Solink raises CAD$23 Million in Series B funding led by OMERS Ventures

Purpose-built video security and business intelligence in one place

Solink, a leader in video security and data analytics, has closed CAD$23 million (USD$16.8M) in Series B funding, led by OMERS Ventures. This round brings Solink’s total funding to more than $40 million (USD$30M). Previous investors Valor Equity Partners, ScaleUp Ventures and BDC IT Ventures also participated in the round. Laura Lenz, partner at OMERS Ventures, will join Solink’s board of directors. Solink will use the investment to deepen its relationship with existing customers and partners as well as focus on product expansion.

Solink offers secure, cloud-based video security for SMBs and large enterprises to increase profits, manage risk, and improve operations. The company has over 5,500 customer sites and over 70,000 cameras across several verticals including restaurant, retail and financial services. Over the past several years, Solink has had a track record of doubling its footprint every year. Read more here.

What is Solink? Learn more here.

Learn more about Solink's video alarm solution in today's Vendor Spotlight below.


Retailers Recognize ThirdEye Labs for Innovation in Asset Protection
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) today announced the winner of the 2020 Startup Innovation Awards for Asset Protection. ThirdEye Labs, a startup which provides real-time AI assistance to detect theft in-stores, was selected by retail asset protection executives from a pool of finalists.

RILA's Startup Innovation Awards for Asset Protection recognize startups innovating in the areas addressed in the Total Retail Loss Report, the first ever study that examines how the retail industry understands the nature and extent of all the potential types of losses they presently experience. The Awards – a popular feature of the Retail Asset Protection Conference - was converted to a virtual event following the cancellation of the 2020 conference.

“Though circumstances surrounding this year’s Awards were different, retailers’ need and appetite for cutting-edge technology to help navigate today’s challenging environment is unchanged. We were excited to provide a platform for these promising startups to showcase their innovative solutions to the retail industry,” said Lisa LaBruno, Senior Executive Vice President of Retail Operations and Innovation. “All of the finalists deserve our congratulations, especially ThirdEye Labs whose solution marries today’s technology with a traditional challenge that all retailers face, in a way that the AP community recognized as particularly impressive.” Read more here.

Recordings of each finalist’s pitch, including ThirdEye Labs, can be viewed here.
 

Coronavirus Tracker: June 29

US: Over 2.6M Cases - 128K Dead - 1M Recovered
Worldwide: Over 10.3M Cases - 505K Dead - 5.6M Recovered

Fallen Officers From the COVID-19 Pandemic: 51 | NYPD Deaths: 45
Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 150+

12 states are pausing reopening over the surge in US coronavirus cases

More than half of the states are facing a surge of coronavirus cases,
threatening to overwhelm hospital and halt business reopenings

Washington is the latest state to pause its reopening plans after a spike in the number of new cases of coronavirus across the country.

"We all want to get back to doing all the things we love in Washington during the summer, and fully open our economy, but we aren't there yet," Gov. Jay Inslee said Saturday. "This is an evolving situation and we will continue to make decisions based on the data."

At least a dozen other states, including some of the most populous in the country, have taken similar measures in the past few days.

Texas and at least five other states - Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Tennessee and Utah - reported the highest single-day totals of new Covid-19 cases, according to the state's health departments.

Florida, seen possibly as the next US epicenter, reported its highest one-day total of new cases on Saturday with 9,585 cases.

And it is not just those states seeing rising numbers. The national number of daily coronavirus case reports reached a new high of nearly 40,000 on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and 32 states are seeing the number of new cases grow from the prior week.

But the governor of Texas, the nation's second most populous state, paused his state's phased reopening plan and ordered further restrictions on businesses including bars.

More governors have announced that they are not moving ahead to their next reopening phases. Those states include Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina. cnn.com

UFCW: Over 11,500 grocery workers affected in first 100 days of pandemic

At least 82 grocery employee members have died from virus, says union

United Food and Commercial Workers International (UFCW) said at least 82 grocery store workers have died from COVID-19 and 11,507 have been infected or exposed to the virus in the first 100 days of the outbreak.

The nation’s largest private sector union, UFCW represents 1.3 million employees in grocery, meatpacking, food processing, retail, health care and other industries in the United States and Canada. The Washington, D.C.-based union said in a press conference last week that, among its membership, 238 workers have died from coronavirus in the 100 days since the pandemic started, while almost 29,000 have been infected or exposed.

In the press event, UFCW International President Marc Perrone criticized large employers — citing Amazon, Walmart and Kroger — for “still keeping us in the dark” in terms of the total number of their employees who have died from or been infected with COVID-19. “Simply put, it is impossible to hold the government or corporate America accountable when they hide the true impact of this outbreak,” he said.

Since the onset of the pandemic, however, those companies have disclosed and/or confirmed media reports of positive coronavirus cases and/or deaths among employees at various facilities around the country. Walmart, Amazon and Kroger also have provided regular updates on their COVID-19 response efforts, including protections, compensation and benefits for workers. In April, Kroger joined with UFCW in urging federal and state government to classify grocery store workers as emergency first responders during the health crisis.

But with coronavirus cases rising in much of the United States, Perrone called for three national initiatives to safeguard frontline workers. They include reinstating hazard pay and setting a $15 hourly wage for all frontline workers, establishing a public mask mandate in all 50 states, and forming a new national public registry to track COVID-19 infections in frontline workers. supermarketnews.com

NY malls can’t open without AC systems that filter coronavirus, Gov. Cuomo says
New York malls will need high quality air systems that can filter out the coronavirus before they will be allowed to reopen, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Monday. High efficiency particle air filters, or HEPA filters, have been shown to help reduce the presence of Covid-19 in the air.

Scientists say the coronavirus spreads primarily when coughs or sneezes, touches an infected object or through person-to-person contact. Some epidemiologists say there the virus also appears to spread through exhaled air when people talk or breathe, known as aerosols, according to Nature.

New York has not allowed malls to reopen in the state yet, Cuomo said. He said the state recommends all businesses and offices “explore the potential for their air conditioning air filtration system.” cnbc.com

It’s open season on NYC's 'open streets'
De Blasio’s ‘open streets’ rapidly vanishing, causing fights among neighbors
Drivers across town are brazenly tossing aside street-blocking barriers set up as part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to provide outdoor recreation space amid the coronavirus pandemic. Frustrated New Yorkers told The Post they’ve had to take enforcement of the street closures into their own hands as motorists flaunt the program — and that it has even sparked tug-of-wars between neighbors.

Launched in mid-May, de Blasio’s “Open Streets” initiative has so far restricted motorists from about 67 miles of Big Apple roads, with the aim to close off 100 miles so residents can get fresh air while still social distancing.

While the “open streets” are in effect between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., motorists making deliveries or dropping people off are still allowed to drive through slowly, and utility, emergency and city service vehicles are OK, too. But despite the ban on unnecessary traffic, some drivers have been taking back the supposedly pedestrian-only plazas, and moving the wooden blue and metal NYPD blockades so they can get through, residents in multiple locations told The Post. nypost.com

Arizona, Florida, Texas are latest coronavirus epicenters

Bar closures mark California’s first major reversal in reopening

Dr. Fauci warns coronavirus vaccine may not lead to herd immunity in US

Instagram co-founder who built a coronavirus tracker says it’s showing concerning spread levels

Starbucks Barista Gets $87,000 in Donations After Customer’s Mask Complaint

Amazon, Lowe’s, Walmart give ‘thank you’ bonuses to front-line US employees
as coronavirus cases surge
 

Pickup Gains Ground Over Delivery
Pickup orders are boosting sales for restaurants and grocers at better margins than delivery, prompting many to build out services they hope customers will favor even after the coronavirus pandemic has subsided.

Some supermarkets and restaurants say they want their pickup operations to wrest some online orders back from apps such as those from Instacart Inc. and Grubhub Inc. They say the fees those and other companies charge to deliver their food have added up during the pandemic as dining rooms closed, some customers avoided supermarkets, and business shifted online.

Kroger Co., Albertsons Cos. and other grocers are waiving pickup fees and building out spaces to fill those orders. Aldi Inc. is offering pickup for the first time because customers asked for an alternative to visiting stores or paying for delivery.

Pickup grocery sales were up 81% in the week ended June 13 from the start of this year, according to Nielsen, while delivery sales rose 33% in that time.

At restaurants, carryout accounted for 42% of orders by dollars in May, according to data from research firm NPD Group Inc., compared with a 13% share of sales for delivery. Carryout has maintained its share of restaurant sales since dining rooms began to reopen in May, NPD said, while drive-through and delivery have lost some ground to dine-in orders. wsj.com

Microsoft to close all of its physical stores

Fossil Group to cut 10% of corporate staff

Nike anticipates layoffs as it accelerates digital strategy

Kanye West and Gap Strike 10-Year Deal for ‘Yeezy Gap’ Apparel Line

CNBC Documentaries: 'Supermarket Shock: Crisis in America's Food Supply'
Premiers Tuesday June 30 at 10 pm ET/PT
 

How to Wring Every Last Drop Out of Your Security Budget

In the face of tighter budgets and lowered spending forecasts due to the pandemic, optimizing and improving the efficiency of security programs -- without sacrificing integrity -- has never been more important.

Getting creative about identifying threats and mitigating risk is even more necessary these days, when every dollar counts. In fact, Gartner has revised its 2020 security spending forecast and is predicting a much smaller increase in spending -- 2.4% growth as opposed to the 8.7% growth it projected in December.

With spending getting tighter, executive management and boards will want to ensure security leaders are making the most of the budgets they are given in 2020.

"To make their dollars stretch, CISOs need to focus cybersecurity purchases on solutions that will enhance processes, integrate with their wider security ecosystem, and offer automation that can free up resources," says Gidi Cohen, CEO and founder of Skybox Security.

Here are some recommendations from security managers on how to optimize security programs and improve efficiency – without sacrificing integrity:

Recommendation #1: Adjust Budget for Remote Work
Work-from-home arrangements are not predicted to end anytime soon. A separate Gartner survey found 41 percent of employees are "likely to work remotely at least some of the time post coronavirus pandemic." And that changes the threat landscape. Research from BitSight found 45% of remote office networks observed malware in March alone, compared with 13% of corporate networks. If it hasn't already been locked down, long-term support and security for the remote workforce is one of the smartest ways to allocate budget – now and in the foreseeable future.

Recommendation #2: Let the Incident Response Plan Guide New Investments
What's the most effective way to identify what could be most vulnerable in today's largely remote workforce environment? Simulate a worst-case scenario. "If you don't already have a clear, documented, and tested incident response plan, create one," says Bill Swearingen, cyber strategist at IronNet Cybersecurity. "Find an example of a really bad day for your organization and exercise how you would respond. Organizations often find critical omissions from the incident response plan in these exercises, such as legal, marketing, and customer service."

Recommendation #3: Assess Areas That Can Be Ditched and Replaced
Now is also a good time to take a fresh look at potential redundancies and areas of bloat, says Shuman Ghosemajumder, global head of AI at F5 and former "fraud czar" at Google. "Many cybersecurity investments don't have their benefit quantified," he says. "Measuring the actual benefit you get from various tools will result in you eliminating some products and technologies, but probably spending more on others."

Recommendation #4: Maximize Vendor Relationships
Let's be frank: Vendors are trying to cover their own expenses during uncertain times. Security leaders should consider them another resource in the effort to save money for their organization. During these times, vendors are often willing to negotiate to acquire new customers and keep their existing customers, says Ed Bellis, CTO and co-founder of Kenna Security and former CISO of Orbitz. "Even if you just renewed a given service, one lever you have to work with is the length of subscription," he says. "If you're happy with the service but looking to lower your monthly or annual rate, talk to your vendor about extending the length of your commitment. You can often get discounted rates if you're willing to make a longer commitment."

Recommendation #5: Make Adjustments to Teams
Security staffing continues to be a challenge. Fifty-seven percent of over 2,000 cybersecurity professionals surveyed by ISACA for the "State of Cybersecurity 2020" report found 57% have unfilled positions, and 62% said their security teams are understaffed. Budget constraints certainly won't make this situation better, so it is a good time for CISOs to readjust teams to reflect skills that are essential now. As network infrastructure takes on a more hybrid state with the move to cloud, it is critical to flesh out teams to include members who understand how these environments intersect.

Recommendation #6: Automate Wherever Possible
Events that are common, repeatable, and do not typically require human interaction are targets for automation, says IronNet Cybersecurity's Swearingen, who advises security managers to look for other manual tasks where technology can take over. "Events that should rarely happen are a high target for automation," he says. "For example, alert the security team if a domain administrator user is added." darkreading.com

31+ Major US Companies Targeted in New Ransomware Campaign
More than two-dozen US organizations — several of them Fortune 500 companies — were attacked in recent days by a known threat group looking to deploy a dangerous new strain of ransomware called WastedLocker.

Had the attacks succeeded, they could have resulted in millions of dollars in damages to the organizations and potentially had a major impact on supply chains in the US, Symantec said in a report Thursday.

According to the security vendor, at least 31 of its customers were targeted, suggesting the actual scope of the attacks is much higher. Eleven of the companies are publicly listed, and eight are in the Fortune 500.

Among those affected were five organizations in the manufacturing sector, four IT companies, and three media and telecommunications firms. Organizations in multiple other sectors — including energy, transportation, financial services, and healthcare — were also affected. In each instance, the attackers managed to breach the networks of the targeted organizations and were preparing to deploy the ransomware when they were detected and stopped. darkreading.com

Adobe, Mastercard, Visa warn online store owners of Magento 1.x EOL
Almost 110,000 online stores are still running the soon-to-be-outdated Magento 1.x CMS

Michigan Passes Bill to Make It Illegal to Forcefully Microchip Employees
The bill will not make the microchips illegal, it will simply allow employees to choose whether or not they wanted to be implanted.