International Supply Chain Protection Organization (ISCPO) Announces New President & Chairman and Vice Chair

The International Supply Chain Protection Organization (ISCPO) is pleased to announce the appointment of Byron Smith, CFI LPC as President & Chairman. Byron is a highly respected industry leader with extensive experience in supply chain security and the business continuity industry. He is also a Founder Member of the ISCPO and after spending 11 years on the board and as previous Chairman, has decided to step back in the role as President & Chairman.

Byron adds, “I am honored to assume the role of President & Chairman for the ISCPO. This organization has been instrumental in fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing within the supply chain security community and the solution providers that support the industry. I look forward to collaborating with our members, vendor partners, and the Board of Directors to continue to advance the ISCPO’s mission and address the evolving challenges facing the global supply chain.”

The International Supply Chain Protection Organization (ISCPO) is also pleased to announce the appointment of Tracy Nini as its new Vice Chair. With her extensive and strong network within the industry, Tracy’s leadership will be instrumental in advancing the ISCPO’s mission of promoting, educating, and advocating for supply chain security. Her proven expertise, particularly in membership across all industries and preferred partner solution involvement, will undoubtedly contribute to the organization’s continued growth and impact.

Tracy adds, “I am honored to accept the role of Vice Chair with the ISCPO. I look forward to helping grow our organization by engaging supply chain and logistics professionals, service providers, and solution partners to join us in building a strong foundation of collaboration and education. As our industry faces rising threats, theft, and rapid technological change, I am committed to keeping the ISCPO at the forefront- fostering dialogue, sharing innovations, and driving meaningful partnerships to stay ahead of evolving challenges.”

Read full press release here
 

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Retail Among Top Sectors Facing Layoffs in 2025
Retailers had 11,483 job cuts in May, bringing their year-to-date total to more than 75,000.

Layoffs are surging as 2025 becomes the year of the pink slip

U.S. job cuts have risen almost 50% year-over-year, with some sectors hit even harder. Services, retail, tech, and nonprofits lead the cuts

U.S. employers announced almost 100,000 job cuts in May, up an eye-watering 47% from the same month last year, according to new data released Thursday morning by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Even with a slight decline from April, the 47% year-over-year jump makes it clear: Layoffs are a rapidly accelerating trend. What was a murmur is becoming a scream.

Services, retail, nonprofits, and tech lead in layoffs

The services sector (which includes temporary staffing, cleaning services, and other business-to-business support providers) led the way in May with more than 22,000 layoffs, the worst month for the category since May 2020. Retailers followed with 11,483 job cut announcements, bringing their year-to-date total to more than 75,000. That’s up 274% from the same point in 2024.

Per the Challenger Gray data, the tech sector now trails only government and retail for total layoffs in 2025, with total layoffs for 2025 already sitting at nearly 75,000, representing a 35% year-over-year surge. qz.com


Retail Managers Worried About Job Security
Survey: Nearly half of retail managers worried about job security
Economic uncertainty due to looming tariffs and unsatisfactory pay have many retail workers worried about job security.

A new survey of retail managers and hourly employees from workforce management firm Legion Technologies reveals that nearly half (49%) of managers say they’re concerned about their job security, with economic uncertainty cited by 52% as the top reason. Of the 49% of hourly workers who plan to leave their jobs this year, nearly 60% plan to leave their current industry altogether, with insufficient pay as the top reason for their exit.

According to the survey, more than a quarter (27%) of hourly employees wish for unionization in their workplace to address low wages, poor benefits, poor work-life balance, and limited schedule flexibility. More than four-in-10 (43%) hourly employees say their employers have not done anything to improve the workplace in the past year. Legion says this inaction from retailers could be part of why nearly half (47%) of managers consider staffing shortages and high turnover to be the biggest challenge in their role today. chainstoreage.com


Can Costco's New Tech Eliminate Long Lines?
Costco Tests New 'Scan & Go' Checkout Feature to Eliminate Long Lines
Long checkout lines at Costco may soon become a thing of the past, as the company is testing new technology designed to get shoppers out the door faster. During Costco’s fiscal third-quarter earnings call, CEO Ron Vachris reportedly announced that the retailer is piloting a new checkout process aimed at speeding up transactions.

The concept allows customers to use their phones to scan items and pay—bypassing the checkout line entirely. This could significantly improve the overall shopping experience and reduce wait times.

“We’ve also engaged in some ‘Scan & Go done by Costco’ tests that have been extremely successful in moving people through lines and expediting transactions,” Vachris said during the call. “The early results have been very positive, with great adoption from our members.”

While the idea isn’t entirely new—Sam’s Club has had similar technology in place for years—it marks a major step forward for Costco. finance.yahoo.com


Using AI to Help Walmart Job Applicants
Walmart simulates interviews with AI; trains workers as technicians
Walmart is using artificial intelligence to help applicants prepare for job interviews and paying for associates to move into technician roles.

The discount giant’s new AI Interview Coach tool simulates a realistic Walmart interview by walking candidates through up to 10 questions, scoring each response on a scale of one to 10 and delivering instant pointers on structure, clarity and confidence.

Walmart is currently piloting the tool with associates; if it performs as expected, the retailer will offer it to every applicant, both internal and external. The retailer also recently unveiled a skills translator tool that lets veterans upload their resumes, which are then translated into professional skills that align with its needs.

In addition, a new interactive job simulations solution gives veterans the ability to virtually try out their skills in real-life scenarios and see what it’s like working in a corporate environment. chainstoreage.com


Survey: Consumers to shift loyalty to brands that absorb tariff costs

Procter & Gamble Is Slashing 7,000 Jobs Amid Major Restructuring Push

Adults boost US toy sales
 

M&S Hackers Targeted CEO & Executive Team
Hackers sent abuse and ransom demand to M&S boss

A blackmail threat containing a racist slur was also directed at the chief executive, as well as seven additional members of the executive team

Hackers behind the M&S cyberattack reportedly sent an email directly to CEO Stuart Machin gloating about their actions and demand for payment, according to the BBC. The email, as seen by the news outlet, initially appeared to have been sent on 23 April via an employee’s email account at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an Indian IT firm that has provided services to M&S for more than 10 years.

The message, which was written in broken English, was, in fact, sent by the hacker group known as DragonForce. A blackmail threat containing a racist slur was also directed at the chief executive, as well as seven additional members of the executive team.

The extortion email, which the BBC said it was shown by a “cyber security expert”, read: “We have marched the ways from China all the way to the UK and have mercilessly raped your company and encrypted all the servers. The dragon wants to speak to you so please head over to [our darknet website].”

Hackers claimed to have deployed ransomware that crippled the M&S IT infrastructure and admitted to having also exfiltrated the personal information of millions of customers.

Approximately three weeks passed before the company notified customers that their data might have been compromised. retailsector.co.uk


Retailer Still Recovering from April Cyber Attack
Co-op ‘nearing recovery’ following cyber attack, says CEO

Shirine Khoury-Haq noted that Co-op food stores are restocked with ‘more of the products’ customers want

Co-op CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq has said the business is nearing a “full and complete recovery” following the cyber attack that hit the retailer in late April.

Last month, the convenience chain was forced to shut down parts of its IT systems after detecting a malicious access attempt, which later led to data exposure.

The fallout from the attack had impacted all areas of the business, including supplier operations and customer data. The group confirmed that while customer names and contact details had been accessed, no financial data or passwords were compromised.

However, in an update published on its website today (5 June) and addressed to its member-owners, Khoury-Haq said the business had made “significant progress” in restoring operations, with systems now stabilised and stores seeing improved product availability.

“While there is still work to do to unwind the operational and technical impacts of the actions we had to take to block the criminals, our systems are now stable, our Food stores again have more of the products our customers want and all our businesses are continuing to serve our member-owners,” she said.

Khoury-Haq also paid tribute to the Co-op’s tech and security teams, calling their efforts “nothing short of heroic”. “Teams across our Co-op have worked day and night to recover – and our technology and information security colleagues are true superheroes.”  grocerygazette.co.uk
 
 
Hacker Group Hit Hundreds of Organizations
FBI, CISA warn Play ransomware targeting critical infrastructure with evolving techniques

The hacker group has breached hundreds of organizations and is working with others to exploit flaws in a popular remote support tool.

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Wednesday warned that the Play ransomware gang has been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure and other organizations using evolving techniques.

The ransomware group was among the most active in 2024 and has targeted a wide range of businesses and infrastructure providers in North America, South America and Europe, the agencies said in a joint advisory. As of May, the group had breached approximately 900 organizations in multiple countries since launching in June 2022, according to the FBI.

Since mid-January, multiple ransomware groups, including initial access brokers affiliated with Play, have targeted vulnerabilities in a remote support tool called SimpleHelp. Researchers disclosed those flaws in January. cybersecuritydive.com


Google survey shows Americans are changing how they fight scams

Bipartisan bill proposes $50M cyber threat analysis program for energy sector

Los Angeles, CA: Blowtorch burglars hit another jewelry store in Encino, cutting hole through shared wall
Burglars blowtorched their way through a jewelry store in Encino -- making off with the livelihood of several jewelers. The jewel thieves spent hours inside the Encino Jewelry Mart, and they didn't have to break into the store's glass or security bars to get inside. Instead, they broke into a vacant storefront next door and cut a hole in the wall. Five separate jewelers share the space in the store. Amin Nassiri's brother was the one hardest hit. "Everything he built was gone overnight," Nassiri said. Authorities say it was a three-hour heist. Two safes were broken into using a blowtorch and were completely emptied. "It's all fine jewelry. It's all diamonds, it's all gold and platinum, 18 carats -- some pieces of jewelry," Nassiri said. "That easily adds up to a lot of money. How much? I don't know." The owner of the business says security cameras show five men who spent about three hours in the store between midnight and 3 a.m. on Monday. They got in by breaking into a vacant storefront next door, then cutting a hole in the shared wall. He suspects they electronically jammed the security system long enough to get inside and tear down the alarm box.  abc7.com


Chicago, IL: Alo Yoga store targeted by 4 burglars on Chicago's Mag Mile
Police are investigating a burglary at the Alo store on Chicago's Magnificent Mile early Thursday morning. Around 4:30 a.m., the Chicago Police Department said four men broke the side door of the business, leaving glass shattered on the sidewalk in the 700 block of North Michigan Avenue. Chicago police said the group took merchandise from the store before running from the scene. It is not clear how many items were taken from the store. Video from the scene shows clothes scattered on the ground of the Alo store. No arrests have been made.   cbsnews.com


Prince George’s County, MD: Annapolis man pleads guilty to stealing $14K in merchandise from home improvement stores
An Annapolis man will serve five years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to stealing approximately $14,000 worth of items from home improvement stores across five Maryland counties, including Anne Arundel. According to court documents, David Bernhardt Sr., 57, stole construction materials, tools and other products from several Lowe’s and Home Depot locations in Maryland. Prosecutors say Bernhardt would either hide items on his person, scan a cheaper barcode through the self-checkout machine, or neglect to scan products in his cart. Bernhardt pleaded guilty in Prince George’s County Circuit Court to stealing approximately 62 times from stores in Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Garrett and Allegany counties. He was granted probation before judgment and was ordered to stay away from the stores he stole from. Probation before judgement means the court has deferred a formal judgment and conviction while the defendant serves probation.  baltimoresun.com


Clackamas County, OR: 34 arrested, over $2K in stolen goods recovered in Clackamas County retail crime sweep
CCSO said the coordinated effort involved patrol deputies and detectives from the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office in collaboration with officers, investigators and deputy district attorneys from the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office, Molalla Police Department, Oregon City Police Department, Sandy Police Department and West Linn Police Department. Deputies from the Clackamas County Jail and Sheriff's Office Property & Evidence Technicians played a key role in processing the numerous arrests and recovered items.
Throughout Oregon, additional retail crime missions were conducted in partnership with the Organized Retail Crime Association of Oregon chapters in Multnomah, Washington, Marion, Lane, Deschutes and Jackson counties. Those missions led to a total of 105 arrests throughout the state on a variety of charges and the recovery of more than $8,000 in stolen merchandise. In addition, 68 outstanding arrest warrants were cleared.  kgw.com


Miami, FL: Undercover Miami-Dade detectives arrest 2 teens, 2 men during retail theft operation

Edmonton, AB, Canada: Brand-name merchandise with security tags still attached on sale at Edmonton convenience store