Appriss Retail Named One of the Best Vendors and Best Newcomers at
the 2019 UK Fraud Awards
Three Awards on Two Continents Shows Momentum for Appriss Retail Around the Globe

Appriss Retail, the industry leader in retail performance improvement solutions, today announced that the company was “Highly Commended” in both the Vendor of the Year and Best Newcomer categories by Retail Knowledge during its 2019 Fraud Awards. The awards were distributed at the annual gala dinner on October 4 in Leicester, UK. The accolades highlight Appriss Retail’s increasing momentum as it expands its presence among retailers around the globe.  Read more in today's Press Release column below.

California's Back in the Stone Age
Red Flag Warning: No Power No POS No Customers
Power Outage in California Affects Millions as PG&E Tries to Avoid Wildfire
Seeking to limit fire risk amid high winds, PG&E cuts electricity across Northern California

The lights went off in stages in Northern California on Wednesday, from the forests near the Oregon border, down the spine of the Sierra Nevada and finally through the dense hillside communities across the Bay from San Francisco.

Hundreds of thousands of households lost power when California’s largest utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, shut down a vast web of electrical lines as a precaution against wildfires. Not knowing how long the outage would last, residents hurried to gas stations and supermarkets, stocking up on essentials as if a hurricane were bearing down.

It was an extraordinary moment for California. In the state that brought the world the iPhone and the internet as most people know it, residents fumbled for flashlights, hauled jerrycans of gasoline and read instructions on how to manually open their automatic garage doors. In the fifth-largest economy in the world, hundreds of thousands of people were forced off the grid.

By one estimate around 2.5 million people were without power early Thursday morning.

It also contributed to multiple crashes at intersections where traffic lights went dark. Banks and businesses in some Northern California towns shut down; agricultural processing machines were inoperable in the thick of the fall harvest.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the largest concentrations of wealth and cutting-edge technology in the world, the shut-off felt like an anachronism, something that might happen in a less-developed country. Long lines formed at gas stations a dozen or so miles from the headquarters of Apple and Google.

“Millions without electricity is what a third-world country looks like, not a state that is the fifth-largest economy in the world,” he said. nytimes.com wsj.com edmdigest.com

Hikvision And Dahua Banned From Buying U.S. Exports
Hikvision and Dahua have been added to a U.S. government list of entities “reasonably believed to be involved, or to pose significant risk of being or becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”

Indirectly and more broadly speaking, the measure affords a new downside to the Dahua and Hikvision brands in the U.S. market. Anyone concerned about human rights abuses might hesitate to buy from the two companies, although the entity list does nothing to prohibit sales of the company’s products. securityinformed.com

Retail's Reality - Making the Case for Fitting Rooms
'8 dressing rooms and what they say about the state of retail'
the reality is that there is a large gap between the promise of technology and what is currently happening in retailers' dressing rooms. While some physical stores have embraced what will certainly become normalized tech in the future, most brick-and-mortar locations are struggling to cover the essentials of providing a clean space with decent lighting where customers feel welcome — and aren't continually being eyed as potential thieves.
 
"A lot of stores think that it's a shrinkage problem. So they almost look at the dressing room as a negative," said Suketu Gandhi, partner in the digital transformation practice of A.T. Kearney, a global strategy and management consulting firm. Even a customer getting handed a card with the number of items that are being carried into the fitting room can potentially create a negative association with the brand.

Dressing rooms also could position a company better to reframe the brand while pointing to the continued importance of brick-and-mortar locations.

In order to understand the reality of dressing rooms, here is a glimpse at eight different retailers in the Washington, D.C. area and their approach to the experience. 

Macy's, Aerie, Pink/Victoria's Secret, Forever 21, Altar'd State, Zara, Norstrom, and Marshalls. retaildive.com

Video Monitoring in the Sights of Guard Companies and Their Clients
How can remote guarding and video surveillance help security directors to go to sleep with complete peace of mind?

Whether they are servicing commercial office buildings, college campuses, brick-and-mortar retail, healthcare facilities or other types of locations, security officer services companies and the clients who employ them are trying their best to keep on top of quickly evolving video monitoring technology. They want to figure out on a continuous basis how video monitoring can help keep their businesses secure, particularly in remote locations or at odd times of the week when a lone worker – or no human at all – is on patrol.

“Technology is a huge player in that space,” says Sean Meehan, director of sales and marketing at United Security, Inc. “And clients are always coming to our operations people, and the question they ask us is, ‘What type of technology solutions can you offer us that can assist with and improve upon the officer solution that you’re providing, at a reduced cost?’ ” securitymagazine.com

Did Kohl's Pressure or Offer a Deal He Couldn't Pass Up?
Dick's Says Exec Must Give Back $750K After Jumping Ship
Dick's sued its ex-chief technology officer in PA federal court Tuesday, saying he has to return half of his $1.5M signing bonus because he left before his first two years, as per the signed agreement. Hired Nov. 20, 2017 and resigned on Sept. 6 of this year.

Kohl's announced hiring Paul Gaffney on Sept. 6th as their CTO. law360.com

Editor's Note: Sounds like Kohl's wouldn't wait the 75 days. Or someone made a rather poor call. But it is the fourth quarter and it is the CTO position. Bet Kohl's made a deal with him. As all the articles and studies point to, companies are paying top dollar for CTO's, CSO's and CISO's. And a lot can happen in 75 days right before the holidays.

TMA issuing Certificates of Verification to qualifying alarm companies
McLEAN, Va.—Announced in April, The Monitoring Association (TMA) reached an agreement with AT&T to provide qualified alarm companies with a TMA Certificate of Verification that will enable them to apply for eligibility to use FirstNet services for alarm transport communications. TMA has started issuing these certificates.

FirstNet is the nationwide public-safety wireless broadband network platform, built and deployed through a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership between the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) and AT&T. The FirstNet Authority is an independent authority of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

For companies to receive a certificate, they must meet accepted alarm industry standards that result in the transmission of public-safety-related alarms from systems designed primarily to protect life and/or property — robbery, burglary, unlawful intrusion, fire, emergency medical — to a central station monitoring facility that confirms and verifies the authenticity of the alarm and notifies a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for relay to a public safety agency for the purpose of initiating an emergency response. securitysystemsnews.com

Brivo's Steve Van Till to receive SIA’s 2019 Lippert Award
SILVER SPRING, Md.—The Security Industry Association (SIA) selected Steve Van Till, co-founder, president and CEO of Brivo, as the 2019 recipient of the George R. Lippert Memorial Award. This honor is presented annually to a distinguished individual for long-term, selfless service to the security industry and to SIA. Van Till will receive the award during SIA Honors Night on Wednesday, November 20, in New York City.

Van Till, a former SIA Board of Directors and SIA Executive Committee member, currently serves as chairman of the SIA Standards Committee, which develops, promotes and advocates security industry standards in a coordinated effort with other standards and specification writing bodies. securitysystemsnews.com

Should Amazon rent out its Just Walk Out tech?
Amazon.com is “in talks” to bring the Just Walk Out technology it uses to support its Amazon Go stores to OTG’s CIBO Express stores at airports and Cineworld’s Regal cinemas, sources told CNBC. Amazon is also exploring deals with concession stands at stadiums and baseball parks.

While Amazon is seen having a lead over most others, selling its Just Walk Out technology to others will face competition from Microsoft, a slew of technology start-ups, as well as homemade solutions from Walmart, 7-Eleven and others.

A bigger priority may be making retailers more comfortable signing up for AWS, the biggest contributor to Amazon’s bottom line. AWS, which controls about half of the cloud computing space, works with many suppliers to retailers but apparently few retailers themselves due to competitive concerns. Microsoft Azure clients in the retail space include Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger and Gap. Target in 2018 moved from AWS to Google Cloud. retailwire.com

Sabotage and Flattery: Two Tried-and-True Tricks to Getting Ahead at Work
There are a few ways to succeed at your company. You can work hard, show initiative, and be reliable and trustworthy. Or you can make others look bad and cozy up to your boss.

Managers are more than twice as likely to sabotage others so they look better at work. Men, more than women, resort to sabotage or duplicitous self-promotion to get ahead. And pretending to like a boss or co-worker and stealing others' ideas are among the most popular of the insincere tactics people use for getting ahead.

"The degree and frequency of deliberate sabotage at work is concerning but enlightening," said Rachel Ernst, Reflektive's vice president of employee success. "People, managers included, are human and therefore fallible."

Motivations for Sabotage

What are the top tactics for sabotaging others at work? According to the survey, pretending to like a co-worker to get information, meeting with a co-worker before a larger meeting to steal his or her ideas, and withholding important information from a colleague ahead of a meeting.

Motivations for sabotage can be competition, ambition or revenge, said Lewis, who has his own experience with sabotage. shrm.org

Flu Season: Ready Your Workplace
Carpooling, crowded workspaces and using public transportation are conducive to the spread of the influenza virus, new research says. People with influenza can spread it to others up to about 6 feet away, and they're most contagious in the first three to four days after becoming ill.

Workers with school-age children or who have children in day care are more than twice as likely to become infected with the flu, Ball State University (BSU) researchers say in their report, The Effects of Employment on Influenza Rates.

Click here for a complete list of resources from SHRM.org to help you prepare for flu season.

Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister launch Instagram Checkout
 

Three Awards on Two Continents Shows Momentum for Appriss Retail Around the Globe

This is Target’s third time in a row winning this award. The Target team provides important information to the community and continues to lead the RH-ISAC in not only intel shared, but valuable intel AND analysis. Other RH-ISAC member teams have stepped up their game due to the expertise shared out of the Target team. Target understands how to share information as a means to advance the collective defense of the retail and hospitality industry and they are true ambassadors to our motto, “Protect as One.”

Rich Agostino, Target’s Chief Information Security Officer said of his team, “At Target, we think industries should come together to help advance capabilities in cybersecurity and we take this collaborative spirit to heart. I’m proud of the team’s efforts to consistently share intelligence with our peers, all while investing in developing their own technical skills and lending their time to help others enhance their programs.”

CISO of the Year: Benjamin Vaughn, CISO, Hyatt

Cybersecurity Practitioner of the Year: Kyle Davis, Principal Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst, Target

Associate Company of the Year: Flashpoint

Click here to read more about RH-ISAC's award winners.

FBI Crackdown on Skimming Gangs Nationwide

Biggest International Organized Gang Busted in History
Nationwide ATM Skimming Gangs Hit U.S. for $20M - All Coordinated
-18 Members Of International Fraud & Money Laundering Conspiracy
-ATM Skimming Gangs
-Charged In Manhattan Federal Court
Defendants directed, or worked in, teams that the Skimming Organization deployed across the United States in order to carry out ATM skimming attacks, casing ideal locations for the attacks, installing skimming devices on ATMs, removing those devices, and cashing out large numbers of fraudulent debit cards manufactured as a result of the skimming operations. Other defendants assisted in receiving packages containing skimming devices or component parts that were shipped from other parts of the U.S. and from abroad. Other defendants assisted in engineering the skimming devices that the Skimming Organization used. Still other defendants laundered the proceeds of the skimming attacks through bank accounts, properties, businesses, and the transportation of bulk cash.

The defendants carried out hundreds of ATM skimming operations across the U.S., including in New York and at least 17 other states. The scheme defrauded financial institutions and individual victims of more than $20 million. justice.gov

Seven from Miami, Fla., Indicted in Connection with Gas Station Skimming Scheme

Romanian nationals unlawfully in U.S. charged in $1M ATM skimming & cash-out scheme
 

Citrus Heights, CA: Three Suspects Fill Trash Bags At Victoria’s Secret And Run Out
Police say three suspects stole thousands of dollars in merchandise from the Victoria’s Secret in Citrus Heights Wednesday afternoon. A spokesperson for Citrus Heights police said the suspects came through filling trash bags before driving away from the mall in a white Hyundai with paper plates. No one was hurt in this burglary. Police said this is the second time in a week the store was burglarized in a similar way. The previous case also has three suspects. Investigators are working to see if the suspects are the same in both cases. sacramento.cbslocal.com

Gwinnett County, GA: Couple accused of stealing from Belk store, using Taser on security guard
Donya Butler and her boyfriend Trenton Collins, both 18, were arrested Monday after the incident at the Scenic Highway shopping center, Police said the store’s loss prevention officer witnessed the duo pocket a package of men’s underwear and a jacket. When they were confronted as they tried to leave the store, Butler allegedly pulled out a pink Taser and zapped the employee in the back. The confrontation then turns physical as the suspects try to leave. ajc.com

Lubbock, TX: Burglar arrested with thousand in merchandise from Anderson Brothers Jewelers; suspect in body armor
A 31-year-old man was arrested early Wednesday morning after he was reportedly caught leaving the parking lot of a jewelry store with thousands of dollars’ worth of stolen rings and jewelry. James Casias was arrested on charges of burglary of a building, being a felon in possession of body armor, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Lubbock police responded about 4 a.m. to a burglary alarm at Anderson Brothers Jewelers where they found Casias leaving the store’s parking lot. Officers stopped Casias, who exited his vehicle in a bullet proof vest. Police saw contraband and jewelry in the vehicle.  lubbockonline.com

Rensselaer County, NY: Man stole $5k worth of cigarettes from Walmart
Rensselaer County man has been charged with two felonies for allegedly stealing $5,000 worth of cigarettes from the Walmart store in Wilton. Anthony T. Moore, 41, of Renssalaer, allegedly stole 500 packs of smokes from the Route 50 supercenter after he had previously been banned from the property, State Police said. poststar.com

University Heights, OH: Couple steals nearly $3,000 worth of jewelry from Macy’s