Everon Appoints Enterprise Security Veterans to Top Sales Leadership Roles

Industry-leading integrator and security provider promotes two key leaders to drive growth and enhance customer service across the nation.

Boca Raton, Fla. (April 17, 2025) – Everon (“Everon, LLC” or “The Company”), a leading security integrator and premier provider of commercial security, video, fire and life safety solutions in the U.S., today announced the promotion of Chris Heugle to Senior Vice President, Commercial Sales & Integrated Solutions, and Greg Mastroserio to Vice President, Commercial & Integrated Solutions Sales to lead companywide strategic sales initiatives.

With nearly 20 years of industry experience, Heugle will now oversee Everon’s overarching sales strategy, bringing a proven track record of enterprise leadership and a deep understanding of customer needs. This includes extensive experience with trusted security providers, including Access Systems Integration, ADT Commercial, and more. In his most recent role as Vice President, Integrated Solutions for Everon, he was instrumental in aligning the company’s Integrated Solutions team with sales and support functions to address some of the most complex challenges faced by customers. In his new role, Heugle will focus on driving sales growth, enhancing the customer experience in every interaction and elevating Everon’s positioning in the commercial and integrated solutions space.

Mastroserio, who also brings two decades of industry expertise – including roles at Deterrent Technologies, Schneider Electric, and ADT Commercial – has consistently driven growth and customer success in sales leadership positions. As Vice President, Commercial & Integrated Solutions Sales, Mastroserio will lead strategic sales initiatives for the organization, further expanding Everon’s commercial and integrated solutions offerings while driving exceptional results for customers.

Heugle and Mastroserio drove success across their collective decades of experience delivering enterprise solutions for some of the industry’s most complex integration projects, including large-scale data centers, healthcare systems, national retailers, and more. Their wide-ranging expertise will help to extend the value of Everon’s customer partnerships and deliver quality, tech-forward solutions to commercial environments across industries.

Read full press release here

Almost Every State Has Teen Shopping Restrictions to Fight Crime
Map Shows Where Teens Being Banned From Stores as Crime Surges
Individual locations of retail and food-related businesses, including some of the biggest companies in the world, have established age restrictions to curb upticks in crime.

Last week, several Richmond, Virginia, businesses reportedly banned some middle school students from entering their stores without a parent, according to ABC affiliate WRIC.

One of the stores reportedly being targeted for theft has been Family Dollar, where an employee told WRIC that groups of five or more teens routinely come in as a crowd and are "very disrespectful," purportedly stealing Hot Wheels and alcohol. but leave without incident due to a shortage of employees.

A local middle school, River City, had to actually send correspondence to district parents informing them of the shoplifting and loitering being conducted by some students.

In February, a McDonald's location in New York City posted signage discouraging anyone under the age of 20 from entering without a parent and identification, as part of a policy aimed to reduce crime.

In October 2024, a Target in Boston reportedly implemented a similar policy according to posts that went viral on Reddit. About a year ago, Boston.com reported that a Target location in Dorchester closed all of their self-checkout machines due to rising theft. An increase in thefts and fights led to the same action at a Target store in the Valley Plaza Mall, in Bakersfield, California, in August 2023, attributed to increased theft and fights.

In August 2024, a dozen Giant food stores in the Washington D.C. region began banning bags over 14 inches and restricting entry to anyone under age 18 and without an adult after 6 p.m. Two of the stores were located in Baltimore, according to FOX 5. newsweek.com


Retailers Go to Great Lengths to Fight Theft
Walmart confirms an open secret to its U.S. members: official
Theft in supermarkets has become a growing global problem, and Walmart hasn't been exempt from this phenomenon. Recently, a video on social media showed a curious measure implemented by the chain: metal meshes protecting the meat section of its stores. This measure has caused significant attention and discussions about the evolution of security tactics in retail.

An innovative approach to preventing theft

In the video circulating on social media, one can see how the meat in one of Walmart's stores is safeguarded by a metal net. This type of strategy isn't new for the chain, which has implemented different methods in recent years to curb theft. From using chains and cages to secure high-value products to this type of mesh, the company seeks increasingly strict solutions against theft.

It is evident that Walmart is adapting to the reality of a sector facing constant challenges. The metal meshes are an evolution of previous security techniques, which have been necessary due to the significant losses that theft causes the company each year.

The economic cost of theft in supermarkets

Theft in stores costs Walmart billions of dollars annually. According to previous reports, losses from theft severely affect the company's profits. Despite being an unusual measure, the metal meshes are part of a set of tactics that others are also using to protect their products from theft. These types of decisions are not only a response to theft by common consumers but also to organized crime and internal thefts that have intensified in recent years.

Other security tactics and reactions on social media

Among the most used strategies in supermarkets and stores are the installation of advanced security cameras, the use of electronic alarm systems, and the reinforcement of security personnel. However, measures like metal meshes have caused significant discussion on social media, as users see them as a sign of growing insecurity in retail. Despite this, Walmart continues to seek ways to protect its products while offering an adequate shopping experience for its customers. elcierredigital.com


Is the Theft Surge Nationwide - Or Concentrated in Some Urban Areas?
Op-Ed: Los Angeles DA’s Walmart Visit Sparks Debate on Retail Theft Narrative
Retail theft makes for good headlines. But headlines aren’t the same as evidence — and evidence suggests the so-called retail theft “crisis” may be more myth than reality. That’s what makes Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman’s recent photo-op at a Walmart so troubling: it reinforces a misleading narrative, elevates corporate priorities over public ones, and distracts from the deeper, systemic causes of crime in LA County.

This week, Hochman tweeted out a series of polished photos showing him touring a Walmart, flanked by corporate executives and store managers, standing in front of power tools, reviewing security monitors, and strolling brightly lit aisles. His message was unequivocal: “Retail theft is a real problem — but LADA is fighting back.”

It’s a scene designed to invoke confidence, control, and toughness. But beneath the surface, it’s mostly symbolism — and deeply misleading. Let’s start with the facts. While retail theft certainly exists and has impacted some businesses, the scope and scale of the problem have been wildly overstated.

The Brennan Center for Justice has found no national surge in shoplifting, despite localized spikes in a few urban areas. The Public Policy Institute of California noted that more than 90% of the state’s rise in shoplifting came from just four counties: Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Mateo. That doesn’t negate the issue — but it does contextualize it. We are not facing a nationwide crime wave. We are facing a selective political narrative.

Meanwhile, overall crime — both violent and property crime — has dropped significantly since the early 1990s. Even recent fluctuations during the pandemic have not reversed the long-term downward trend. Americans are statistically safer than they’ve been in decades. Yet, you wouldn’t know it from Hochman’s rhetoric or his carefully curated Walmart walk-through. davisvanguard.org


The View from the Left: Shoplifting Crisis Overblown?
Pushing The ‘Shoplifting Crime Wave’ Narrative Allowed Cops To Stock Up On LEO Goodies
For most of a half-decade, law enforcement officials and retail execs have been engaged in a “mass crime spree” duet. Despite this hysteria being debunked several times by rigorous reporting, cops and shops have been manipulating a non-existent shoplifting crime wave for their own benefit for nearly as long.

Every time another smash-and-grab hits TikTok, pearls get clutched, poor business practices get buried, and cops get a few more toys for the cop shop. Crime rates continue to return to their historic lows. Even spikes observed during the COVID pandemic are now being treated like the outliers they are, rather than the starting point of crime rate escalations.

In the retail world, the mass crime spree narrative helped under-performing retailers obscure bad decisions, poor inventory control practices and, in some cases, allow them to close stores they were always planning to close anyway.

In the cop world, the inverse took place. Cops claimed the massive crime wave they also had only witnessed on TikTok proved they needed more money and stuff, even as those requests made it clear they really weren’t doing that great of a job fighting crime in the first place.  techdirt.com


ICYMI: California Governor Says Efforts to Tackle Retail Crime Have Paid Off

UK: Arrests after retail crime crackdown
 

'Secure By Design' Coming to a Halt?
CISA’s Secure by Design initiative in limbo after key leaders resign

Companies have been urging CISA to scale back its software security pressure campaign. Two new resignations from the agency could accelerate that shift.

The future of the federal government’s software-security advocacy campaign is in doubt following the departure of the two Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency officials who oversaw the program.

CISA senior advisers Bob Lord and Lauren Zabierek, who led the agency’s Secure by Design initiative, announced on Monday that they were taking the Trump administration’s deferred-resignation offer and leaving the government.

Lord, a former Yahoo and Democratic National Committee security executive, said he would continue “contributing to the Secure by Design movement” after “taking a short break.” Zabierek, who previously led the Cyber Security Project at Harvard’s Belfer Center and served as a U.S. Air Force intelligence officer, called her departure “one of the toughest decisions of my career.”

Their exits are the latest blow to CISA’s already-imperiled Secure by Design program, which lost its third senior adviser, Jack Cable, at the end of the Biden administration. cybersecuritydive.com


Companies Warned by CISA
CISA warns companies to secure credentials amid Oracle Cloud breach claims

The agency is asking organizations to come forward if they detect suspicious activity or other evidence of a compromise.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency last week said organizations and individuals should take steps to protect their environments from a potential compromise of a legacy Oracle cloud environment.

CISA’s alert acknowledged public reporting of alleged threat activity targeting Oracle customers but said the scope and impact of that activity was unconfirmed. The FBI earlier this month declined to comment on the reported attacks.

CISA warned the nature of the reported threat activity posed a risk to organizations and individuals, particularly in situations where credential material could be exposed, reused across separate and unaffiliated systems, or embedded into applications and tools.

CISA said embedded situations could involve credential material that has been hardcoded into scripts, applications, infrastructure templates or automation tools. The agency said embedded credential material can be hard to detect and can enable long-term access by an unauthorized actor. cybersecuritydive.com


Cybersecurity Spending Boost
Banks gear up to boost cybersecurity, cloud and data spending

In the race to scale generative AI capabilities, executives plan to increase foundational technology investments, according to Broadridge.

Financial services companies are doubling down on cloud, cyber and data platforms to lay the groundwork for generative AI and implement other transformative technologies, according to Broadridge Financial Solutions. The fintech company commissioned Phronesis Partners to survey more than 500 banking technology and operations leaders for its annual innovation report, published earlier this month.

Respondents expect to allocate 29% of their IT budgets to technology innovation over the next two years, up seven percentage points year over year. Concurrently, banks are maintaining high levels of spend on foundational technologies to support new capabilities, the survey found.

While the proportion of firms planning moderate to large investments in generative AI nearly doubled to 72% since last year, more than 4 in 5 respondents ranked cybersecurity, analytics and cloud platforms as top spending categories. “Cloud is king and there’s still a heavy emphasis on foundational technologies,” Broadridge Chief Product and Strategy Officer Germán Soto Sanchez said. cybersecuritydive.com


Conduent warns January breach impacted a ‘significant’ number of people

Broward County, FL: Seven arrested in alleged Broward retail theft ring after years-long investigation
Seven people who are accused of participating in an organized crime ring that sold merchandise stolen from retail stores to a Broward County pawn shop that then resold them online were arrested on Tuesday, the culmination of a three-year-long investigation. With Tuesday’s arrests, a total of nine people are now facing charges for their alleged participation in the crime ring, including Igor Melomed, the owner of U.S. Pawn in Hollywood, to lower-level employees of the store, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said. All arrested were employees of the shop. The investigation began in 2022 after numerous retail stores contacted the Sheriff’s Office about thefts, Robbery Unit Sgt. Rich Rossman told reporters Tuesday afternoon. The retailers followed people who they knew were stealing from their stores, and “everybody was going to U.S. Pawn,” located in the 5400 block of South State Road 7, he said.  sun-sentinel.com


Minden, NV: Nevada sheriff's office arrests illegal immigrants targeting shoe store, tackles "organized theft ring"
A press release from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office (DCSO) confirmed that deputies arrested four for numerous burglary and possession charges, taking down an "organized theft ring" that was targeting shoe stores. Two of the individuals arrested are in the country illegally. The incident took place on April 14th at approximately 4:11 p.m., when a DCSO deputy was notified of a suspicious vehicle involved in a theft from Famous Footwear, located off Topsy Lane in northern Douglas County. The deputy stopped the vehicle on Vista Grande Blvd., behind the shopping center. Two of the occupants fled on foot onto Washoe Tribal Land and three remained with the vehicle. Deputies, with the assistance of Washoe Tribal Police, were able to locate one of the suspects who fled on foot utilizing a drone and a K9. As of this writing, one suspect is still at large, and his identity is unknown. lawenforcementtoday.com


Murfreesboro, TN: Minivan Bandits Crouch Their Way Through $8,000 Lowe’s Heist and Remembered to Not Park in Handicap Spot
In what can only be described as the most polite felony of the season, Murfreesboro Police are hot on the trail of two considerate criminals who clearly believe that stealing is wrong… unless it’s lawn equipment… and you don’t park in a handicap spot. This heartwarming tale of theft and etiquette unfolded at the Lowe’s Home Improvement Store on Old Fort Parkway, where nearly $8,000 in outdoor toys—sorry, tools—were swiped in broad, yet somehow stealthy, daylight. Surveillance video released by MPD shows our dynamic duo rolling up in a silver Dodge Caravan (because nothing says "high-speed getaway" like a family hauler) with a black trailer in tow. The video showed the trailer had one white wheel and one black wheel on the passenger side, giving it that “DIY charm.” Because the driver's side of the trailer is out of view, we cannot confirm or deny whether the other two trailer wheels were also mismatched in color. With the grace of ballet dancers and the stealth of clumsy raccoons, the suspects exited their minivan and immediately crouched like cartoon burglars who watched too many spy movies. The idea was probably to avoid security cameras, but they must’ve missed the memo that Lowe’s also sells surveillance cameras.   wgnsradio.com


Ramsey, NJ: $3.7K In Beauty Products Stolen From Ramsey Ulta, Trio From Passaic County In Custody

St Louis, MO: SLMPD working to ID $3200 organized retail theft suspects at Lululemon

Portland, OR: Tigard Police arrest 10 during single-day theft mission at Target store last month