Pictured in this photo (left to right)

1st Row: Ken Parsons, Brian Brunker, David Lund (Disco David)

2nd Row: Tommy Conaway, Jih-Hao Cheng, Matt Welch, Michael Jackson, Kevin Dodson, Keith Hunter,
Denny DeMarcy

3rd Row: Ralph Blough, Jake Gillette, Greg Vurgich, Pete Barker

Appriss Retail Makes Aspect, APIS, & LPMS Available in the Microsoft Azure Cloud
Newly Acquired Solutions to Benefit from Unlimited Capacity for Growth and Scalability

Appriss Retail, the industry leader in retail performance improvement solutions, today will make several of its retail loss prevention solutions – Aspect EliteLP, APIS (Asset Protection Information System), and LPMS (Loss Prevention Management System) – available in Microsoft Azure for the first time. This will offer users of these solutions greater accessibility, availability, and innovation.

Read more in today's Vendor Spotlight column below.
 

Widow of El Paso, TX mass shooting victim joins the lawsuit against Walmart
The widow of one of the mass shooting victims, who recently had a bus terminal renamed after him, is joining the lawsuit against Walmart. Patricia Benavides and her husband Arturo Benavides, retired Army veteran, were at the Walmart near Cielo Vista Mall on Aug. 3 when a shooter killed 22 people, including Arturo Benavides, and injured 25 more.

Patricia Benavides joins a lawsuit against Walmart Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Texas, LLC and Patrick Wood Crusius, 21, which was started by Jessica and Guillermo Garcia. The Garcias were shot outside while taking part in a fundraiser for their children’s soccer team.

“We will never forget this tragic event, and our condolences continue to go out to everyone who was affected,” Walmart said in a statement. “Safety is a top priority and we care deeply about our associates and customers. We will respond as appropriate with the court.” Walmart recently filed a cross-claim in the case, saying the shooter is the person to blame for the tragedy.

“The lawsuit, which was filed in El Paso County, Texas, claims that the Wal-Mart Defendants, which have known about shooting incidents at their other stores in Texas and around the nation, had a duty to have security guards and other security measures at its stores, to discourage such shootings and to engage any shooter that may attempt to harm their employees or customers,” a news release from Benavides' law firm said. “Although the Wal-Mart Defendants have security guards at some of their stores, the location in El Paso where Mr. Benavides and others were killed did not appear to have any.” ktsm.com

Posted in the Daily 9-18-19: El Paso Victims' Lawsuit Against Walmart Tests Security Responsibility of Retail Landlords

Posted in the Daily 10-9-19: Mother of El Paso, TX shooting victim 2nd to sue Walmart over lack of security
 

Gun Country: Where In The U.S. Are Guns Most Popular?
A new study by Security.org, titled Gun Country: Where In The U.S. Are Guns Most Popular, takes a comprehensive look at the data behind gun sales, gun crimes and gun deaths. Security.org based its research on the most recent background check data released by the FBI through 2018.

Nearly three-quarters of murders today involve a firearm, making a gun by far the most common murder weapon in the United States. Guns also represent the largest share of weapons used in armed robberies (40.6% of all robberies) and account for more than 1 in 4 aggravated assaults.

These figures tend to hold on the state level, though several states have rates of guns used in violent crime that are much higher or much lower than what is seen federally. For instance, Missouri has the highest percentage of guns used in murders, with firearms accounting for more than 86% of all murders in the state; murders in South Dakota, on the other hand, involve guns only 38.1% of the time.

It’s notable that some of the states with the highest population-adjusted rates of gun purchases (Montana, South Dakota and others) are among the states where guns are used the least in violent crimes. While this does not hold true for every state and across every crime category, it’s also not a fair comparison. That’s because guns used in the commission of a crime often are purchased illegally or stolen outright.

In 2017, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) traced more than 400,000 firearms that were used in the commission of a crime and/or to ferret out illegal firearms dealers. security.org

Texas Gets $61.2 Million to Counter Terrorism Statewide
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced $61.2 million in Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) funding to support state and local efforts to prevent terrorism, threats and hazards to the state. The awards, released primarily to cities and counties across Texas, include 264 projects under the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and 136 projects through the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) which are components of the HSGP. texas.gov

Atlanta: Retail tag false alarm prompts suspicious package response
A discarded security tag has caused a scare in downtown Atlanta. An employee reported a beeping sound coming from a trash bin outside a state government building in the heart of downtown Friday. Police evacuated the building and summoned bomb technicians. As a search was underway, a woman who worked in the building told officers she knew what was in the bin. The woman said a pair of shoes she bought online came with a security tag attached. When she cut it off, it began to beep. She tossed the tag in the bin on her way into work. The state Department of Public Safety said in a news release that the trash bin was cleared before employees were given the “all clear” and allowed to return to the building. norfolkdailynews.com

Scientific American:
A High-Tech Solution for Rooting Out Counterfeit Goods
Mobile optical scanners can check the authenticity objects with unprecedented speed

Fake goods account for a staggering 3.3 percent of global trade. While footwear and clothing comprise a large chunk of that, counterfeiters are increasingly turning their attention to more sinister grifts, trafficking in phony medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and foodstuffs. In February, the WHO issued an alert warning patients and physicians of a fake cancer drug being circulated in the U.S. and Europe. According to advocacy group Oceana, some 25 percent of the world’s seafood is mislabeled. By some estimates, as much as 80 percent of Italian olive oil is fake. And that’s only scratching the surface.

But what if there were a better way to guarantee the integrity of our consumer goods than a simple label that’s ultimately even easier to forge than the product? Researchers have already begun looking to wavelength data and the analysis of microscopic features intrinsic to substances as a potential solution to the counterfeiting epidemic.

Unlike a product label, these microscopic features and wavelength signatures are unique, inalterable and can be observed in just about any substance in the universe, with the exception of black holes. In analyzing this unique signature, the observer is looking at the very molecular essence of a thing. It’s authenticity, then, is assured not by some regulatory body, but by nature itself.

Take diamonds as just one example. From RFID tags to laser etchings, the gem industry uses a range of methods to track physical diamonds and ensure that characteristics like carat and clarity match up against certified records. But RFID tags can be removed, and laser etchings can be re-lasered. What can’t be tampered with are the diamond’s microscopic features. That’s what we’re scanning for.

Of course, this type of analysis isn’t a novel concept. What is new, however, is the advent of miniaturized scanner technology small enough to clip onto a smartphone, paired with artificial intelligence models capable of authenticating materials in the real world. scientificamerican.com

A New LPRC CrimeScience Podcast Episode is Available Now
The latest episode of LPRC’s CrimeScience was recorded live at LPRC IMPACT 2019. Host Tom Meehan, CFI, (CONTROLTEK) talks with LPRC’s own Jordan Burchell about how LPRC is driving innovation in the retail setting by utilizing virtual reality, augmented reality, eye tracking, and other emerging technologies, inside the NextRetail Research Center and the Ideation and Simulation Lab. View the episode here.

Holiday shopping kicked off in ... July?
Twenty-eight percent of consumers are making their first holiday purchase sooner than last year, and 34% are looking for deals earlier in the season, according to a new survey by online savings platform RetailMeNot.

Shoppers started preparing for holiday gift-giving as early as July: 70% of respondents who shopped on Amazon Prime Day purchased a holiday gift. "Shoppers are getting savvier every year when it comes to holiday preparation," Sara Skirboll, shopping and trends expert for RetailMeNot, said in a company release. "They are deal hunting, comparison shopping, and they're choosing not to spend all their holiday budget solely in November and December."

Seventy-five percent of respondents will shop online this holiday season, versus 68% last year. About 45% of Black Friday shoppers will complete the majority of their shopping online this year. retaildive.com

Consumers, retailers at odds on ease of returns
Fifty-seven percent of consumers say returns are a hassle or could be easier, according to Oracle's new Global Customer Experience Trends report emailed to Retail Dive. Meanwhile, Oracle found that 57% of retailers surveyed said returning products is "very easy."

Traditional stores had the best consumer perception for ease of returns (46%), while 43% of respondents said returns to online retailers were "very easy." Forty percent of those surveyed said returning to direct-to-consumer brands was very easy. retaildive.com
 

Senior LP Job Postings Removed from Website:

● Sr. Dir. Cyber Security Engineering & Operations - Staples - Framingham, MA
● Dir. Corporate Asset Protection - Dollar General - Nashville, TN
● Dir. Asset Protection - Dollar General - Goodlettsville, TN
● Dir. AP & Investigations - Herbalife Nutrition - Winston-Salem, NC
● Dir. of Security Operations - Neiman Marcus Group - Irving, TX
● Dir. Asset Protection-Technology, Integration & Planning - Sam's Club - Bentonville, AR
● Dir. Global Security and Safety - Visa - New York, NY
 

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.

CDC, Retailers Urge Flu Vaccine Due to Early Season
Drug store chains and health officials are urging individuals to get the influenza vaccine as soon as possible since the flu season has hit earlier this year and has already caused the death of one four-year-old.

“As does the CDC, we recommend everyone six months of age and older get their annual flu vaccine by the end of October. It takes about two weeks to develop the antibodies to fight the flu after getting your flu shot, so it’s important to get it before the flu spreads in your community to best protect yourself and loved ones,” said Alex Novielli, PharmD, manager of immunizations in Pharmacy and Retail Operations for Walgreens. drugtopics.com

CDC: Flu Season Information & Updates
 

Barney’s New York plans more than 300 layoffs in N.J. amid bankruptcy

Hallmark makes cuts in its retail division

Kitchen Collection Is Closing 160 Stores Across The US

Destination Maternity files for bankruptcy

Hudson's Bay to go private

Judge Allows Mass. To Keep Four-Month Ban On Vaping Product Sales
 

History made: Walgreens takes off with first drone delivery
Walgreens is officially in flight with a pilot of on-demand drone deliveries in Virginia. As of Oct. 18, 2019, the drugstore giant is live with a trial of “store to door” delivery of health and wellness, food and beverage and convenience items via drone delivery in Christianburg, Va. (Prescription deliveries are not available in the pilot.) The very first drone-based delivery from Walgreens went to local residents Michael and Kelly Collver, who received a cough and cold pack including Tylenol, Halls cough drops, tissues, Emergen-C and bottled water.

Walgreens is conducting the pilot in partnership with Wing Aviation, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet. Launch of the pilot makes Walgreens the first retailer to offer on-demand drone delivery service in the U.S. The companies are running the test in conjunction with FedEx in Christiansburg, Va. chainstoreage.com

Zappos bucks cash payouts, proposes 10% discount as breach settlement
Following its 2012 data breach of 24 million customers, online retailer Zappos proposed a reconciliation with victims in the form of a one-time, 10% discount on a Zappos.com online or mobile purchase, according to the company's settlement site. If customers want exemption from the settlement they "must send a letter requesting exclusion" by Nov. 29, "or else you're bound by the settlement," according to Zappos. "You may only opt out if you do not use or transfer your discount code."

Though the settlement is waiting approval from judges of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, Zappos' settlement attempt is bold in that it does not provide monetary payment — and requires customers to spend money. retaildive.com

Smart Prevention: How Every Enterprise Can Create Human Firewalls
Organizations of all sizes should include both human firewalls and virtual tools in their cybersecurity budgets.

The average cost of a data breach is now $3.92 million, according to IBM and Ponemon. Hackers are taking advantage of the many smart and Internet of Things devices in modern offices, which give them more attack vectors to penetrate networks.

A properly prepared workforce can be a human firewall that prevents attacks before they begin, so companies must put online safety at the forefront.

Everyone from entry-level to C-suite should know how to identify and report breaches so they can defend the enterprise. Training is the most crucial step in this process, and it doesn't need to include rote messages and endless PowerPoint slides. Learning sessions can be humorous, fun, and — most importantly — educational.

One best practice is having the corporate IT department send a simulated phishing email to all employees. Administrators can include a fraudulent offer for a free vacation or other amenity to see which employees recognize the trick. They should then follow up with anyone who clicked the link or opened the attachment to educate them on the dangers of this practice.

Once employees know the warning signs, they'll stop falling for hacker schemes. More importantly, they'll start reporting suspicious phishing emails so the IT department can investigate them and keep the company informed about new scams. In this way, the human firewall achieves its real purpose. darkreading.com

Third party risk management: A getting started guide
Your vendor partners may be your organization's weakest link. Without a strong third party risk management program in place, how would you know?

For some, the idea of starting a comprehensive third party risk management program might seem like the ultimate task on some obsessive-compulsive bucket list. After all, most organizations today have dozens, if not hundreds … and often thousands … of third party vendor relationships. Just where, and how, would one even begin such a process?

But, as the saying goes, you’re only as strong as the weakest link in your chain. And that makes it critical to know just how strong the security defenses are for every one of those links. Your data security could easily be dependent on some other organization’s due diligence. csoonline.com (registration required)

2.8M CenturyLink customer records exposed on misconfigured cloud database

Google responds to uproar over Pixel 4 face unlock security, says it’ll soon work just like iPhones