D&D Daily Mobile Edition

The D&D Daily Mobile Edition
LP, AP & IT Security's #1 News Source

6/22/21

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Elisha Toye, CFI Legacy named Director Asset Protection Herald Square for Macy’s

Before being named Director Asset Protection Herald Square for Macy’s, Elisha spent nearly 14 years with Kohl's in various roles, including District Loss Prevention Manager, Regional Director of Loss Prevention, and DLPM. Earlier in her career, she held LP/security roles with Limited Brands and again with Macy's. Congratulations, Elisha!

Tim LePelley, CFI promoted to Senior Manager, Area Loss Prevention for Ross Stores Inc.

Tim has been with Ross Stores for more than two years. He started with the company in 2019 as an Area Loss Prevention Manager. Before joining Ross, he spent seven years with Rent-A-Center as Senior Zone AP Manager and Zone AP Manager. Earlier in his career, he held roles with Nordstrom, Brookstone and Saks Fifth Avenue, among others. Congratulations, Tim!

See All the Executives 'Moving Up' Here

Submit Your New Corporate Hires/Promotions or New Position

Follow Along as NRF Retail Converge Continues!
The Depth of a Workshop, the Breadth of a Conference

NRF Retail Converge is a virtual event that offers a deep exploration of multiple specialties within the retail industry. With over 160 sessions to choose from, you can tailor the entire event to focus on your biggest questions and most pressing needs.

Get detailed insights and takeaways to help you improve in your role, as well as the big-picture vision you’ll need to advance your retail career. And because it’s a virtual event, it’s more convenient and accessible than ever.

This is your chance to see the innovations and discover the strategies that will drive success in the second half of 2021 and beyond.

Check out the full agenda here

Appriss Retail Named a Top Innovator by CIO Bulletin

New retail platform released in 2021 key to recognition

IRVINE, Calif. (June 22, 2021) — Appriss Retail, an industry leader in retail consumer experience solutions, today announced that the company has been named by CIO Bulletin as one of the publication’s Top 50 Innovators of the Year for its new platform. This SaaS platform provides solutions that combine artificial intelligence, real-time information, and data analytics to produce unique insights for retailers to address many of the challenges omnichannel retailers face today.

“We’re excited by this acknowledgement of our new retail platform,” said Steve Prebble, president of Appriss Retail. “Every day we’re partnering with retailers worldwide to provide them with knowledge for good. Our mission is to help retailers deliver the best consumer experience while maximizing profit.” Read more here

Violence, Crime & Protests

U.S. State of Safety - Retail Concerns - Refunding PD - National Crime Strategy

The State of Safety in America 2021
Top 10 States Most & Least Worried About Rising Crime

SafeWise surveyed the country to find out what percentage of state populations are worried about safety on a daily basis

The State of Safety is a nationwide survey that dives into America’s top safety concerns. Over the past three years, we’ve surveyed more than 15,000 Americans—at least 300 from every state—to find out about their perceptions and attitudes about safety and crime.

We use this data to spot trends in how people perceive safety and danger, as well as respondents’ experiences with different types of crimes.

Violent crime: Fear vs. reality

Despite the traumatic fallout of violent crimes, Americans are less worried about a violent crime actually happening to them. Americans also experience far fewer violent crimes than they do property crimes. In 2019, violent crimes made up 15% of all reported crime in the US.

Gun violence & riots

After an overwhelming number of respondents from our 2019 survey expressed concern about mass shootings, we added that category to the State of Safety survey in 2020.

For the first time, respondents mentioned hearing gunshots where they live - from Alaska to Connecticut. Despite stay-at-home orders, mass shootings jumped 47% year over year. Mention of riots and protests came up in at least 460 answers to the question, “what keeps you up at night?”. Gun-related terms came up over 130 times.

Property crime: Fear vs. reality

For the third consecutive year, property crime is still the crime Americans feel is most likely to happen to them, and they’re not wrong. In 2019, a property crime happened every 4.6 seconds in the US. But the property crime rate fell 4% year over year—and dipped below seven million total crimes for the first time in at least 20 years. safewise.com

Retail Execs Sound the Alarm About Store Violence
ShotSpotter Reports 55 Percent of Retail Security Executives are Concerned or Very Concerned About Gunfire at Their Stores

Retail Security Survey Highlights Increased Attention for Industry as Gun Violence Escalates Across the U.S.

ShotSpotter, Inc., a leader in precision policing technology solutions that enable law enforcement to more effectively respond to, investigate and deter crime, today announced the results of a Public Safety and Retail Security survey that revealed 55 percent of retail security executives are concerned or very concerned about gunfire at their store location and 88 percent say it is very important that retailers partner with law enforcement.

Key findings from the survey include:

● 26 percent report being very concerned about gunfire in their store location, while 29 percent are concerned, 36 percent are somewhat concerned and 9 percent are not concerned.

● 88 percent say it is very important that retailers partner with law enforcement, while 12 percent say is it important and zero respondents said it was not important.

● Only five percent feel their security personnel and associates are very prepared to respond to a violent incident on site, while 36 percent say they are prepared, 46 percent are somewhat prepared and 13 percent are not prepared.

● 24 percent rate their security team partnering with law enforcement as extremely successful, while 69 percent say they are somewhat successful and six percent say they are not successful.

In 2020, gun violence killed nearly 20,000 Americans---more than any other year in at least two decades---according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. This makes the topic of public safety in retail stores and surrounding parking lot areas an important issue for both security teams and local law enforcement agencies. globenewswire.com

Cities 'Refund' Police Departments as Homicides Spike 24% Since January
Major cities ‘refund the police’ as crime skyrockets & businesses backfire

Citizens fight back with lawsuits, secession from cities in quest for increased safety

One year after the movement to "defund" police saw cities slash budgets and cut funding, the U.S. has seen an uptick in crime. Homicides alone are up 24% since January and more than 70% of people in a recent Fox News Poll said they believe crime is on the rise nationally. As a result, the pendulum may be swinging back in favor of the police.

Cities like New York City, Oakland, Baltimore, Minneapolis and Los Angeles are planning to reinstate tens of millions for the construction of new police precincts, increase police department budgets, among other plans to bankroll more efforts to confront the uptick in crime.

Overall, in several of the nation's largest local law-enforcement agencies, city and county leaders want funding increases for 9 of the 12 departments where next year’s budgets have already been proposed, with increases ranging from 1% to 6%, according to the Wall Street Journal.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio announced that the city will return $92 million for a new precinct after the project had been cut last summer. The move comes in the wake of a reported 16 shooting incidents and five homicides last weekend. New York Police Department (NYPD) crime data shows that shooting incidents in the Big Apple are up 68% year-to-date and up over 30% within the past month.

The city of Baltimore is reversing efforts to cut its police budget by $22 million last year by proposing a $27 million increase.

Budget refunds and proposals come as crime is taking a toll on the bottom line of local businesses, with some business owners threatening to withhold taxes if their local governments fail to act.

A group of 37 restaurants and small businesses in Baltimore recently sent a letter to the mayor, city council and state’s attorney threatening to go on a tax and fee strike until leadership starts enforcing the law and addressing crime, drug dealing and other issues. foxnews.com

Biden to Roll Out National Anti-Crime Strategy
Biden launches an effort to head off violent crime

The strategy will focus on gun crimes in an effort to stem the continued rise in homicides across the country

President Biden is expected to lay out an anti-crime strategy this week, focusing on gun crimes as part of an effort to stem the rise in homicides across the country at the beginning of what his administration and experts believe will be a tumultuous summer.

Biden’s planned remarks Wednesday will put the White House at the forefront of a delicate issue that has dogged him and the Democratic Party in the past and carries potential political consequences for them. Administration officials are eager to show that the president is attuned to the problem and taking concrete steps to reduce crime, people familiar with the plans said.

The new push comes as chunks of the Democratic coalition tug in different directions: Some on the far left want to dismantle traditional policing while others see liberal slogans from 2020 such as “defund the police” as a reason for underwhelming election results and concerned that spiking crime will only exacerbate the political fallout that the slogan wrought.

Liberal activists pushing for an overhaul to policing worry that the alarm over the violence will undercut their efforts to increase oversight and accountability of individual police officers.

Crime was down overall last year by about 6 percent, according to previously released FBI data, one of the largest decreases in decades, while at the same time the murder rate appears to have risen about 25 percent, and violent crime about 3 percent.

The FBI on Monday released initial crime figures for the first three months of 2021 that was inconclusive about whether overall crime was trending up or down, while data being tracked in big cities across the country shows the alarming homicide trends continuing in them.

Rising crime rates in New York have emerged as a key issue in the city’s mayoral race, which is expected to be decided by Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Law and order has become a dominant theme in the final stretch of the campaign. Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.), the head of the DCCC who oversaw the release of that study, on Monday endorsed New York mayoral candidate Eric Adams, a former police officer who has rebuffed calls to weaken the police department. washingtonpost.com

Big & Small Cities Grapple with Deadly Crime Surge
Rise in deadly crime met with wide range of solutions, in cities large and small
President Joe Biden on Wednesday is expected to once again shine a spotlight on the issues of violent crime plaguing the United States, in both cities large and small.

Deadly violence occurred not only in Chicago and Philadelphia over the weekend but in a residential neighborhood in Wichita, Kansas, and in a shopping center parking lot in Aurora, Colorado - another weekend of violence once again turning deadly, with cities small and large overwhelmed, bewildered by the bloodshed.

The homicide rate is escalating rapidly, especially in cities like Los Angeles, Houston, Texas, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Portland, Oregon, has experienced a 533% increase, after a year marked by crime and violence following months of protests that left parts of the city in ruin.

Parts of Baltimore once considered safe, in recent weeks, have been stung by violence...some business owners have even pledged to withhold tax payments until changes are made.

In New York City, the rise in crime has become issue No. 1 in this week’s election for mayor. During the June 10 mayoral debate on WCBS, candidates had a variety of suggestions about what to do.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have tried to come together on a federal solution and so far, have been unable to agree on the best approach that would reform police practices but also improve safety on America’s streets. wjla.com

Crime is Up in California
Prop 47 & Prop 57 Triggers Rise in Crime in the Golden State

Crime has increased since Prop. 47 passed in 2014, and Prop. 57 in 2016

Violent crimes and property crime in California is up above the national average and continues to climb according to the FBI. Notably, the ongoing impacts of rising crime hurts most California cities – few are spared.

Most interesting is the FBI graph below showing how crime in California had dropped, then began to rise again after 2014 – the year Proposition 47 was passed, and then Proposition 57 in 2016.

Proposition 47 largely decriminalized theft and drug crimes by reducing those crimes and a number of other “non-violent” felonies to misdemeanors; and Prop. 57 allows early release for “non-violent offenders,” including rape by intoxication of an unconscious person, human trafficking involving a sex act with minors, arson causing great bodily harm, drive-by shooting, assault with a deadly weapon, and hostage taking.

According to a January 2021 report by Roadsnacks.net, California’s crime numbers have also catapulted the state into the top 20 most dangerous states in America; and sadly, the home to Hollywood currently has nine-yes, nine- of the most dangerous cities in the country. californiaglobe.com

Houston Police Chief Blames Pandemic Suspension Of Social Services, Court Backlog For Crime Increase

Two Atlantic City council members call for state intervention on violent crimes

New Mexico city on pace to smash homicide record

COVID Update

318.5M Vaccinations Given

US: 34.4M Cases - 617.4K Dead - 28.7M Recovered
Worldwide: 179.6M Cases - 3.8M Dead - 164.3M Recovered

Former Senior Loss Prevention Executive
Know of any fallen LP exec? Let's remember & recognize.

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 279
Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 310
*Red indicates change in total deaths

Pandemic Stress Leading to Violence?
Uptick in violent crimes could be tied to pandemic stress, experts say
Police in Petersburg say that they've seen an increase in violence in the city over the last few months and some experts believe pandemic stress could be to blame.

"People are in a lot of pain and they don't know what to do and how to handle the things that they are dealing with," Pastor Belinda Baugh with New Divine Worship Center said.

The recent uptick in violent crimes in Petersburg is similar to what is being seen across the United States.

The National Commission on COVID-19 and Criminal Justice reports a study on crime in 34 major cities across the United States. The study found that aggravated and gun assault rates were also higher in the first quarter of 2021 than in the same period of 2020.

"People have been pent up in houses for a period of time, they're just starting to get out and about," Chambliss said.

However, he and others believe that the pandemic cannot be blamed for all crimes. "It still goes back to a lot of people not knowing how to settle their differences without resorting to gun violence," Chambliss said. wtvr.com

Businesses Unfairly Slapped With Excessive COVID Fines?
How Santa Clara County’s $6M COVID fining frenzy played out ‘in court’
Two months ago, this news organization revealed that the county has fined approximately 400 businesses a total of $6 million — dwarfing the enforcement activity of any other county in the region.

Now, a new look at the system shows that more than a quarter of those businesses have challenged their fines under the county’s appeal process, but still haven’t been granted a day “in court.”

Others were swayed by the county to sign “compliance agreements” in which they promised to follow the health orders and not to challenge the county’s rules in exchange for reduced fines. But of the seven making it through an appeal process that the accused say is stacked in the county’s favor, four have won significant, if not always complete, victories.

Hearing officers in those cases determined the county’s enforcers made unsubstantiated claims, erroneously fined businesses for violations that were immediately remedied or imposed fines that far outweighed the violations committed.

Despite those criticisms, County Counsel James Williams insists the county is being fair to businesses.

Two weeks after this news organization’s April story revealing that Santa Clara County fined businesses 50 times as much as all other Bay Areas counties combined, the Board of Supervisors declared the money should be disbursed as relief grants to small businesses hurt by the pandemic — though not to the ones fined. mercurynews.com

Racing to Avoid a Fall & Winter Surge
There may be trouble ahead as dangerous Covid-19 variant appears to cause hospitalization spike
Health officials are pouring their effort into convincing those still hesitant to get vaccinated against Covid-19, but none of the strategies appear to be a "Hail Mary pass" to get the US to reach President Joe Biden's vaccination goal and curb spreading variants.

Biden set a goal earlier this year for 70% of American adults to have received at least one dose of vaccine by July 4. Although the country is getting close, with 65.4% of adults having received at least one dose, demand and vaccination rates have declined, leaving experts to worry if enough of the population will be vaccinated in time to curb fall and winter surges.

Low vaccination rates are dangerous when combined with the spread of variants like Delta, which is believed to be more transmissible and cause more serious illness. Steve Edwards, CEO of CoxHealth, a healthcare system in Springfield, Missouri, told CNN the combination is to blame for a six-fold increase in hospitalizations in his system. cnn.com

Covid boosters in the fall?
As calls grow for third shots, here’s what you need to know
Coronavirus vaccine booster shots will likely be needed in the fall, according to experts, who are urging governments to organize them now. It comes as the Delta variant of the coronavirus, first identified in India, continues to spread rapidly across the world.

Some countries, like the U.S. and U.K., have already signaled that they could roll out Covid-19 booster shots within a year. Now, pressure is building on governments to mobilize booster shot programs — no easy task given the ongoing uncertainties surrounding the pandemic, vaccines and variants.

However, concrete plans for Covid-19 booster shots are lacking. Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, last month said it was, “just something we’re gonna have to figure out as we go.” cnbc.com

America hits 150 million fully vaccinated, says White House

Stores Outsourcing Security to India?
A CCTV Company Is Paying Remote Workers in India to Yell at Armed Robbers

Clerks at 7-Eleven and other convenience stores are being constantly monitored by a voice of god that can intervene from thousands of miles away.

The videos are just a few examples that Washington-based Live Eye Surveillance uses to demonstrate its flagship product: a surveillance camera system that keeps constant watch over shops and lets a remote human operator intervene whenever they see something they deem suspicious.

For enough money—$399 per month according to one sales email Motherboard viewed—a person in Karnal, India will watch the video feed from your business 24/7. The monitors “act as a virtual supervisor for the sites, in terms of assuring the safety of the employees located overseas and requesting them to complete assigned tasks,” according to a job posting on the company's website.

Live Eye is one of many companies profiting from the increasing adoption of workplace surveillance tools during the pandemic, which human rights experts say corporations have exploited to introduce a wide array of spy tools in the name of safety.

On its website, the company claims several major corporations as customers, including 7-Eleven, Shell, Dairy Queen, and Holiday Inn. Many of those businesses are franchised, and it isn’t clear from Live Eye’s materials whether the corporations have purchased the surveillance systems or if they’ve been bought by individual franchise owners.

Even worse, the former field consultant said, the particular form of surveillance Live Eye is selling could actually be putting store workers in danger.

In one of the sample videos Live Eye sends potential customers, two black-clad robbers, one carrying an assault rifle, run into what appears to be a 7-Eleven store and force the clerk behind the counter. As the clerk starts to open the cash register, the Live Eye system dings and a voice informs the robbers that the police have been called. They run out of the store.

“That’s how someone is going to get killed,” the former field consultant said. “You don’t startle someone with an assault rifle. That violates 7-Eleven policy. There’s a reason why the silent alarm is silent” at banks and other businesses. vice.com indiatimes.com

The Wage Wars Continue
Factory work used to pay far better that fast-food jobs — but thanks to the labor shortage, the gap is quickly closing
Fast-food chains are pushing up wages amid the current labor shortage – and factories are struggling to raise theirs as quickly, which is one of the reasons a stream of workers is leaving the manufacturing industry, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Factories have historically offered better wages than restaurants and retail companies. They still pay workers much higher wages on average, The Journal reported, but fast-food chains are now raising their wages at a much faster rate.

Factories are now struggling to find enough workers to meet the booming demand for furniture and other goods, manufacturing experts told the paper.

"There is just more opportunity to work somewhere else than there was in the past if you are looking for a living-wage job," Julie Davis, head of workforce development for the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, told The Journal.

"Everybody is fighting for the same people," Daniel Quintanilla, director of talent acquisition at Michigan automotive supplier Gentex, told The Journal.

Grocery stores, restaurants, and hotels are offering perks from higher wages and education benefits to cash bonuses and even free iPhones as they scramble to find new hires as the economy reopens and customers return. businessinsider.com

$50,000 Annual Fast-Food Salary
Teenage fast-food workers are landing $50,000-a-year manager jobs at a Texas chicken restaurant thanks to the labor shortage
A Texas chicken-restaurant chain has promoted workers in their late teens and early 20s to managerial positions that pay more than $50,000 per year because of a staff shortage, its CEO told The Wall Street Journal.

Garrett Reed, the CEO of Layne's Chicken Fingers, a fast-food chain with six restaurants across the state, told The Wall Street Journal he was training 16- and 17-year-olds to run new stores because he was so short on staff.

Layne's was struggling to hire and had lost employees to larger employers such as Walmart and McDonald's, Reed told The Journal.

"We're so thin at leadership that we can't stretch anymore to open more locations," he told the Journal. "I've got a good crop of 16- and 17-year-olds, but I need another year or two to get them seasoned to run stores."

The hospitality industry is facing a severe labor shortage. Job openings in the accommodation and food-services industry rose by 349,000 in April, the highest of any industry that month, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed, and some restaurants have hiked wages to attract workers. businessinsider.com

Retailers Rank Among 'Most Patriotic' Brands
Walmart, Amazon, Home Depot, Old Navy among 50 ‘most patriotic’ brands
Jeep came out on top for the 19th straight year in Brand Keys annual ranking of the 50 brands that consumers believe best embody the value of patriotism. Walmart took the number two spot. Only one other retailer made the top 10: Amazon, which came in at No. 4. (See end of article, for ranking of all 50 brands.)

The results are based on a national sample of 5,804 consumers, 16 to 65 years of age, which were balanced for gender and political affiliation and drawn from the nine U.S. Census Regions. Consumers assessed 1,172 brands as to their resonance for the single value of patriotism.

Below are the top 20 brands identified as best meeting the challenge that patriotism plays in today’s marketplace, according to Brand Keys. chainstoreage.com

Americans Are Returning to Physical Stores
NPD: In-store shopping in big rebound as online growth slips

Spending at both physical stores and e-commerce is exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

Dollar sales for the week ending June 12, 2021, rose 15% over the same period two years ago, continuing at a pace that exceeds the 9% growth over last year, according to “Retail Early Indicator” data from The NPD Group. In other findings, discretionary spending on general merchandise continues to be healthier than expected.

The data also showed that physical store sales have not only rebounded, but have exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The recent in-store sales were $1.7 billion higher than last year, and $400 million above two years ago.

In other findings, e-commerce appears to have reached a level of maturity, at least for the time being. Following huge growth during the heights of the pandemic, the data revealed slippage in online sales growth for the first time. chainstoreage.com

Despite May’s Weak Retail Showing, Post-Pandemic Recovery Remains On Track

Louis Vuitton-owner LVMH believes the future of retail will be mostly in-store

L Brands Creates ‘Victoria’s Secret & Co.’

Retail worker quits after impressing customer, gets law-firm job

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Gus Downing's Exclusive Interview with Rex Gillette, VP Retail Sales, ADT

Discussing ADT Commercial’s expansion into the EAS market.

(This week’s focus - Part 2 of 4)

Missed Part I? Read it Here

Gus: Rex, over the last number of years you and your team have been laser focused on developing and delivering a best-in-class service model which has helped position ADT Commercial for the strong growth you’ve accomplished. And now ADT is adding a new component to the model – the EAS detection systems. Can you talk to how you’re going about meeting those same high standards of service excellence with a totally new product line?

Rex: Customer service and support excellence are the foundation of our business model. We are committed to delivering the latest in technology while consistently providing our clients with customer service excellence. To deliver on that commitment, we developed a robust National Accounts program that makes it easy for retailers to do business with us by offering a single point of contact and dedicated teams to manage their security and loss prevention programs. As part of that program, we operate a National Account Operations Center, which manages everything, from service and installation to monitoring and billing. This helps to ensure consistency in meeting each customer’s standards—delivering all services with a local touch. We also strive to answer calls within a few rings—with no automated phone systems.

1 Touch Team: We dedicate a team to each premier National Accounts customer. This team will help manage all aspects of security, fire, and life safety programs, including EAS, from order entry all the way through billing and delivering a holistic approach to security. This creates a truly seamless experience for customers and offer a reliable “one point of contact” approach. Our focus on performance enhancement allows us to better serve a retailer’s needs by being proactive rather than reactive.

1Report: The 1Report executive summary is prepared for premier National Accounts customers on a quarterly basis to review performance and help plan for continuous improvements.

Customer scorecard: We collect the customer satisfaction Score of every National Accounts installation and service call and compensate local operations teams in part based upon these scores. This helps to ensure that excellence in customer service remains the focal point for all team members.

Remote Tuning for EAS System: ADT Commercial EAS systems feature innovative Wi-Fi remote tuning capabilities, creating a cost-effective benefit without any additional infrastructure cost by connecting the system to the mobile hotspot included in the system’s configuration. This directly benefits the customer in that this feature means:

• No lead times for service
• No service call costs associated with on-site tuning
• No connectivity infrastructure needed by the retailer, as the hotspot is included with the EAS system

When a service call is placed, service technician will log in to the system to see if there are tags in the field, noise or other issues that can be managed remotely. Technicians can then remotely tune the system to perform optimally and efficiently.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 3 of this Interview.

Upcoming RH-ISAC Events

June 23 -CISO Roundtable Discussion: Supply Chain & Operational Risk

June 24 - Getting Ahead of Holiday Shopping Season Security Threats

June 24 - A Panel Discussion on Targeted Threat Intelligence

Sept. 28-29 - 2021 RH-ISAC Cyber Intelligence Summit

Inviting LP & AP to attend or get a member of their team involved, especially if their retailer is a member of RH-ISAC.

Preventing Ransomware Attacks
Best practices for IT teams to prevent ransomware attacks
Most of successful ransomware attacks happen because organizations overlook a simple security practice. For instance, Microsoft published the relevant patch three months before the WannaCry attack took place and had asked organizations to upgrade their operating systems. This cyberattack was due to negligent patching practices and brought about more than 4 billion dollars in financial loss across the globe.

Run regular IT asset scans and get a tight hold of your hardware and software inventory
Knowing the list of hardware and software available in your network is a crucial practice IT teams should follow. Continuous monitoring of IT assets will help you identify the malicious ones and blacklist them immediately. Having a loose hold on the IT asset inventory will not only create a setback on your management side but will also affect the security of your network.

Perform continuous vulnerability scans and identify the security loopholes
Having any active vulnerability prevalent in the network paves the way for serious security exploits. While periodical scans are no longer effective, running continuous scans and gaining complete visibility of your vulnerability exposure is recommended. Enabling automated vulnerability scans will ensure the process is running seamlessly.

Assess your vulnerability’s risk potential and prioritize smartly
Understanding the risk brought on by each of the vulnerabilities is critical in your vulnerability management process. With risk-based vulnerability management in place, you can prioritize the vulnerabilities based on your severity level and plan your remediation efforts wisely.

Patch vulnerabilities on time without leaving any security gaps
Identifying vulnerabilities is one part and remediating them on time with relevant patches takes your vulnerability management game to the next level. Without timely remediation, you keep the gates open for attackers to invade your network. An integrated vulnerability and patch management suite might do wonders in strengthening your organization’s security posture.

Check antivirus availability and ensure regular updates
Antivirus software acts as a security gatekeeper in each system, protects the network from viruses, and alerts any potential threats. It is also important that the antivirus software is updated on time to increase its effectiveness.

Monitor your endpoint activities closely
Endpoints are the major constituents of your IT infrastructure and the backbone of your business. Numerous activities occur within them every day and monitoring them continuously can help prevent security attacks. helpnetsecurity.com

IT Decision Makers Struggling to Keep Up with Attackers
76% of IT decision makers more vulnerable to mobile attacks than just a year ago
53 percent of IT decision makers admitted that it’s not possible to be prepared for all the tactics and strategies used by attackers targeting mobile devices, a survey by Sapio Research reveals.

Going one step further, 38 percent claimed that it’s impossible to keep up with the pace of these attacks. The survey also found that three quarters of IT decision makers believe their organizations are more vulnerable to mobile cyberattacks than ever before. It has become clear that it isn’t a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Therefore, it is of little surprise that 73 percent of respondents believe that end users are now more susceptible to cyberattacks on mobile devices than they were five years ago. The survey also found that 76 percent of respondents believe they are more vulnerable to mobile attacks than just a year ago, following the shift to remote and hybrid work environments.

“Although many organizations are confident in their ability to identify and prevent mobile attacks, oftentimes this is just overconfidence in legacy solutions that are not able to provide 100 percent protection against the latest waves of socially engineered attacks such as phishing and smishing or zero-days,” said Mark Guntrip, senior director of cybersecurity strategy for Menlo Security.

“Even experienced professionals can fall victim to these attacks and the only way to truly prevent them in the first place is through isolation, which secures work regardless of where it happens.” helpnetsecurity.com

Attackers Targeting Container Supply Chain
Software-Container Supply Chain Sees Spike in Attacks

Attackers target companies' container supply chain, driving a sixfold increase in a year, aiming to steal processing time for cryptomining & compromise cloud infrastructure.

Typosquatting and credential stuffing are two of the most common ways that attackers are attempting to target companies' container infrastructure and the Docker-image supply chain, with attacks climbing nearly 600% in the second half of 2020 compared with the same period a year ago. That's according to a report released by cloud-native security provider Aqua Security on June 21.

Many attackers use passive scanning, utilizing services such as Shodan or tools such as Nmap to find servers hosting the Docker daemon or the Kubernetes container orchestration platform, attempting to attack those platforms using stolen credentials or vulnerabilities, according to the report. Another popular attack uses typosquatting — creating image names similar to legitimate images — and vanilla images that have a variant of a popular image, such as Alpine Linux, attempting to benefit from developer mistakes.

When attackers gain access, they most often install cryptominer software or attempt to escape the container and compromise the host system, says Assaf Morag, lead data analyst at Aqua Security.

"Attackers are constantly looking for new techniques to exploit containers and [Kubernetes]," he says. "They usually find an initial access to these environments and try escaping to the host and collect credentials, insert backdoors, and scan for more victims."

In addition, the developers who create and use containers often do not focus on security. A survey of 44 software images specifically used in neuroscience and medical data science found that a container built from the images had more than 320 different vulnerabilities on average.

The attackers know that misconfigurations are common and have used a variety of techniques to scan more frequently, the Aqua Security report states. darkreading.com

Ignoring Warnings from the Fed
Most organizations would pay in the event of a ransomware attack
Despite the Director of the FBI, the US Attorney General and the White House warning firms against paying cyber-related ransoms, 60 percent of organizations have admitted they would shell out funds in the event of an attack, according to a research from Harris Interactive. When asked how much money they would consider handing over, one in five respondents said they would consider paying 20 percent or more of their company’s annual revenue.

The study comes just days after US meat processing giant, JBS confirmed it had paid $11 million to the REvil ransomware gang, which locked its systems at the end of May.

Earlier this month, Japanese multinational conglomerate, Fujifilm said it had refused to pay a ransom demand to the cyber gang that attacked its network in Japan, instead relying on backups to restore operations. helpnetsecurity.com

Have we reached peak ransomware?

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Amazon Prime's Halfway Point
How Is Amazon Prime Day Performing For Retail Brands So Far?
We’re halfway through Amazon’s annual sale event, and while performance data won’t settle for a couple more days, there are some early indications that this year’s event will be highly successful for Amazon and the brands that sell there.

Here’s how 2021’s event is shaping up so far - what’s different about this year and how retail brands that sell on the platform are experiencing the event.

The deals are good, and there’s more of them
Amazon told Marketplace that it is offering more deals this year than last. And my desk research over the past 24 hours finds there are decent deals in terms of the discounts offered. Large companies and small businesses alike are offering deep discounts. Across my agency’s 80 clients, most are offering Prime Exclusive Discounts, coupons, or flash sales in the 10- 40% range.

Shopping appetite is strong
Amazon sellers are already seeing strong take-up of deals. Mark Samuel, Founder and CEO of IWON Organics, says that his company had already hit their sales record for Amazon by 7AM on Monday. “I am becoming more bullish on Amazon. We are now close to 3X my comparative sales numbers by 2:30PM.” This year, IWON offered deals for 35% off its organic protein snack products.

Shoppers appear to be aware of inflation on consumer items, and are using Prime Day as an opportunity to stock up on items that are likely to increase in price.

Supply chain issues
Amazon finally confirmed Prime Day’s actual dates on June 2nd, leaving brands with just 20 days to shore up their inventory position. With global supply chains under pressure, this is not nearly enough time for many brands to stock up appropriately, especially if their products are imported. And those that do secure inventory from overseas are often paying double the regular price for shipping container space and air freight. forbes.com

Amazon's 'Eye-Popping' Control of Online Retail
As e-commerce sales proliferate, Amazon holds on to top online retail spot

As Amazon prepares for its annual Prime Day megasale, its reign as the biggest online retailer in the country is eye-popping.

As Amazon prepares for its annual Prime Day megasale, its reign as the biggest online retailer in the country is eye-popping: It’s projected to be raking in more than 40% of the nation’s e-commerce sales by the end of 2021.

Amazon’s dominance on the internet has only grown as shopping online becomes second nature for many consumers. That’s exactly what has transpired over the past 13 years.

In 2008, e-commerce sales accounted for just 3.6% of total retail sales in the United States, according to data from eMarketer. Following gradual growth year after year, that figure skyrocketed to 14% in 2020, as the Covid pandemic fueled online spending on everything from groceries and toilet paper to spin bikes and workout clothes. E-commerce sales are predicted to account for 15.3% of total retail sales by the end of this year and jump to 23.5% by 2025, eMarketer said. cnbc.com

Survey: Walmart beats Amazon in two key e-commerce areas

Amazon plans second robotics fulfillment center in Louisiana

O’Fallon, MO: Man charged after $44,000 of stolen power tools found at home
A man has been charged after police found over $44,000 in stolen power tools at an O’Fallon home. Sunset Hills Police got a search warrant from St. Charles County as they investigated an “organized retail theft at Sunset Hills Home Depot.” Officers executed the search warrant in the 2600 block of Breezy Pointe Lane with help from the O’Fallon Police Department. Officers found $44,000 in stolen power tools. Police said most “were new in the box and slated for sale.” 5,000 in US Currency was also seized. St. Charles County charged Kamran Mammadov with receiving stolen property over $25,000. fox2now.com

Update: San Francisco, CA: Suspect From Viral SF Walgreens Heist Video Arrested
A man suspected of committing a brazen, caught-on-camera theft inside a San Francisco Walgreens was arrested over the weekend — while allegedly trying to rip off another drug store in the city, police said. Jean Lugo-Romero, 40, was busted Saturday morning inside a business on Haight Street with about $978 in cosmetics that police say he intended to steal, according to a statement from San Francisco police. After officers trailed Lugo-Romero into the store, he was allegedly shoving the merchandise into a duffel bag. Police said Lugo-Romero was being sought in a series of drug store thefts, including one at a Walgreens where he allegedly shoveled items into a black plastic bag and pedaled away on a bicycle with little resistance from a store security guard. nypost.com

Matthews, NC: Police eliminate suspect from $8,900 theft investigation
The Matthews Police Department has eliminated a suspect from its investigation of more than $8,900 worth of merchandise from three stores. The sole suspect is believed to be involved in these incidents. Fragrances valued at $4,081 stolen April 30 at 12:19 p.m. from Ulta, 2113 Matthews Township Pkwy. Over-the-counter medications valued at $3,242.10 stolen May 20 at 2:50 p.m. from Costco, 2125 Matthews Township Pkwy. Over-the-counter medications valued at $1,600 stolen June 6 at 3:30 p.m. from Costco, 2125 Matthews Township Pkwy. thecharlotteweekly.com

Miami-Dade, FL: 4 arrested after man who finds stolen trailer leads police to stolen merchandise, drugs in SW Miami-Dade
A man was able to track down his stolen trailer in Southwest Miami-Dade, a discovery that turned into a much bigger bust for police and led to four arrests. Miami-Dade Police units found other trailers, stolen merchandise and drugs on the property in Southwest Miami-Dade. Officers took a father, mother and son into custody, Monday. “It hurts. it hurts really bad just knowing that someone can take your stuff,” said general contractor Laron Frazier. He told 7News his trailer, filled with close to $15,000 worth of work supplies and tools, was taken from one of his properties in Northeast Miami-Dade, Sunday night. wsvn.com

Duncansville, PA: Man faces $2000 felony theft from Walmart

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Shootings & Deaths

Arvada, CO: 3 killed, including veteran Police Officer and suspect, in Olde Town Arvada shooting
An Arvada Police Department (APD) officer and another person were killed in a shooting in Olde Town Monday afternoon that also left the suspected killer dead, APD said. Police said officers responded around 1:15 p.m. to a call of a suspicious incident in the Olde Town Square near Arvada Library. That's in Olde Town Arvada in the area of West 57th Avenue and Olde Wadsworth Boulevard. Just after 1:30 p.m., APD said it began receiving 911 calls that shots were being fired, and an officer had been hit. Officer Gordon Beesley was identified as the officer killed in the square.

Police said a suspect was shot and killed by officers, and will be identified by the coroner's office. Another man was killed during the incident, and will be identified by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office. Two shelter in place orders were issued immediately after the shooting around 5 p.m. out of an abundance of caution, according to APD. Both orders have been lifted.

Beesley was a veteran officer with the department. APD said he was a school resource officer or SRO at Oberon Middle School, and was working patrol while school was out for the summer. "It's a very sad, dark day." Arvada Mayor Marc Williams said. "We got through a pandemic; we'll get through this." On Monday, first responders from around the metro area gathered to take place in a procession, escorting the fallen officer's body from the scene. The Arvada Water Tower was also lit in blue Monday night in honor of the officer. APD said the only official donation site is the Colorado Fallen Heroes Foundation. 9news.com

Houston, TX: Teen girl killed, 2 people injured in shooting outside NW Houston convenience store
A teenager was killed and two other people were shot outside a convenience store in northwest Houston overnight. Houston police responded to a shooting call in the 8000 block of Grow Lane just before 9:20 p.m. Monday. Upon arrival, officers discovered a black Cadillac with three shooting victims inside. A teenage girl was fatally shot, and two other young males were taken to the hospital with gunshot wounds, according to HPD. abc13.com

Memphis, TN: Family sues C-store, employee after Memphis man accused of shoplifting shot, killed
The family of an unarmed man, who was shot and killed while allegedly shoplifting at a popular convenience store near the University of Memphis filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the store owners and the employee who is accused of shooting him. Memphis Police said Christopher Nettles was shot and killed when he tried to steal $100 worth of merchandise from Scootie’s on Walker Avenue on May 16. Police said the store owner’s son locked the doors when Nettles tried to flee with the merchandise, and that an employee, 52-year-old Robert Buie, pulled a gun and told Nettles to get on the floor. Investigators said Nettles refused, and Buie shot him in the chest when he got within 6 feet of him. Police later discovered that Nettles was unarmed and said Buie should not have had the gun because he is a convicted felon. Buie was charged with second-degree murder after shooting Nettles. The family is asking for a jury trial, and $ 35 million in damages. wreg.com

Robberies, Incidents & Thefts

Little River, SC: 2 charged with attempted murder after fight over parking at Dollar General in Horry Co.
Two people have been charged with attempted murder after an argument broke out at a Dollar General over a parking spot on Friday. According to a report, officers responded within the Little River section of Horry County in reference to a shots fired call. The victim told officers he got into a verbal argument with the suspects at the store and one suspect told him he had guns and that he would shoot him, a report states. The second suspect was in the passenger seat of the car. wpde.com

Los Angeles, CA: LAX Cargo Handlers Allegedly Carried Out Bungled $200K Gold Bar Heist
Two cargo handlers at Los Angeles International Airport have been arrested and accused of carrying out an old-school gold heist. In a statement, the Justice Department said Marlon Moody, 38, and Brian Benson, 35, were arrested by FBI agents Tuesday morning and charged with conspiracy and theft of a foreign shipment. The feds allege that, last month, the pair were helping to process a shipment of 2,000 gold bars at LAX—but one box was recorded missing. Moody allegedly found the missing box the next morning and removed four of the bars, each valued at around $56,000, and Benson picked up Moody later that day. They allegedly texted each other about the bars while in the vehicle with other employees, and then Moody allegedly gave Benson one bar. Moody then allegedly gave a bar to a relative and buried the other two in his yard. All four gold bars were recovered by the FBI within two weeks. If convicted, Moody and Benson each face a sentence of 15 years in prison. thedailybeast.com

San Antonio, TX: Man arrested in Little Caesar’s robbery was connected to several other robberies

Eagan, MN: Fireworks Display Set Off Inside Hy-Vee

Washington Township, NJ: NJ waitress assaulted, abducted after chasing group who left restaurant without paying

Chicago, IL: Five retailers busted in underage tobacco sting

Counterfeit

San Pedro, CA: Millions In Counterfeit Cialis Pills, Knock-Off Designer Apparel Seized At Port
There was a massive bust at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport Monday. Millions worth of counterfeit products were seized from a cargo shipment from China by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. The items taken by federal officers included more than 47,000 counterfeit Cialis pills and 10,117 pieces of knock-off designer apparel and footwear including Christian Dior, Versace, Gucci, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Nike Air and Swoosh designs. If genuine, the merchandise would have been an estimated retail price of nearly $13 million. losangeles.cbslocal.com

Sterling, VA: Dulles CBP Silences 85 Guitars Out of Tune with U.S. Laws
The reviews are in and critics are raving about the recent encore performance by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Washington Dulles International Airport. Just five months after seizing 35 counterfeit guitars, CBP officers recently picked another 85 counterfeit guitars to the tune of about $260,000, if the guitars were authentic. CBP officers inspected and detained the latest suspected counterfeit cache from China on March 31. Officers consulted with CBP’s Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising experts at the agency’s Centers for Excellence and Expertise who worked with trademark holders and confirmed on May 28 that the guitars indeed violated guitar manufacturers’ trademark protections. Officers completed the seizure on June 9. The collection consisted mostly of Gibson models (72 guitars), but also included models from CF Martin, Fender, Kramer and Taylor. CBP officers silenced 13 acoustic guitars among the lot. The highest value model was a Les Paul ax supposedly autographed by Guns and Roses guitarist Slash appraised at $8,000, if authentic. Other guitars bore autographs from renowned guitarist Les Paul and AC/DC’s Angus Young. The entire lot of guitars would have had a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $258,707 if they were authentic. cbp.gov

New York, NY: CBP at JFK Seizes Counterfeit Rolex Watches; estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $285,000 had they been genuine

● C-Store – Arlington County, VA – Armed Robbery
● C-Store – St Louis, MO – Burglary
● Electronics – San Antonio, TX – Robbery
● Grocery – Seattle, WA – Robbery
● Motel – Fresno, CA – Armed Robbery
● Pharmacy – Greenwich, CT – Burglary
● Pharmacy – Greenwich, CT – Burglary
● Pharmacy – Erie, PA – Robbery
● Restaurant – San Antonio, TX – Robbery
● Restaurant – Washington Township, NJ – Robbery
● 7-Eleven – Webster, NY – Robbery
● 7-Eleven – Buffalo, NY – Robbery
● 7-Eleven – Buffalo, NY – Robbery

Daily Totals:
• 10 robberies
• 3 burglaries
• 0 shootings
• 0 killed

Click to enlarge map

None to report.

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