Tom Meehan, CFI, is the chief strategy officer and chief information security officer for CONTROLTEK. Previously, Meehan was director of technology and investigations with Bloomingdale’s, where he was responsible for physical security, internal investigations, systems and data analytics. He currently serves as the chair of the Loss Prevention Research Council's (LPRC) innovations working group. Prior to his 13-year tenure at Bloomingdale's, Meehan worked for Home Depot in loss prevention and has had various technology, loss prevention, and operational roles at several other companies. He can be reached at tom.meehan [at] controltekusa (dot) com.
What comes to mind when you think of organized retail crime (ORC)? High-shrink items with high-resell values, such as razors, baby formula, jeans, and such? Or fencing operations, whether online or at the corner store? Recently I wrote an article about the broader scope of ORC and the narrowing gap
When planned, innovation is an essential part of the evolution of retail. But when retail innovation ideas are forced on an organization, they can be a toxic time burglar.
So what exactly is social engineering? It is the manipulation of people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. It is a confidence (con, for short) trick for information gathering, fraud, or system access.
In 2003, the Loss Prevention Research Council (LPRC) worked on a three-year international research project with the University of Leicester, UK. The research was focused on the impact of organized retail crime (ORC) on communities, businesses, and individuals. This became the pivotal point when retailers transitioned away from using the
The only surprising thing about Facebook’s recent privacy fiasco is that anyone was actually surprised. Those of us who use social media and other free online services traded our privacy for convenience sometime in the early 2000s. How many of us are there? Out of 330 million Americans walking this
Technology is not here to eliminate us; it’s here to make our jobs and lives easier.
In the July-August 2017 issue of this magazine, I wrote an article titled “Brick-and-Mortar Is Not Dead; Amazon Just Proved It.” That statement continues to hold true. But when I read business publications or mingle at industry events, I still notice a lot of doom and gloom about the supposed
LP Magazine’s columnist Tom Meehan, CFI, shares his top five predictions for cyber risks retailers can expect in 2018:
1. Ransomware attacks will increase in 2018 and will become more sophisticated. Ransomware has been more prevalent in the past two years. In the first quarter of 2017 alone, these attacks have
Work experience doesn’t necessarily mean you are a subject-matter expert. It could mean you know more than some people. A true subject-matter expert (SME) must have deep understanding of a particular process, function, or technology; must have studied the field; and must have spent hundreds—even thousands—of hours mastering a specific
When you think of hacking, breaches, or cyber security, what do you think of? Probably software or technology. We often forget the human side. But humans continue to play a big role. In fact, more than half of breaches and cyber-security events start with a human error or social engineering.
