'Anti-Amazon Avengers'
People Are Stealing From Whole Foods, Amazon to Get Back at Jeff Bezos

Lee insists he's "famously" a very good Catholic. He's a moral person — his mother raised him right. And by his internal calculation, it's OK to shoplift from Whole Foods. Why? Because of Jeff Bezos.

From about 2020 to 2022, Lee, a 20-something communications professional living in the Washington, DC, area, engaged in what he describes as "grand theft auto-ing" from his local Whole Foods store. He would cheat the scale at the hot bar, pocket spices, or take home four lemons in the self-checkout aisle while only declaring two. Lee has never shoplifted from anywhere else — not Safeway, not a local store. He's largely stopped taking from Whole Foods because he moved to a different neighborhood that doesn't have one. However, he told me, there's one by his gym he'll pop into — and steal from — from time to time.

Lee has weighed the ethics of what he's doing. At one point, the guilt got to be so much that he confessed his misdeeds to his mother. Once he explained his reasoning — Amazon's market power, Bezos' wealth, what the billionaire has done at The Washington Post — she came around.

"If a billionaire can steal from me, I can scrape a little off the top, too," Lee says. Lee is a pseudonym — the same goes for all of the shoplifters and ethically (and legally) compromised individuals quoted in this story. Over the past several months, I've spoken with nearly a dozen of them — some I found through their confessions online; others reached out when they heard through social media I was working on this story.

These subversive infractions directed at Bezos and his billionaire cohort may be rooted in legitimate gripes with the state of the world and its unfathomable wealth inequality. On the spectrum of crime severity, swiping $20 worth of goods from a multibillion-dollar corporation does not rank high. But the justifications people offer are just that — justifications. None of what they're doing is actually making the type of impact they might like to see, and they're conveniently ignoring Bezos' positive contributions, such as his philanthropy. And they could be causing unintended harm to the non-Bezoses of the world, as in, everyone else. Many retailers have put items behind glass cases to combat theft, which is a headache for everybody. Shoplifting can demoralize workers, and if enough people do it, it may lead companies to raise prices, or in the case of return fraud, mean businesses make sending unwanted items back a lot harder.

In the realm of retail theft, middle-class consumers and opportunist thieves are a growing group of culprits. It's difficult to tease out the exact size and scope of the cohort, given how incomplete retail-theft data can be. Amazon isn't exactly shouting its shrink numbers from the rooftops, and other companies have even admitted to mistakes in assessing the problem. But as one loss prevention professional put it to me last year, everyday, ordinary shoplifters are "like a giant organized mob, they just don't know each other." businessinsider.com


Perimeter Protection is Essential for All Sectors
When an intruder crosses this boundary, the risks of theft and damage increase significantly.

The new standard in facility protection: Enhancing perimeter security
Perimeter protection is essential for organizations across all sectors, serving as the first line of defense against potential threats. Whether it’s a single room or a multi-structure campus, the perimeter marks where security efforts begin. When an intruder crosses this boundary, the risks of theft and damage increase significantly.

Layer 1: The perimeter: Physical security begins with keeping unauthorized pedestrians and vehicles outside the inner fence line. Full-height turnstiles are an ideal first layer, providing a strong physical barrier against infiltration. Traditionally, full-height turnstiles were vulnerable to piggybacking, where two people squeeze through a compartment using one credential. However, advanced outdoor-rated sensor technology now detects such attempts and locks the turnstile, preventing unauthorized entry. These sensors also include “walk-away” detection, which locks the turnstile if an individual, after being granted access, backs out before completing their entry. Combined with a completed rotation switch output, these enhancements ensure precise tracking of who is or isn’t on the premises.

Layer 2: The building entrance: Once inside the facility perimeter, only authorized staff, customers, verified contractors or visitors should have access. Installing a security revolving door at the building entrance streamlines access for badge holders while maintaining robust security. Approved individuals without a badge must be escorted and issued a temporary credential, typically exchanged for a driver’s license or passport. Security revolving doors use advanced sampling algorithms to ensure that only one person enters per approval, similar to the technology found in full-height turnstiles.

Layer 3: The building interior: In some designs, a traditional swing door with a card reader is used to enter the facility's reception area. This is acceptable when the proper measures are in place for vehicles and pedestrians at the perimeter. When this design is used, the next layer is installed between the entrance lobby and the rest of the building interior. This layer, often implemented with a security revolving door or optical turnstiles, prevents visitors from slipping past the reception desk while allowing customers and contractors to come and go freely.

Layer 4: Critical infrastructure: Protecting highly sensitive areas, such as server rooms or other critical infrastructure, requires interlocking mantrap portals to enforce the one-person rule and ensure only authorized individuals gain access. These portals are designed to prevent user substitution through a precise, automated sequence of operations.

The six key risks of perimeter breaches: securitymagazine.com


Philadelphia DA Rolls Out New Retail Theft Policy
DA Krasner reveals new retail theft policy a year after announcing it would change

The policy will break down retail thefts into three categories: organized retail theft, prolific or habitual retail theft, and ordinary offenders.

Over a year ago, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced that his retail theft policy would change. On Wednesday he made the new policy public. "We need to have a policy that recognizes these profound differences in people where mercy is justified, and where incarceration is necessary," he said.

The change comes after he faced heavy scrutiny for his original policy, which stated to charge retail theft cases as summary offenses unless the value of the items stolen exceeded $500, or if the defendant had a long history of retail theft convictions.

Instead, it puts retail theft arrests into three buckets—organized retail theft, prolific or habitual retail theft, or ordinary offenders, who make up 80% of the retail theft arrests, according to the District Attorney.

"The final bucket, which is people who have essentially no record, or next to no record, we often charge at a lower level," he said. "That’s the reality. I think it's good policy. And I stand by it."

Vincent Emmanuel, spokesperson for the Delaware Valley Franchise Owners Association, says after years of getting hit hard with organized retail crime, he is starting to see improvements.

Law enforcement sources critical of DA Krasner’s previous policy point to a PPD analysis, obtained by FOX 29. It shows 57% of all retail theft arrests in 2024 were downgraded by the DA, which is an improvement from 2019, but decline from 2014.

The District Attorney’s opponent in the Democratic Primary Election, former judge Patrick Dugan, blames Krasner’s former policy for the increase in retail thefts, but says he sees where summary offenses are appropriate. fox29.com

   RELATED: DA Provides Update on Efforts to Address Public Safety


Chicago's Retail Crime Surge
Spike in retail crime prompts more Chicagoans to shop online, survey finds
As shoplifting surges in the city, more Chicago-area residents are seeing retail crime as a serious problem, with a majority of local consumers in a recent survey now preferring to shop online.

Chicago is among the top U.S. markets where consumers expressed concerns over retail crime, with 49% of residents saying it is a serious problem compared with 30% nationally, according to a survey by Flock Safety and Zencity released this morning.

The high levels of concern run parallel to rising instances of these sorts of crimes, said Zencity Chief Strategy Officer Michael Simon, who cited a Council on Criminal Justice report finding shoplifting in Chicago was up 46% from January through October 2024 compared with the same time period the prior year.

"I think (the survey results are) impacted by this hitting Chicago-area residents much more than hitting the rest of the country, and it’s hitting the rest pretty hard, so that’s saying something," Simon told Crain's in an interview.

Data collected by the Council for Criminal Justice show Chicago has experienced rising shoplifting trends for a number of years. The region saw a 27% increase in reported incidents in the full years 2019-24, one of the largest increases in major U.S. markets. This past year, Chicago did not see a month without at least 1,000 instances of shoplifting, while 2023 had no period that reached that milestone.

The Zencity survey queried more than 1,200 people through targeted online ads and survey panels from Dec. 21 to Jan. 13. Results revealed 54% of shoppers prefer buying products online due to safety concerns, while 20% favor the in-person experience. The gap is even larger for those who witness an incident take place during their visit to a retailer. chicagobusiness.com


License Plate Readers (LPR) vs. Retail Crime
Nevada: Sparks City Council approves more license plate readers to combat retail theft, crime
In a decisive move to address rising crime and retail theft, the Sparks City Council has unanimously approved a two-year contract with Flock Safety during their Monday meeting to install 17 additional license plate reader cameras throughout the city.

Sparks Police Chief Chris Crawforth highlighted the urgency of the situation, noting that "the retail theft recently is double to triple the rate the city has seen in the past."

The new cameras will be strategically placed in the busiest and most traveled areas of Sparks that currently lack coverage.

Crawforth explained the functionality of the cameras, stating, "The camera just takes a high-quality still photo of the license plate so it can be ran through a statewide database in an attempt to track down the driver."

The initiative will cost the city $102,000, with the installation of the cameras expected to be completed within the next three to six months. mynews4.com


'Safest County in America'
Nassau County crime plunges 25% to kick off 2025, new data shows
Records show that major crimes in Nassau County dropped more than 25% in the first two months of 2025 — a dramatic year-over-year improvement that law enforcement officials say reflects ongoing efforts to keep their communities safe.

The department, which tracks seven major crime categories — murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand theft auto — reported a total of 710 major crimes so far this year, compared to 951 during the same period in 2024.

“Nassau County is the safest county in America thanks to the men and women of our Police Department, Corrections Officers, Probation Officers and my no nonsense approach to law and order,” County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. nypost.com


Victims' relatives, survivors of Walmart mass shooting react to gunman plea deal

New County Data Finds Drop In Fatal Overdoses, Slight Decrease In Violent Crime
 

Security Magazine Special Report
Security’s Top Cybersecurity Leaders 2025

These six cybersecurity professionals push the field forward with their innovation, passion and influence in information security initiatives across the world.

Security Magazine is proud to present the honorees of our 5th annual Top Cybersecurity Leaders program, celebrating enterprise information security executives and professionals who have achieved exceptional industry accomplishments. This year’s nominees reflect the diverse and dynamic talent shaping the cybersecurity field and driving meaningful change within their organizations.

Our 2025 awardees exemplify leadership, innovation, and resilience, finding creative ways to address risks and leverage technology to advance security.

The goal of the Top Cybersecurity Leaders program is to recognize cybersecurity professionals who make a lasting impact in their organizations and the industry at large. This year’s nominees exceeded expectations, showcasing unparalleled expertise, leadership, and contributions to the field. Our editorial team was truly impressed by the extraordinary caliber of nominations, highlighting individuals with decades of experience and measurable industry influence.

It has been our privilege to profile a selection of these cybersecurity leaders. Their efforts to mitigate risk, strengthen organizational defenses, and advance the profession through industry contributions inspire us all. securitymagazine.com


Quantum Security: The Next Cyber Challenge?
Cyber leaders must prepare quantum security now, research finds
It is estimated that commercial availability of quantum computers capable of compromising conventional asymmetric cryptography is five to 10 years away. Nevertheless, a new report asserts that security and risk professionals must prepare for it in the present.

According to the report, quantum security consists of a range of technologies, such as:

- Post-quantum or quantum-computing-resistant key exchange
- Digital signatures
- Cryptographic algorithm discovery and inventory
- Cryptographic algorithm change management (cryptoagility)
- Key generation and management
- Quantum key distribution
- Certificate management

The report also suggests that quantum computing will affect all types of security, including authentication, data encryption and digital signatures, certificate and key management, and transport layer security and secure communications.

Below, security leaders share their thoughts on the report as well as the state of quantum computing. securitymagazine.com


'EDR Killers': Another Tool in the Ransomware Toolbox
Ransomware gangs increasingly brandish EDR bypass tools

Researchers found “EDRKillShifter” in use by multiple rival ransomware gangs.

Ransomware actors are increasingly abusing vulnerable drivers to craft tools known as “EDR killers,” which can disrupt and even delete extended detection and response products in enterprise networks, according to an ESET report published Wednesday.

Threat actors abuse vulnerable drivers because they have kernel access to operating systems, which enables attackers to kill processes for security products like EDR before they can detect malicious activity.

ESET researchers analyzed a custom tool called “EDRKillShifter,” which was developed and maintained by the notorious RansomHub ransomware gang and is now available on the dark web. The researchers observed an increase in the use of EDRKillShifter among other ransomware-as-a-service gangs such as Play, Medusa and BianLian. cybersecuritydive.com


Threat actor in Oracle Cloud breach may have gained access to production environments

National security officials’ private data found publicly available online

Montgomery County, PA: Pennsylvania man used stolen credit cards to buy $100k worth of items at Lowe’s
A man was able to allegedly make $100,000 worth of purchases at Lowe’s stores across Pennsylvania by using stolen credit cards, the Attorney General said. Alex Rulan, 33, of Allentown, allegedly bought items such as air conditioners, flooring, and vacuums with the stolen bank cards, Attorney General Dave Sunday said Monday. “This defendant systematically targeted consumers and stores across the Commonwealth to steal high-dollar goods,” Attorney General Sunday said in a statement. “The diligent work of our Organized Retail Crime Unit has stopped another criminal enterprise from inflicting further harm on hard-working Pennsylvanians.” The fraudulent use was reported to investigators earlier this year. In over a dozen counties, Rulan stole about $96,000 worth of goods from 23 stores from June to December 2023, Sunday said. Sometimes, Rulan even provided fake identification to buy the items, Sunday said. Rulan faces charges of corrupt organizations, organized retail theft, criminal conspiracy, identity theft, and related offenses. He is currently at Montgomery County Jail.  msn.com


Pine Bluff, AR: More than $20,000 worth of items stolen from two Pine Bluff pharmacies
Pine Bluff police are investigating after two pharmacies were broken into on March 26. Authorities said the first incident took place at Doctors Orders Pharmacy. Police say the suspects broke a window to gain entry around 4:12 a.m. Surveillance shows two masked individuals entering shortly after, crawling on the floor. A vial of chemotherapy medication valued at $17,600 was stolen. The next stop for the criminals was Flowers Pharmacy located at 1401 S. State Street. Owner Clifford Flowers said the thieves stole about $5,000 worth of items, including a handgun, about $3,000 worth of collectible coins and certain drugs like Xanax and hydrocodone.   kark.com


San Francisco, CA: Man, juvenile racked up $6,500 in stolen goods
San Francisco police said they arrested a man and juvenile suspected in a series of “organized retail crime incidents” throughout 2024 — totaling more than $6,500 in stolen merchandise. Police said Harry Wong, 44, of San Francisco, was taken into custody on March 17. Police said that Wong and a juvenile were suspects in all three of the incidents, which occurred from May to October 2024. San Francisco PD summarized the following incidents: On May 14, 2024, Wong and two juvenile suspects entered a business in San Francisco. More than $1,100 worth of merchandise was stolen in this incident. On October 15, 2024, Wong and two additional suspects entered a business in San Francisco. The suspects ransacked the store and stole over $4,500 in merchandise. On October 21, 2024, Wong and four other suspects entered a business in San Francisco. The suspects ransacked the store and stole more than $1,200 in merchandise.  kron4.com


West Springfield, MA: Two NH women charged in MA burglary; trash can size bags of merchandise from Dick’s. valued at $2200