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ADT Partners with Dollar Tree Inc. to Deliver Industry-Leading Solutions to Retail Locations Nationwide

One of the leading providers of commercial security to provide advanced security technologies and monitoring services at thousands of the retail chain’s locations

ADT (NYSE: ADT) announced today that, via ADT Commercial, its commercial channel, it is joining forces with Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR), to help provide protection to its retail locations nationwide. ADT Commercial, a premier provider of commercial security, fire, life safety and risk consulting services in the U.S., will provide comprehensive and innovative security solutions and monitoring services at the majority of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar locations across the U.S.

Read more in today's Vendor Spotlight below.

 

NRF Announces Tractor Supply Company President and CEO Hal Lawton as Next Guest in Retail Leadership Series

WHAT: The NRF Retail Leadership Series is a virtual program featuring candid conversations between NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay and CEOs from retail brands and leaders across the economy. Shay and Lawton will discuss Lawton’s experience taking the helm of a company during a global pandemic, the need for transparent and timely communications with team members, and offering new delivery and fulfillment options for consumers.

WHO: Moderator: Matthew Shay, president and CEO, NRF
Guest: Hal Lawton, president and CEO, Tractor Supply Company, and NRF board member

Other upcoming guests will include Ritch Allison of Domino’s, Brian Cornell of Target, Marvin Ellison of Lowe’s, John Furner of Walmart U.S., Jeff Gennette of Macy’s Inc., Kevin Johnson of Starbucks, Patrice Louvet of Ralph Lauren, Chris Nassetta of Hilton, Sonia Syngal of Gap Inc., and many more.

WHEN: Thursday, June 11, 2020, at 11 A.M. EST

REGISTER: Register here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
 

A Weekend of Peaceful Protests in U.S. as Demonstrations Go Global

'Worst Case Scenario'
How Would Texas Respond to a Hurricane in the Middle of COVID-19?

Forecasts show a 60% chance of above-normal activity this hurricane season,
with 13 to 19 named storms.

A worst-case scenario would be a major hurricane hitting the coast in late October as cold and flu season begins and as cases of COVID-19 could see a second spike across the country, according to Dr. Thomas A. LaVeist, dean of Tulane University's school of public health and tropical medicine. "That could be devastating," LaVeist said. "That will be a huge strain on resources."

Ordering an evacuation is typically the to-go response during a major hurricane, but officials will have to weigh whether that is the best course during the COVID-19 crisis, LaVeist said.

"It's not only the risk of the hurricane. It's also the risk of the evacuation," LaVeist said. govtech.com

The Ipsos Consumer Health & Safety Index, launched Wednesday
Ipsos’ inaugural Consumer Health & Safety Index uncovers gaps in store practices

Benchmarks COVID-19 health and safety at retailers across seven industries.

Ipsos Mystery Shoppers conducted in-store visits of over 5700 retailers across the U.S. and learned which brands are successfully implementing health and safety measures and which ones are not.

Today, Ipsos, the global research firm, announced the launch of the Consumer Health & Safety Index: an ongoing health and safety benchmarking study that evaluates how retailers across seven industries are operating amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ipsos conducted a two-pronged study, first surveying 2,000 Americans to understand which health and safety attributes are most important to consumers in the current COVID-19 retail environment, followed by thousands of mystery shops that measured brand compliance to these health and safety attributes across 45 major U.S. brands.

“The ability to deliver on health and safety efforts is now the most important aspect of the customer experience, and it will be for some time”, said Nick Mercurio, executive vice president and service line head of U.S. Channel Performance at Ipsos. “We found that 62% of shoppers would stop shopping at a retailer not taking health and safety seriously. Ensuring protections are in place to keep consumers safe, healthy and loyal in the 6-foot economy is the primary driver that inspired our inaugural Consumer Health & Safety index.”

• Employees at 25% of the stores visited in the Index wore face coverings improperly or not at all inside the store.

• Employees at 51% of stores visited were not wearing gloves inside the stores.

• 77% of the stores visited did not provide any hand sanitizing or hand washing solution inside the entrance.

• 82% of the stores visited did not provide any hand sanitizing or hand washing solution at checkout.

• 64% of the stores visited had no staff actively cleaning interior high traffic areas, such as carts/baskets, counters, credit card readers, doors, and demos.

• 31% of the stores visited did not have plexiglass dividers at checkout.

• 58% of the stores visited were not observed to be managing the number of customers entering stores.

While there is definitely room for improvement, a few brands stood out among the crowd and offered superior performance implementing the health and safety measures of the new economy. Read more

Survey: More than half of employers to screen workers for COVID
Fifty-eight percent of employers are planning to conduct employee temperature or health screenings as part of reopening business plans, according a survey of 1,010 executives released Tuesday by the San Francisco-based employment law firm Littler Mendelson P.C.

The survey also found that 78% plan to reopen within three months, with 34% of those respondents saying they will do so within one month. Increasing frequency and depth of cleaning and disinfecting worksites was named the top safety protocol as 90% of respondents said they intend to focus on cleaner facilities.

Meanwhile, 87% said they plan on limiting or restricting employee contact in common areas; 86% plan on encouraging face coverings; 78% plan on maintaining distant work areas; 78% plan on continuing remote workspaces; and 68% plan on rotating work schedules. businessinsurance.com

Mastercard Launches Recovery Insights Initiative to Inform Business and Government Economic Response Efforts
To assist in these efforts, Mastercard has launched Recovery Insights, a set of tools, innovation and research that can provide some certainty today and support data-driven decision-making for a more digital tomorrow.

The initiative draws on Mastercard's analytics and experimentation platforms, its longstanding consulting practice and unique data-driven insights. "Enabling smarter decisions with better outcomes is our goal. And, it's what airlines, restaurants, CPG brands, banks, governments and countless others are seeking right now," said Raj Seshadri, president of data and services, Mastercard. businesswire.com

Chicken Industry Price-Fixing:
Four Sr. Execs - Including Pilgrim's Pride CEO - Indicted on Antitrust Charges
The chief executive of one of the country's biggest chicken producers and three other industry executives were indicted Wednesday on charges they conspired to fix prices on chicken sold to restaurants and grocery stores, the Justice Department's first charges in a continuing criminal antitrust probe.

Pilgrim's Pride Corp. CEO Jayson Penn and a former company vice president, Roger Austin, were charged in the one-count indictment, returned by a federal grand jury in Denver. Colorado-based Pilgrim's, majority owned by Brazilian meat conglomerate JBS SA, is the nation's second-largest chicken producer. Also charged were the president of Georgia-based Claxton Poultry Farms, Mikell Fries, and a vice president, Scott Brady. wsj.com

Why June Rent Payments Are The Next Big Challenge Facing Retail
Many retailers across the U.S. failed to make rent payments in recent months as their businesses struggled in the face of mandated store closures. Now, with states allowing retail stores to reopen, the question is whether finances will improve to the point to allow companies to pay landlords. forbes.com

NYC reopens under Phase 1 today - Non-essential retailers allowed curbside or in-store pickup

Buyout firm Sycamore Partners in talks to buy J.C. Penney

Ascena Retail Group and Brooks Brothers edge toward bankruptcy filings

Gap to shutter Hill City men's athletics brand

Gap to ‘mothball’ unsold inventory until next year

Dunkin' Donuts plans to hire 25,000 employees as states reopen

Luxury British handbag maker Mulberry to cut 25% of global workforce
 

Senior LP & AP Jobs Market

Sr. Dir, Security and Threat Management job posted for PayPal in New York, NY
This leader will be responsible for the protection of that value proposition through ownership of a holistic security testing program, quality assurance functions, and critical incident response teams including cyber forensics and critical investigations. indeed.com

Senior LP Job Postings Removed from Website:

• Dir. of Loss Prevention - Gulfstream Goodwill Industries - Lake Worth, FL
• Dir. Asset Protection SE - Home Depot - Atlanta, GA
• Dir. Asset Protection - Jiffy Lube - Irving, TX - May 29
• Safety Manager- Wakefern Food Corp- Woodbridge, NJ - May 1

 

The Privacy & Security Outlook for Businesses Post-COVID-19

Long-term business needs - and the ethical implications that result - don't simply go away just because we're navigating a global health crisis.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc, organizations in all sectors are being challenged to adapt to unpredictable waves of change. As various jurisdictions begin to allow offices and other physical operations to reopen, business leaders are looking toward employee surveillance and mobile contact-tracing systems to simultaneously protect employee health and wellness and mitigate business and operational risks.

As you review your own plans to loosen the reins and return to a new normal, consider your options carefully - or risk compromising your long-term road map.

Contact Tracing: A Tenuous Balancing Act

The process of identifying people who may have come into contact with an infected person, typically for public health reasons, has rightfully emerged as a technique leveraged by businesses for near-term survival. In the battle against COVID-19, artificial intelligence–driven technologies are being deployed at scale in the mad rush to reduce the spread of the virus. However, this short-term solution comes with significant long-term implications because the impact of these predominantly reactive approaches warrants broader ethical debate. While no one disputes the life-saving benefits of contact tracing, data privacy experts are concerned about the fallout from hastily deployed technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Public Safety vs. Privacy

Changes in operational processes can be viewed as an opportunity to reinforce your employee's knowledge in the following areas:

● The organization's privacy policies
● Compliance and legal obligations around data privacy and security
● Procedural instructions around how to handle data, including providing personal data and other sensitive data to third parties

The business still needs to define where to draw the line between safeguarding the public and being surveillant of the public. How can we reap the benefits that contact tracing provides while still ensuring that the private information leveraged is obtained consensually and used only for specified purposes? darkreading.com

Could a cyber attack actually be good for your career?

Evidence suggests falling victim to a cyber attack may actually enhance your resume

Over the past decade, much has been made about the cyber security blame game, with the same question being asked: who should be accountable for a data breach or cyber incident? The answer, of course, is that it’s never black or white. But in the aftermath of many major incidents, chief information security officers (CISOs) and chief information officers (CIOs) are let go, and sometimes the CEO follows them out of the door.

In the case of one of the world’s biggest credit score agencies, Equifax, all three stepped down from their respective roles after a catastrophic breach that affected 147 million people in the US, 14 million UK citizens and 100,000 Canadians. According to David Rimmer, the former CISO of Europe at Equifax, who was at the company during the breach, such decisions are not necessarily made for the right reasons.

“Often moves like that are made to satisfy shareholders and the press, rather than what’s best for the company – providing continuity in leadership is really important during a breach response,” he says.

A tainted CV or an invaluable experience?

While there is much talk about the immediate impact of a cyber incident, what about thereafter? Would the CIOs and CISOs who’ve been axed manage to get similar or even better jobs, or are their CVs tainted because of their association with a cyber incident? Would any cyber security or IT staff who leave of their own accord also find themselves in a similar situation?

According to Joe Hansard, cyber security recruitment consultant at La Fosse Associates, it wouldn’t necessarily hamper their future employment prospects. “It would be how they reacted to the breach that they would be judged on,” he suggests.

If they were allowed to continue in the role, at least for a short period of time, there is a greater chance that the incident could enhance their CV.

“I work within the contract market, and, if anything, being at an organisation during a breach adds value to a CV, not the opposite. They are able to get a first-hand account of the breach to understand what led to the breach and the incident response plan that followed,” says Hansard. computerweekly.com

Enterprise mobile phishing increased by 37% in Q1 2020
There was a 37 percent increase worldwide in enterprise mobile phishing encounter rate between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, according to Lookout.

The cost of enterprise mobile phishing

The report also shows that unmitigated mobile phishing threats could cost organizations with 10,000 mobile devices as much as $35 million per incident, and up to $150 million for organizations with 50,000 mobile devices.

“Smartphones and tablets are trusted devices that sit at the intersection of their owner’s personal and professional identity,” said David Richardson, VP of product management at Lookout. “Cybercriminals are exploiting the ability to socially engineer victims on their mobile device in order to steal their credentials or sensitive private data.” helpnetsecurity.com

Facebook Uses Retail Data To Train Chatbots To Be Like Humans
Dubbed “Situated Interactive MultiModal Conversations (SIMMC),” its goal is to allow AI chatbots to show an object and explain what it’s made of in response to images, memories of previous interactions and individual requests.

The online news service reported Facebook revealed 13,000 human to human conversations across two retail spaces, furniture and fashion, were used as data for the training. Facebook’s mission is to imitate human chat by responding to images and messages as a person would. pymnts.com

6 hard truths security pros must learn to live with

5 signs a virtual CISO makes sense for your organization

Skipped patch from 2012 makes old Microsoft Office systems a favored target

NYC looters caught with Chanel sunglasses, Dior purses, Gucci shoes
Hundreds of alleged looters were arrested this week in New York City, some with high-priced hauls that would rival a Real Housewife’s shopping spree, according to the NYPD. A crew of 15 to 20 pilfered pricey pelts worth $750,000 from family-owned furrier Henry Cowit on Monday in a brazen spree caught on surveillance camera, the NYPD said Saturday. That same night, a Rite Aide pharmacy in Midtown was burglarized of $60,000 in prescription meds by three men, police said. The NYPD is still searching for suspects in both break-ins. In other cases alleged looters were caught wearing the evidence. nypost.com

Westchester County, NY: 3 men charged with stealing people’s identities to open fraudulent credit accounts & purchase more than $100K worth of merchandise
The three men, including two former employees of a telecommunications company, are accused of using the stolen Personal Identity Information (PII) of multiple victims to open credit accounts and then purchase iPhones, iPads and other expensive wireless devices and accessories. From about January 2019 through August 2019, two employees of the telecommunications company opened numerous fraudulent customer accounts at a store in Yonkers, police said. dailyvoice.com

Chambersburg, PA: Duo tried to steal $11,000 from Family Dollar
A former employee of a Family Dollar and another woman were arrested after police said they plotted to steal several items from the store worth over $11,000. Amber Powell, 30, was charged with theft by unlawful taking, forgery and more after she conspired with 24-year-old Anyia Hinton to steal merchandise and cash. Powell went to work and entered the store before its opening, police said, and “loaded several shopping carts full of merchandise and took the shopping carts out of the rear stock room door where Hinton was waiting to retrieve the items.” pennlive.com

Group caught stealing $60K in drugs from Midtown Rite Aid: cops

Clearwater, FL: Police searching for Lowe’s theft suspect

New York City, NY: DJI Drone Store looted, merchandise valued at $16,000

Queensbury, NY: New York State Police arrest $900 Target Thief; prior history/no trespass