expense, building out a sophisticated safety program and team and losing their founder and president.

This re-start for a number of retailers will be their last chance and for others it'll be a time to shine. And a lot of it will be driven by how you approach the safety of your associates and consumers.

Just some thoughts -Gus Downing

Here are the safety measures businesses should adopt if operating during the coronavirus
Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is multifaceted and based on a job's exposure risk.

The following are guidelines from OSHA for workplaces based on coronavirus risk for employees:

Promote handwashing with a space for employees to wash their hands or provide hand sanitizer.

Encourage employees to stay home if they are sick and use proper respiratory etiquette, such as covering the mouth and nose when coughing.

Routinely clean workspaces and discourage employees from touching one another's work areas.

Isolate employees suspected of having the coronavirus, if possible. indystar.com

OSHA Issues COVID-19 Guidance for the Package Delivery Employers
OSHA had previously released a Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19, with recommendations for protecting employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The new COVID-19 Guidance for Package Delivery Workforce is another industry-specific guidance released by OSHA. While the Agency’s guidance is advisory and non-mandatory, it provides useful tools for the package delivery industry in protecting employees and customers during the pandemic. To that end, OSHA’s recommendations include: Read Here

OSHA & Lawyers Expecting 'Significant Increase in Whistleblower Complaints'

What happens if an employee sends a whistleblower complaint to OSHA?

Employers should be prepared for significant increase in whistleblower complaints. OSHA is seeing an uptick in complaints related to COVID-19 issues, including workplace crowding and improper PPE use.  Read more

Employers Have a Crucial Role to Play During This Shut-Down

How to help employees manage their mental health during the coronavirus crisis

While everyone should take responsibility for their mental health, there’s a host of things employers can do to help employees remain happy and productive throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Putting mental health at the forefront of the conversation is an important step organizations can take to ensure that employees have the support and resources they need now and for the future.

Employers are requesting webinars or Q&A sessions focused on mental health strategies for their workforce—including topics such as effective communication and how to cope with stress or anxiety. Other employers are offering training on best practices—like keeping consistent one-on-one meetings and hosting fun, virtual meetups that allow for human connection with coworkers—to help managers identify and support employees dealing with mental health challenges. Read more

CDC Center for Disease Control and Prevention; Webinar
Emergency Partners Information Connection (EPIC)
Psychological First Aid: Addressing Mental Health Distress During Disasters
Overview: When people are faced with disaster, intense emotions are often present and appropriate. Psychological First Aid (PFA) can help responders promote an environment of safety, calm, connectedness, self-efficacy, empowerment, and hope. PFA was developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the National Center for PTSD, with contributions from individuals involved in disaster research and response. This webinar provides a brief overview of PFA and connects viewers with both online and in-person training resources.

Presenter Meghan Griffin, MPH, Public Health Advisor, U.S. Depart. of Health and Human Services

Wednesday, April 22, at 1 p.m. ET. Closed captioning will be available.  Read more

Read all the safety news here
 

The Food Supply Chain
Covid-19's Impact

We're "Perilously Close To The Edge" In Our Meat Supply
We came close to a major food shortage nationwide

Farmers Dumping Milk - Euthanizing Hogs - Letting Berries Rot

1st Part of Our Farm's Supply Chain

Farms are seeing excess products due to lack of demand from typical buyers. And lack of demand contributes to plummeting prices. For example, hog farmers say they are losing $37 on every pig they sell, making euthanizing the hogs a cheaper option.

So, farmers struggling in the face of absent workers, shuttered pork packaging plants, and a loss of buyers are considering killing baby pigs to cut losses. Dairy farmers are dumping milk. Driscoll's president Soren Bjorn told Irene that the company would let 10-15% of its crop "end up in the ditch" if the berry producer doesn't receive government funding.  businessinsider.com

Dairy Drivers Scared to Drive - Exports Frozen - Commercial Byers Shut Down

We're "Perilously Close To The Edge" In Our Meat Supply
Meat processing plants are shutting down, as workers catch coronavirus and die

2nd Part of Our Sad Food Supply Chain

In the meat industry, hundreds of workers have caught coronavirus. At least five Tyson employees at two different plants have died. A Sioux Falls Smithfield Foods processing plant in South Dakota has been connected to 644 coronavirus cases and one death.

Essential workers are dying across industries and at different points in the supply chain. Amazon internally reported its first warehouse-worker death from COVID-19 this week. At least 30 grocery store workers have died from COVID-19. A lack of a union or organized workers group makes it difficult to tally up the impact of the coronavirus on restaurant workers, but employees in Chicago and Los Angeles have filed OSHA complaints against McDonald's.

Employers have pushed back against calls to shut down businesses.

"The closure of this facility, combined with a growing list of other protein plants that have shuttered across our industry, is pushing our country perilously close to the edge in terms of our meat supply," Smithfield CEO Kenneth Sullivan said in a statement after the company closed a major pork plant on Sunday.  businessinsider.com

Shortages continue in food banks and grocery stores

3rd part of the crumbling supply chain story: shortages

NYC Food Pantries Declares State of Emergency: as they struggle to meet growing demand and unemployment soars to percentages that haven't been seen since The Great Depression. businessinsider.com
 

Retailers shouldn’t count on Mnuchin’s or Trump’s help
Many retailers are caught between a rock and hard place as their businesses suffer from the coronavirus pandemic. Many are too big to qualify for the government’s Main Street lending program, while their debt levels make it difficult to qualify for Primary Market Corporate Credit Facility. The result is that a large number of specialty clothing retailers and department store operators are looking at alternatives, including bankruptcy, to find a way out of the current morass.

Last week, the National Retail Federation sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell calling on the government “to take steps now to ensure that our nation’s largest retailers can rely on the same economic support programs that have been made available to America’s small businesses and largest corporations.” So far, the Trump administration has not responded affirmatively to NRF’s request. retailwire.com

Lululemon apologises after staffer offends with 'bat fried rice' T-shirt
Canadian exercise apparel brand Lululemon (LULU.O) issued statements on Tuesday apologising for, and distancing itself from, a T-shirt design promoted by one of its art directors that triggered outrage and accusations of racism online. The hashtag “Lululemon insults China” was viewed 204 million times on China’s Weibo platform by Tuesday afternoon, with some commentators demanding a boycott of the brand. reuters.com

Coronavirus prompts Tractor Supply to expand same-day delivery to all stores

Portland, Maine backtracks to allow curbside and delivery by nonessential retail

Cub Foods bucks trend, opening stores for 24 hours

Shake Shack returns $10M paycheck protection loan to the government

Restaurants have laid off thousands in wake of coronavirus - but ghost kitchens are hiring
 

COMING THURSDAY: Gus Downing joins industry experts in new episode of LPRC's CrimeScience COVID-19 Series

In the upcoming LPRC CrimeScience COVID-19 Series episode, the new weekly podcast covering the current pandemic, featured guest Gus Downing of the D&D Daily joins industry experts. Tune in Thursday, 4/23, to hear our discussion on current crime data, how COVID-19 is changing retail in the short & long term, risks & vulnerabilities, and much more.

What is the LPRC CrimeScience COVID-19 Series?
In this new weekly segment of CrimeScience, industry experts discuss how retailers are coping with the changes and impacts the Coronavirus pandemic is having on the retail loss prevention industry.

Dr. Read Hayes covers LPRC initiatives related to the pandemic, Tom Meehan, CFI reviews risk and vulnerabilities in technology and Tony D’Onofrio discusses the ‘new normal’ from current events every Thursday.

Learn more about the podcast series here

FBI says cybercrime reports quadrupled during COVID-19 pandemic
Speaking in an online panel hosted by the Aspen Institute, FBI Deputy Assistant Director Tonya Ugoretz said the number of reports has quadrupled compared to months before the pandemic.

"The FBI has an Internet Crime Complaint Center, the IC3, which is our main ingest point. Sadly the IC3 has been incredibly busy over the past few months," Ugoretz said. "Whereas they might typically receive 1,000 complaints a day through their internet portal, they're now receiving something like 3,000 - 4,000 complaints a day, not all of those are COVID-related, but a good number of those are.

"They really run the gamut. Everything from setting up fraudulent internet domains [...], we've seen people set up fraudulent COVID charities, promise delivery of masks and other equipment, and then deliver fraudulent loans, extortion, etc.. So pretty much, sadly, anything you can think of. Cyber-criminals are quite creative," the FBI official said. zdnet.com

Life in a data center - Thanks to all those folks that keep us all connected
'You can't just stop.' How data centers are dealing with the coronavirus crisis

Data centers have been preparing since January to make sure that the world would stay connected amid the coronavirus crisis.

To keep operating, data centers need on-site staff to maintain the infrastructure. "People see data centers as large rooms of servers, but they don't realize it actually takes a certain amount of folks to maintain them," Chris Yetman, chief operating officer at Vantage Data Centers, told ZDNet. "Sure, you may need fewer people overall, but you can't have no one."

As the crisis escalated, Yetman switched all of his non-essential team to remote working. "But we determined pretty quickly that we could not send home engineers who work on the facilities," said Yetman. "And so we focused on making it as comfortable for them as possible."

Yetman ordered personal protective equipment (PPE) and set up sanitizing stations everywhere he could, both to minimize the risk of infection and to reassure his employees. "We've gone through and sanitized everything," he said. "You have to make people who have to work comfortable that they're going to be okay."

Fingerprint readers started coming with disinfectant or sanitizing wipes, and hand-washing stations were built near the entrances of the building; and the offices have already received two deep cleans so far. In parallel, Yetman and his team re-arranged the way shifts are worked to reduce the amount of time that employees have to work side by side, and to keep the same staff in the same buildings to lower the chance of cross-contamination. Again, risk zero proved impossible: some maintenance works require more than one person, not the least for safety. "So we still have to manage that, but we're trying to make sure we're good about how we manage it," said Yetman.

It's not an easy job trying to keep a key piece of infrastructure operational during a global pandemic. But with society at large depending on the internet, more so now than ever before, there aren't that many options, either. "You can't just stop," said Yetman. "You can't just say you're going to turn it off." zdnet.com

Editor's Note: Think about how this is going to change your corporate facilities. With all of the access control hardware, the simplistic act of signing in and reusing pens & badges, installing more hand-washing stations at entrances, in-house cafeterias and a host of issues around the 6 foot rule. Just a thought
-Gus Downing

8 video chat apps compared: Which is best for security?
Most aren't end-to-end encrypted. Some are. None are perfect. Here are your options.

Scandal engulfed popular videoconferencing software Zoom when its promise of providing end-to-end encryption (E2EE), turned out to be a lie. For years the Zoom client informed users that "Zoom is using an end-to-end encrypted connection." Zoom even lied to the SEC in 2019 in its pre-IPO filings, claiming to offer "end-to-end encryption" when they did not.

The main difference between Zoom and its major competitors, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams, is that Zoom lied about offering E2EE, and Google and Microsoft don't even pretend to offer E2EE. Those in search of a true end-to-end encrypted videoconferencing solution will have to go further afield and make trade-offs in exchange for that greater level of security.

CSO took a high-level look at the security of Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Cisco's Webex Meetings, FaceTime, Signal, WhatsApp and Wire. Here's what we found.

Zoom is throwing money at the problem and hiring leading security experts to improve their offering, so watch this space.

Signal: If you need true E2EE for a one-to-one video call, then Signal wins hands down. Signal's best-of-breed encryption secures text, voice-mail style audio messages, audio calls and video calls.

WhatsApp: Did you know WhatsApp offers videoconferencing for up to four people? We didn't. While not optimized for the enterprise, WhatsApp says it uses the same encryption protocol as Signal, and the app is free to download and use. Facebook has also invested a substantial amount of money building out available bandwidth for WhatsApp users, and it shows. Intercontinental videos can be crisp and clear. Full details of WhatsApp's advertised encryption is available here.

Wire: Like WhatsApp, only with a greater focus on the enterprise, Wire also offers videoconferencing for up to four people and audio conferencing for up to 20 people. Like Signal and WhatsApp, Wire's encryption is "always on," and there is no option to turn it off.

FaceTime - Jitsi - Microsoft Teams - Cisco's Webex Meetings - Google Meet - Don't forget about metadata csoonline.com

Google enters zero-trust market with BeyondCorp Remote Access offering
Google makes its internal zero-trust access infrastructure available to anyone on a subscription basis as an alternative to VPNs.

Google is launching a commercial zero-trust remote access service that will allow companies to enable their work-from-home employees to access internal web-based applications without the need of virtual private networks (VPNs). Called BeyondCorp Remote Access, the subscription-based service will be part of Google Cloud's portfolio and will cost $6 per user per month, but it will not require customers to already be users of Google's existing cloud-based services or enterprise collaboration tools. csoonline.com

California Residents: Federal Prosecutors & FBI Participate In Telephonic Town Hall To Provide Information About COVID-19 Scams

COVID-19 crisis will make drones an everyday technology, GlobalData says

'Scores' of Amazon employees plan to not show up for the job this week as part of labor actions

'The biggest mass action yet' against the tech giant

Scores of Amazon workers are planning to not show up for their jobs this week in an effort to bring attention to their safety concerns and put pressure on the company to improve workplace conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, say organizations supporting the workers.

It is being billed as the biggest mass action yet in an ongoing dispute between the e-commerce behemoth and its workers. Hundreds of warehouse workers pledged to call out from their jobs starting Tuesday, according to Athena, a coalition of local and national organizations representing workers.

Another mass sickout among tech workers is planned for Friday and has been organized by the group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice. "We are asking you to call in sick on Friday, April 24th to show that you want Amazon to go in a different direction," the group said in a Medium post to Amazon workers.

The Athena coalition says there are more than 130 warehouses where Amazon workers have contracted COVID-19, including some warehouses with more than 30 confirmed cases. “Amazon’s corporate management has consistently responded with delay tactics and incoherent plans that do not rise to the urgency of the pandemic,” Athena said in a statement about this week’s action. azcentral.com

Scam alert: Online shoppers duped into buying counterfeit masks
Counterfeit masks sold on the internet are duping shoppers across the country. A local fireman reached out to the 41 Action News investigators to alert the public to the problem. He said he purchased the mask after an ad popped up on Facebook. The advertisement by WowHaul showed a picture of what the company called an N99 mask, which was promoted as filtering out 99 percent of harmful particles. The 41 Action News investigators found another Facebook post that mimicked that of WowHaul from a company called Immunity. The fireman and several customers said when the mask showed up it was cheaply made and not as described. kshb.com

As coronavirus restrictions drag on, Americans shift online spending from stockpiling to entertainment

Coronavirus scammers are flooding social media with fake cures and tests