Here's some hints:

Pic #21 (top): Given where these folks work(ed), you think they'd have some chairs - or even a couch - to sit on.  

Pic #22 (bottom): Looks like this group left the horses and hay back at the office when they stepped out to volunteer. 

COVID-19 pandemic accelerates transformation in enterprise security

Organizations must retool their policies and invest in security programs to acclimate to a post-COVID-19 business landscape.

Aside from essential workers, nearly everybody is working remotely during the current public health crisis, posing unprecedented security and privacy challenges. In a new ISACA survey on COVID-19 business impacts, 87 percent of respondents say the rapid requirement to work from home increased the risk of data privacy and protection issues. For organizations that already had a substantial percentage of remote workers, the shift was not as jarring, but many companies are accustomed to the majority of employees working in a traditional office setting. Abruptly, they have had to acclimate not only to equipping employees to be productive while working from home, but to provide guidance to help guard against an uptick in phishing and denial of service attacks increasingly being perpetrated by opportunistic cybercriminals.

The pandemic also has placed increasing pressure on IT departments to function in agile fashion. As noted in Diginomica, “At times of crisis, the time horizon for action is short. Nobody at the moment is thinking about multi-month IT projects, unless it's how to put them on hold. Instead, IT leaders should be looking at much shorter timelines, falling into two waves. The first priority is rapidly redeploying resources for immediate needs, whether that means putting in tools to support people working from home, accelerating information gathering and analysis to get in front of stresses in the business, or switching to lower-cost alternatives.”

It's not only the immediate period, though, that ultimately will be reshaped by COVID-19. In the early days of the pandemic, many understandably clung to the notion that several of these major changes would be short-term inconveniences as opposed to lasting overhauls to organizations’ ways of conducting business. But while the public health risks should continue to lessen with vigilance and with time, the related shifts to business processes will extend well into the future. csoonline.com

6 ways attackers are exploiting the COVID-19 crisis
While organizations can take plenty of steps to ensure employees are well-equipped to work remotely in a secure manner, threat actors of all stripes are already taking advantage of the COVID19/coronavirus situation. Never ones to miss an opportunity, attackers are ramping up operations to spread malware via Covid19-themed emails, apps, websites and social media.

Here’s a breakdown of potential threat vectors and techniques threat actors are using to attack organizations:

1. Phishing emails
2. Malicious apps
3. Bad domains
4. Insecure endpoints and end users
5. Vulnerabilities at vendors and third parties
6. Targeting healthcare organizations
csoonline.com

The Era of Weaponized Data Breaches
Global tensions are at an all-time high, with state-sponsored adversaries, cybercriminals and hacktivists targeting each other using data packages traded in underground communities, says a new study. According to 4iQ's Identity Breach Report 2020, the number of new identity records and the depth of personal information available in exfiltrated data are expanding, creating a blueprint of our digital identities that threat actors can weaponize and exposed identity information is now more intimate — fueling identity-based attacks across the globe.

4iQ’s latest report offers a unique perspective on how the underground Breach Economy reflects the severity of targeted public/private sector cyber intrusions and provides exclusive insight into what is reported (and not reported) in the news headlines today.

4iQ continued to see the trend of cybercriminals rereleasing big combo packages with aggregated credentials gathered from newer, large-scale breaches: every time these big combo packages surface, billions of email addresses or usernames associated with clear-text passwords recirculate in underground communities, making the data increasingly accessible for malicious use, such as account takeover, Business Email Compromise, and other identity-based attacks.

There was an increase in the percentage of breach packages containing identity information beyond just credentials: 2019 saw a 10 percent increase in emails and passwords contained in data breaches, and a 14 percent increase in PII, compared to 2018. This is concerning since passwords can be easily changed but many identity attributes are permanent or very difficult to change, says 4iQ. securitymagazine.com

Zoom Settles with NY AG Over COVID-19-Related Privacy, Security Issues

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eBay Accused of Price Gouging COVID-19-Related Products
Online auction retail marketplace eBay has been accused of facilitating the sale of excessively priced COVID-19 -related products in a class action complaint. eBay allegedly violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, as well as and unjust enrichment.

Plaintiff Jeanette Mercado states that in light of the COVID-19 pandemic “unscrupulous sellers opportunistically prey upon the public by gouging prices of essential items,” such as masks, disinfectants, and hand sanitizers“ to unconscionably profit off of vulnerable and fearful consumers during these unprecedented times.” Mercado stated that eBay’s efforts to stop price gouging on its platform have not been fruitful. “While eBay publicly states that it is trying to stem the use of eBay’s platform by sellers who have charged, and continue to charge, gouging rates to consumers across the country, eBay’s very business model not only allows but encourages such price gouging to eBay’s financial benefit.

“[I}n addition to charging fees for initially listing items, eBay charges a ‘final value fee’ when items actually sell, which is calculated as a percentage of the total amount of the sale. Thus the higher the sale price, the more profit eBay stands to earn.” Mercado noted that brick-and-mortar stores have been experiecning scarcity for certain products, which has benefitted online retailers during this pandemic.

In an effort to stop price gouging, eBay banned essential items by “blocking new listings and removing existing ones.” eBay also added a price-gouging reporting tool. However, the plaintiff claims that this ban was “insufficient and ineffective to halt the rampant price gouging that pervades its platform.” Mercado cited its business model as an incentive for eBay to ignore the price gouging on its platform. lawstreetmedia.com

How Amazon Could Boost Covid-19 Testing While Crushing E-Commerce Rivals
n announcing first-quarter earnings, Amazon.com (AMZN) said it expects to spend $4 billion or more in the second quarter on expenses related to its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among other things, the company is spending “hundreds of millions to develop our own Covid-19 testing capabilities.”

Amazon (ticker: AMZN) also said a team of scientists, programmers, procurement specialists and software engineers have shifted from their normal jobs to “a dedicated team working to build incremental testing capacity.” barrons.com

Apple launches online shopping hub during the COVID-19 pandemic

Amazon Who? Independent Booksellers Find New Allies

D&D Daily Survey:
How will COVID-19 impact Loss Prevention & Organized Retail Crime at your stores as the nation prepares to reopen?

The industry values your input! The D&D Daily wants to hear your thoughts as retail prepares to reopen following mass closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given the past seven weeks, we've all had a chance to think about what is going to happen as we reopen the doors, but are we prepared for the impact the pandemic will have on Loss Prevention and Organized Retail Crime?

What does ORC look like in the coming months? How are your stores preparing?

Click here to share your thoughts!
 

Tracy, CA: Police search for suspects who stole $150K in jewelry from Costco
Tracy Police are looking for two suspects behind a smash-and-grab robbery at a Costco. Last Thursday around 8:30 p.m., Tracy police say two suspects wearing face coverings and sunglasses walked into the Costco on West Grant Line Road. One of the suspects began smashing display cases with a sledgehammer and grabbing jewelry while the other suspect parked a getaway vehicle outside the store, according to police.

Police report employees tried to run at the suspect with the sledgehammer, who fled the store and got into the tan, four-door sedan parked outside. As the two suspects drove away, police say one pointed a handgun at a Costco employee. Police say the suspects got away with an estimated $150,000 worth of jewelry. fox40.com

Morresville, NC: 3 arrested for thefts at Lowe’s stores spanning a 6-year period
Three people were arrested and charged after stealing from a Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Mooresville. An off-duty Iredell County deputy was at the store on April 25 when he saw an employee attempting the stop a man who was pushing a cart with electrical wire and other items into the parking lot. The employee told the deputy that the man did not pay for the items, so the deputy intervened and assisted in stopping the man. The stolen inventory was recovered without incident and returned to the store. The off-duty deputy recorded information from the man’s vehicle before he fled the scene.

The Lowe’s Loss Prevention and Regional Asset Protection Teams told the deputy they were investigating numerous thefts involving the same suspect. The thief was identified as Kody Ryan Wells. In addition, Ryan Wade Yoder, was identified as an accomplice. Deputies opened up an investigation and found out that Wells and Yoder had committed numerous larcenies from several Lowe’s stores spanning a six-year period. The vehicle, a black Ford Explorer, was used in the thefts belonged to Jessica Nicole Hawkins.
 
A deputy attempted to make contact with Hawkins and Yoder at their home and observed numerous items consistent with the reported stolen property from Lowes, stored throughout their yard of the residence. Based on the investigation, detectives received search warrants for homes in Mooresville. Officers recovered more than $8,000 worth of stolen property that belonged to Lowe’s Home Improvement. wbtv.com

Mercer County, KY: Man suspected of $20,000 theft from 7 area Lowe’s stores
A Harrodsburg man is busted in a shoplifting ring that included more than $20,000 in thefts from Lowe’s stores throughout the region. Investigators believe he had an elaborate operation selling the items online and using forged vehicle registrations to help cover his tracks. According to the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department, T.W. Freeman was arrested Friday after a Mercer County deputy, working with Lexington Police, spotted him in the Burgin community. Deputy Sean Brown stopped Freeman’s vehicle and arrested him on three outstanding warrants.

Stolen items were found in the vehicle, according to Mercer County deputies. He is suspected in thefts from seven Lowe’s during the last three months, authorities said. During a search Freeman’s home, investigators say they seized computer equipment they think Freeman used to sell the items online, making false vehicle registration plates to conceal the identity of the vehicles he was using, along with additional Lowe’s property. wtvq.com

Police nab NY trio they say stole $10,000 worth of liquor from Paramus Stew Leonard's
For more than a week and a half, a trio of New York thieves returned to a Stew Leonard's store and allegedly stole $10,000 worth of liquor before they were caught, according to police. The Stew Leonard's store in Paramus experienced a series of bold daytime thefts beginning on April 9 and continuing until 136 bottles of alcoholic merchandise had been pilfered from the store's liquor department, Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said. Working with store security, Ehrenberg's investigators identified the getaway car, which they linked to Richard Caldwell, 54, of Brooklyn, Yolanda Emery, 60, of Yonkers, and Tonya Hanner, 53, of Mount Vernon, New York.  northjersey.com

Trussville, AL: Police arrest man for stuffing stroller box with over $2K worth of stolen merchandise at Walmart
Justin Brian Wiggins, 34, is facing the charge after a loss prevention officer at the store said Wiggins removed a stroller from a box, placed the stroller back on the shelf and stuffed the box with assorted merchandise. According to a police report, Wiggins tried to leave the store without paying. The loss prevention officer at Walmart was able to stop Wiggins before he left, and police responded to the scene. The items in the stroller box had a total value of $2,225.14. trussvilletribune.com

Morris, IL: Man With 5 Prior Retail Theft Prison Terms Facing 4 new Felony theft charges
Several felony charges have been filed against a Grundy County man. Carl LaFever, 46, of Minooka was recently charged with four counts of retail theft, all class four felonies; retail theft, a class three felony and three counts of burglary, all class two felonies. Court records show LaFever allegedly burglarized Menards in Morris on December 30th and Wal-Mart in Morris on February 14th and March 5th. LaFever is also accused of stealing merchandise from a business in the 2,000 block of South Ridge Road in Minooka as well as from a gas station in Morris on January 1st. wcsjnews.com

The Villages, FL: Homeless man arrested after loading up backpack with nearly $500 of merchandise at Wal-Mart