Nike Direct -
Greater China Loss Prevention Team
At their first quarterly meeting, learning to play American football, with Nike's Global LP Team


"Offense wins games, defense wins championships"

Front line (left to right): Michael Gossen - Global Digital LP Director; Justin Sun -TLPM East/South; Hebe Yu - LP analyst; Michael Zang -LP director of Nike Direct Greater China; Mike Rackley - Senior Director of Global Retail Operations Risk Control; Corey May - SR. Global LP Ops Manager; Phoebe Shi - LP Ops Manager; Alan Wu - DLPM; Hannah Hong - Digital LP Manager

Back line (left to right): Davis He - DLPM; Rei Bao - LP analyst; Jason Zhang - DLPM; Mike Peng - TLPM North/West; Leo Lu - DLPM; Christian Tsai - DLPM; Kimi Jin - DLPM
 

City Alderman Wants to Declare Walmart a "Public Nuisance"
'Walmart's bleeding this town,' official says as Raytown, KS, faces police layoffs
As Raytown, a city of 10 square miles, city leaders and police wrestle with cutting more than $3 million from the police budget - and eliminating as many as 17 officers - they are seizing upon a particular burden on police: Walmart. Officers made more than 500 arrests last year there, about 30 percent of Raytown's reported serious crimes.

Meanwhile, Walmart does not contribute taxes for police services. The TIF deal that built the store a decade ago diverts about $300,000 in tax dollars away from public safety every year.

For Walmart, the complaint is one the company has heard before.

The cost to local governments of policing Walmarts - more than other, similar retail chains - has been noticed across the country. Last year, the Tampa Bay Times showed that local law enforcement agencies in that area were called to Walmart stores more than any other location. Experts criticized the retail chain for shifting the burden of security to taxpayers.

"There's quite a bit of research on some of these big box stores, specifically Walmart, and jurisdictions all over the country and how they are a drain on local resources," Hudspeth said.

City departments lose out on hundreds of thousands of tax dollars from Walmart each year because of tax increment financing incentives that the city offered Walmart to build the store - just before the Great Recession. Plans for more development surrounding the Walmart haven't panned out.

Alderman Teeman suggested declaring the Walmart a public nuisance, which might allow the city to charge Walmart for public safety services. The suggestion was met with applause in the public meeting hall.

Raytown city officials said Wednesday they were not actively working on anything related to Teeman's public nuisance suggestion. kansascity.com

Rite Aid 6 Key Areas of Focus - CEO Says
Looking for $50M in Savings
After selling 1,900 stores to Walgreens Rite Aid's CEO John Standley on Thursday morning outlined the six important areas on which Rite Aid will focus to rebuild its momentum and grow its business.

1. Build a management team for the future.
2. Redefine and enhance the customer and patient experience.
3. Engage with payer partners in creating a sustainable business model.
4. Evaluate pharmacy purchasing options to ensure a competitive drug cost.
5. Streamline operations.
"Another important aspect of our plan is continuing our efforts to aggressively control costs," Standley said. Rite Aid is currently looking to generate an additional $50 million in savings for fiscal 2019.
6. Grow Rite Aid's pharmacy benefit manager EnvisionRx. drugstorenews.com

Editor's Note: This usually means budget cuts, realignment and job reductions. Walgreens has been doing that for a few months now.

Moscow officially turns on facial recognition for its city-wide camera network
Six of Ten Most Wanted Arrested Day Two
Like many cities, Moscow has an enormous network of CCTV cameras, but unlike many cities, thousands of those cameras are now hooked up to a powerful facial recognition system that can track criminals (and trash collectors) wherever they go. The privacy implications are serious, of course, but a large scale rollout like this will help make them part of the public discussion.

He explained that with over 160,000 cameras in the city's CCTV network, and five full days of video kept from them at all times, the sheer volume of footage is difficult to navigate.

The system works using manual queries. If the police, for instance, know that certain criminal has entered Moscow, they enter the face into the system and activate the cameras he or she is most likely to appear on. The system runs through the footage of those two thousand cameras and monitors them going forward for that specific face. When there's a hit, police are alerted.

Ermolaev said that this happened right away when they uploaded the most wanted database to the system: six of them were arrested the very next day.

A person seen committing a crime and under investigation, as well, can be tracked in reverse from the location of the crime to wherever they came from, perhaps even their evil lair. Someone witnessing a crime can call in, at which point the footage from that and nearby cameras are temporarily exempted from the five-day limit.

But while these high-profile applications can be and have been useful, Ermolaev seemed more sanguine about the more prosaic applications: a lost child or confused older person, for instance, can be found in a moment's time rather than diverting manpower to painstaking search.

The cameras aren't all government-owned; in fact, you could put one up outside your apartment and add it to the network if you wanted. And the fiber over which the video runs is commercially owned; it was deployed both to support the CCTV network and provide internet connectivity to end users. (The "dig once" principle in action.)  techcrunch.com

Consumers Denied Cert. In Aaron's Rents Spying Software Case
Installed Spyware to Reduce Losses - Defaults, Lost & Stolen Computers
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday denied class certification to customers alleging that Aaron's Inc. and a franchisee used spying software on computers it leased, saying that the group's latest attempt at a class definition still lacks sufficient cohesiveness among class members.

The Byrds have alleged that since 2011, Aaron's and Aspen Way violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act by leasing computers installed with detective mode spyware that allowed the company to take screenshots, activate webcams and track users' keystrokes without the customers' knowledge or permission. In 2013, they originally moved for class certification, seeking to represent a class that they said consisted of at least 895 computer owners or lessees.

The Byrds are not the only customers suing Aaron's and Aspen Way, as Aspen Way in August was slapped with sanctions in a similar suit in Georgia federal court. The company has maintained that it installed the spyware as a means of reducing losses stemming from customers who defaulted on rental obligations, or to find and recover lost or stolen computers. law360.com

Calif. Harassment Training May Add Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
California state legislature has approved a bill that would expand required training for supervisors to prevent sexual harassment to include gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. Employment attorneys told SHRM Online that Gov. Jerry Brown will likely sign the bill. shrm.org

Consumers not keen on facial ID for payments
Juniper Research survey reveals more than 40 percent of iOS users in the U.S. consider themselves unlikely to use facial recognition as a payment security technology. Contactless payment users consider fingerprint sensors and voice recognition more appealing authentication methods, with 74 percent and 62 percent respectively saying they are likely to use these technologies, according to a press release. retailcustomerexperience.com

Hurricane loss model estimates damage caused by Hurricane Irma at $19 billion

Adidas Marketing Executive Arrested in Basketball Bribery Scandal

Sales at Lidl's 37 U.S. Stores "Frighteningly Weak" - Corporate Jumps In

 

Axis Communications opens new Axis Experience Center in Texas during ASIS

Axis' U.S. Expansion plan forges ahead with the grand opening event of the newest Axis Experience Center in Irving, Texas.
 

CHELMSFORD, Mass. - Axis Communications, the global leader in network video, today announced the grand opening of their newest Axis Experience Center (AEC) in Irving, Texas. The official grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting event was held in conjunction with ASIS on September 26th at Axis' new facility.

The 7,100 square foot AEC features a 30-person training center, multiple state-of-the-art conference rooms, which can collectively hold up to 25 people. The space features solutions in realistic demo areas for key vertical markets in the South Central business area, including retail, education, gaming and critical infrastructure. The space includes more than 60 Axis devices including, cameras, access control, audio, analytics and intercom.

"The opening of this AEC is taking us closer to our goal of bringing Axis solutions closer to our customers and partners," said Fredrik Nilsson, VP, Americas, Axis Communications, Inc. "The Irving AEC symbolizes our growth and our vision of innovating for a smarter, safer world.

The official grand opening took place on the first day of ASIS, Sept. 26th with more than 150 attendees, including partners, customers and press. Located at 433 E. Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 600, the Center will primarily serve as a hub for the 22 team members in the South Central Business Area, including 10 office-based employees. The South Central Business Area includes Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and southern Mississippi.

Read more here.

Whole Foods Market Payment Card Investigation Notification
Whole Foods Market recently received information regarding unauthorized access of payment card information used at certain venues such as taprooms and full table-service restaurants located within some stores. These venues use a different point of sale system than the company's primary store checkout systems, and payment cards used at the primary store checkout systems were not affected. When Whole Foods Market learned of this, the company launched an investigation, obtained the help of a leading cyber security forensics firm, contacted law enforcement, and is taking appropriate measures to address the issue.

The company's investigation is ongoing and it will provide additional updates as it learns more. While most Whole Foods Market stores do not have these taprooms and restaurants, Whole Foods Market encourages its customers to closely monitor their payment card statements and report any unauthorized charges to the issuing bank. 

The Amazon.com systems do not connect to these systems at Whole Foods Market. Transactions on Amazon.com have not been impacted. wholefoodsmarket.com

Ransomware Numbers Continue to Look Abysmal
This week, three new studies show how ransomware continues to escalate around the globe, proving to be one of the fastest-growing problems that cybersecurity practitioners face today.

"Ransomware attacks have eclipsed most other global cybercrime threats, with the first half of 2017 witnessing ransomware attacks on a scale previously unseen following the emergence of self-propagating 'ransomworms,' as observed in the WannaCry and Petya/NotPetya cases," write Europol experts in the agency's Internet Organized Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2017 report published this week. "Moreover, while information-stealing malware such as banking Trojans remain a key threat, they often have a limited target profile."

Though most industry estimates peg total ransoms paid to attackers in the past two years to be only about $25 million, the FBI believes the total cost of ransomware broke the $1 billion mark in 2016.

New ransomware increased by 54% in the second quarter of this year, according to McAfee. The number of total new ransomware samples has increased by 47% in the past four quarters.

Tellingly, 80% of security pros view ransomware to be a moderate or extreme threat today. This is from a study of nearly 500 practitioners among the Information Security Community on LinkedIn, conducted by Cybersecurity Insiders and Crowd Research Partners. That survey showed that 75% of organizations affected by ransomware have experienced up to five attacks in the last year, and 25% have been hit by six or more attacks. darkreading.com

Many Retailers See IoT as an Inventory Tool
A study of retailers worldwide found that many look to internet of things technologies to help them better manage their inventory. Many retailers say that new technologies, like the internet of things (IoT), help them address a variety of fulfillment challenges they may face, such as inventory accuracy.

In fact, over half of retailers worldwide surveyed by Retail Systems Research (RSR) in August said that inventory accuracy was one of the top three fulfillment challenges that IoT technologies can address.

Less than one in five saw IoT technology as a way to gain visibility into employee activities in-store, and only slightly more saw it as way to understand consumers' physical shopping behaviors. emarketer.com

Software Developers Calling for Gov't Intervention
Security's #1 Problem: Economic Incentives
Case in point: the Equifax breach
There is plenty of blame to go around after the Equifax incident, and I'm not trying to be an apologist for the credit rating company. The problem is that the wrong incentives are driving software development. Unless we change the incentives, security will continue to be a problem. The question remains, what can we do to avoid the "next Equifax"?

Fast feature delivery is the core incentive in software design. Our mantra is "prototype fast, fail fast." The subtext is "cut corners to test business models faster." The practice is to worry about security when the product is mature and has customers. In reality, this rarely happens because when a product becomes more successful other customer issues and business priorities then eclipse security concerns.

Bending the standards or cutting corners to achieve fast software delivery is commonplace. Businesses frequently ask security engineers to remove controls because they "break" the application. Feature delivery takes precedence over security posture because it generates revenue.

The behavioral and economic models of software operations provide incentives for fast delivery rather than quality and security. Security does not to add to the top line. Software engineering rigor is often considered an impediment because it would fundamentally change the profitability dynamics of the software industry. This is the fundamental underlying cause of most security vulnerabilities.

But there is hope. The fact that Equifax lost 35% of its market cap in five days, destroying several billion dollars of wealth in the process, could be the trigger to change this equation. Security expert Bruce Schneier, for one, argues for government intervention.

If the economic or regulatory incentives reward applying strict engineering rigor to software design, we will address a significant fraction of our accelerating security breaches. Until then, we will all continue to cut corners to pay the bills or risk getting a bad credit score by Equifax. darkreading.com

The Cyber Risk of False Confidence
Leads Back to Generation Gap - Plain & Simple
The Old Folks Don't Get It
Companies are overly confident about their cybersecurity, and it's leaving their data (and maybe yours too), open to some major security risks.

As organizations scramble to defend their mountains of data against cyber attacks and the constant stream of new malware, companies of all types are investing in and evaluating cybersecurity tools and practices.

According to the Gemalto report, Mind the Breach Gap, 94% of respondents say they think that their perimeter security is quite effective at keeping unauthorized users out of their network, and 76% have increased their investment in perimeter security over the past five years.

What's probably most disturbing is one in seven (14%) surveyed IT decision makers admit that they would not trust their own organization to store and manage their personal data.

Jocelyn Aqua, privacy and cybersecurity principal for PwC, says she was surprised to see similar findings of "security overconfidence" in their own research.

The PwC 2017 Risk in Review survey found that only 9% of respondents said they have high or very high cyber risk maturity despite respondents' claims of response effectiveness indicating that cyber risk was one of the most improved areas of risk when compared to past survey results.

Gemalto CTO and VP for Data Protection, Jason Hart says part of the reason for this "breach gap" - the idea that organizations think their data is more secure than it is - is because organizations don't fully understand the motivations behind a breach.

"There's still a lack of understanding from organizations that it's the data [threat actors] are after," says Hart. "We've mostly seen confidentiality breaches, when a threat actor gets the data they share it, sell it, etc. What people misunderstand, is that a confidentiality breach is just the start of the problem," he says.

Part of this misunderstanding in cyber protection, or overconfidence comes from a lack of security knowledge in the C-suite. "The average CEO age is over 60. The level of [security] comprehension is not there and it's not the same culture, but there is a shift because [executives] are understanding that the litigation cost [for] any data that is compromised."

Hart says that one way to remove the veil of security overconfidence is to ask your IT team these simple questions, "What am I trying to protect? Where is it? What am I trying to protect it from?" and then go back to the fundamentals of security: Encryption, key management, authentication (multifactor) multi-factor authentication. "By taking that approach, you can apply the appropriate investments," he says. informationweek.com

Face ID Whitepaper From Apple, dated September 2017, Rolling Out ICO?

Online Businesses Everywhere - Here Comes the Equifax breach
As fraudsters mine the valuable data that's been compromised, all ecommerce sites and financial institutions need to be on alert

Keep an eye out for signs of account takeover
Last year, 48 percent of online businesses saw an increase in account takeover (ATO), according to a Sift Science Fraud-Fighting Trends report. And the Equifax breach is likely to exacerbate this trend, potentially flooding the dark web with names, addresses, social security numbers, and other personal information that fraudsters can leverage to gain access to a legitimate user's account. They then make purchases with a stored payment method or drain value from the user's account.

Monitor for fake accounts and synthetic identity fraud
Fraudsters can also take all of the different pieces of personal data leaked in the Equifax breach to steal someone's identity and create new accounts. They may also pick and choose pieces from various people's accounts - like a birthday, Social Security number, and name - and mix them together to create an entirely new ID.

To keep tabs on fake accounts, you can monitor new signups to look for risky patterns, like a sudden spike in new accounts that can't be attributed to a specific promotion or seasonal trend.

Stay focused on maintaining user trust
Even if a breach doesn't happen on your site, any downstream fraud attacks still happen on your watch. If you don't invest in protecting your users from the devastating effects of ATO, identity theft, and fraud, you will soon lose their trust. Trust is earned in drops, but lost in buckets.

At the same time, ecommerce businesses and financial institutions should make sure they aren't overly cautious to the point where they're rejecting good customers and denying legitimate accounts. Preventing fraud is a delicate balancing act, and the right technology - which looks at a range of data points to make an accurate prediction about what is and isn't fraudulent - can help you strike the right balance. retailcustomerexperience.com

"Online Journey Hijacking"
Hackers Generating Click Fraud - Click Revenue
Study: Online retailers at risk of losing $2.1 billion this holiday season
More unauthorized product ads are hijacking the consumer experience - an issue that will cost retailers precious revenue this holiday season.

As unauthorized product ads are injected into consumer browsers - and appear on retailer sites - consumers are distracted from the retailer's offerings. This disruption - known as online journey hijacking - cuts directly into retailers' revenue, an issue that could cost companies $2.1 billion this holiday season.

According to the study, 15% to 25% of all e-commerce customer sessions are exposed to unauthorized ads while browsing retailer sites, and this could increase to 20% to 30% of all sessions during peak shopping seasons. In addition, 80% of the displayed ads during peak season are competitive product ads, sending a retailer's traffic directly to its competitors.

Meanwhile, hackers are sharpening their malware just in time for the holiday season. Specifically, malware developers are pulling out all the stops to increase their reach and optimize their ads to generate more clicks and revenue, there report said.

As the holiday season heats up, online journey hijacking will likely remain steady at the 15% to 25% in September/early October, and increase exponentially during busy shopping periods such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas.

Online journey hijacking is a serious issue for online retailers, not just from a revenue standpoint but also in terms of brand experience and loyalty," said Chemi Katz, co-founder and CEO of Namogoo. "The amount of lost revenue resulting from such tactics is astronomical and can be devastating, particularly at such a pivotal shopping time as the holiday rush." businesswire.com

Alibaba Denies Pressuring 44 Brands to Leave JD.com
Reports that Alibaba is forcing brands to choose between JD.com and Tmall

The Finish Line will make it easier for online shoppers to return orders

Amazon Decentralized:
How Blockchain Tech Will Transform Online Retail, Networking

JICWEBS Offers ABC Audit to Tackle Online Ad Fraud

Amazon offers 'photo on delivery' to prevent theft

Merchants increase online sales revenue using eComchain's Artificial Intelligence features

Miami-Dade County, FL: Search Warrants served on 2 homes in connection to $3 Million Walmart burglary during Irma; 26 people already arrested
While most people were hunkered down during Hurricane Irma, more than two dozen people were burglarizing a Walmart Supercenter. They managed to make off with $3 million worth of cash and products from the store, located in the 3200 block of Northwest 79th Street, including televisions, camera, home theater systems, canoes, kayaks and furniture, Miami-Dade police said. Although police have arrested 26 people in relation to this incident, several remain on the loose. Earlier this week, detectives raided two homes during their investigation. It's unclear if any of the items were recovered during the raid. Kathi Basarab, Walmart's Director of Market Asset Protection, told police that the burglars also caused $75,000 to $100,000 worth of damage to the store. Walmart security had embedded two GPS trackers in a register and the electronics section of the store and helped lead police to the homes. local10.com

Union County, NC: Fired Harris Teeter worker accused of stealing $78,000 from its charitable foundation
A former longtime Harris Teeter worker is accused of stealing nearly $78,000 from the grocer's employee-assistance foundation and spending it on her mortgage and utility bills. Leah Belk of Indian Trail in Union County is charged with wire fraud, according to a bill of information filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte. From 2010 until March, according to the bill of information, Belk falsified documents and diverted payments to herself 45 times while performing foundation administrative tasks. Harris Teeter workers fund the foundation through donations deducted from their paychecks. wbtv.com

Santa Clarita, CA: Deputies serve Search Warrant on a Suspect in 60 thefts of over $21,000 in items from Walmart and Target
The SCV Station Detective Bureau and the Special Assignment Team, traveled to California City Wednesday to execute a search warrant. The search warrant was secured after an eight week investigation into the theft of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from Target and Walmart department stores. Based on the investigation, one primary suspect was identified as being responsible for over 40 separate thefts in Los Angeles County, valued at over $21,000, including thefts in the SCV. He was also suspected of committing 20 additional thefts in Ventura and Kern Counties. The search warrant lead to the recovery of approximately $7,150 worth of merchandise. scvnews.com

Natick, MA: Man charged with $20K power tool theft from Natick Home Depot; has distinct gold plated teeth
A man and two unidentified cohorts stole nearly $20,000 worth of power tools from the Home Depot in Natick in August and September. Bradley Durand, 28, is also suspected of similar thefts in other Home Depots throughout the state. Store security, along with Natick Police, reviewed the videos and were able to identify Durand due to a distinctive physical characteristic. "The defendant has distinguishing gold plating on his teeth," the prosecutor said. wickedlocal.com

Stevenson Ranch, CA: Thieves steal $85,000 in cell phones in Verizon store Armed Robbery; 2nd time this month
For the second time this month, thieves have robbed the Verizon store in Stevenson Ranch, this time making off with more $85,000 worth of cell phone technology. About 9 p.m. Tuesday, two masked men entered the Verizon store and stole over 100 items. signalscv.com

Lady Lake, FL: Man dressed up as woman arrested in theft of merchandise
from Belk
A man who was dressed up as a woman complete with a wig was arrested in the theft of merchandise from Belk. David C. Charles III, had been dressed as a woman when Lady Lake police were called to the store. Charles was accompanied by Thomas A. Antonucci. The men allegedly stole men's Polo shirts then fled. They were soon apprehended by Lady Lake Police. The loss prevention officer reported that Charles had been in the store the previous month and had stolen Polo shirts, but got away. villages-news.com



Madison Height, MI: Target employee accused of stealing $4k worth of electronics from Target
Brandon Philips was working at Target when the crime occurred. Target's loss prevention personnel discovered that Philips allegedly stole approximately $3,900 worth of iPads and Apple watches. The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office authorized a warrant for embezzlement. wxyz.com


Millburn, NJ: Short Hills Nordstrom's employee busted for 39 fraudulent refunds for cash totaling $836.91

Brookfield, WI: Two females stole over $600 worth of baby formula on Sept. 20 at Pick 'N Save

Sentencings

Update - Sentenced: Corvallis, OR: Man sentenced to 1 year in prison and $20,500 in restitution in an Interstate Theft Ring
Police say Yosief Tesfamariam, 25, purchase over $20,000 in Apple Store gift cards with stolen credit cards at Safeway in Corvallis. He has been ordered to pay $20,500 in restitution. gazettetimes.com

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Increase Your Productivity With Simple Tips
 

Why Silence May Yield More Productivity Than You Think  We all love to maximize downtime by keeping productive, but how often do we seek time doing nothing? Through filling every moment with tasks, you could be missing out on a key ingredient for productivity. Silence is golden

3 Ways to Become More Productive Today  We all have days where it's hard to focus on our tasks, and put in solid work. When there are other things on your mind, it can affect your productivity greatly, so use these tips to keep your concentration on work. Live in the present

For Greater Productivity, Treat Your Energy Like Your Bank Account  Nobody is born with unlimited amounts of energy, just like we're not given unlimited amounts of money. Treat your energy like a bank account, balance "spending" with energy surplus, and you won't be drained.

Science Says Change How You Use This Word to Increase Productivity  A word has the power to influence your brain. Optimism has the ability to help lead to success, so through using positive words in your day-to-day language, you can ease the difficulty of doing them. "Action" not "Task"

How to Ace Your Next HR Job Interview
Use a 5-Point Agenda and 60-Second Sell to effectively market your skills
The 5-Point Agenda is a method to focus your interview on your strengths and the needs of the employer. After conducting some self-analysis, as Oakley did, you select your five most marketable attributes and repeatedly discuss them throughout the interview process. Be sure to create work examples that outline these strengths.

The 60-Second Sell is a tool that helps you target your skills to meet the employer's needs. It helps you summarize your most marketable strengths in a brief and concise manner. This technique is very easy to use and the most effective way to open, and close, an interview.

For each interview, you'll create a 60-second statement that summarizes and links together your 5-Point Agenda. Put the points of your 5-Point Agenda into an order that allows you to present them in the most logical and effective manner. When you link the ideas into sentences, they should be spoken in 60 seconds or less. Memorize this statement so that it is easy for you to recall and use during the interview. shrm.org

Just a Thought,
Gus

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