LP Worldwide: North Korea Blamed for Massive Data Breach Affecting 10 Million Internet Shoppers
Authorities in South Korea on Thursday said Kim Jong-un’s government compromised the personal data of more than 10 million online shoppers by hacking the website of an internet shopping mall.
North Korea’s General Bureau of Reconnaissance was responsible for breaching the servers of Interpark, a Seoul-based website that generates hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions each year, South Korea’s National Police Agency said in a statement.
The General Bureau of Reconnaissance, Pyongyang’s main spy agency, breached the company in May and stole personal data pertaining to more than 10 million shoppers, including their names, email addresses, telephone numbers and other information, the National Police Agency said.
Interpark said it learned July 11 its company had been breached by an “advanced persistent threat attack” and alerted authorities the following day.
“The hackers first gained access to an employee’s computer, and identified email patterns that were familiar to the employee before sending an email that contained the malware [and] opening a back door, which is why the employee was fooled,” a spokesperson told the Korea Herald [Source: Washington Times]
Shoplifting Arrest at Little Rock Dollar General Becomes Drug Bust
Police arrested a Little Rock woman on felony drug charges after she tried shoplifting from a Arkansas Dollar General, according to a police report. Police searched Vonkisha Nichols, 26, after the store’s manager saw her hide merchandise in her purse, according to the report. Officers found she was carrying two baggies of white crystals suspected to be methamphetamine, a glass pipe with residue and a pill bottle of different sedatives. Nichols at first told police her name was Latoya Williams and Latasha Williams.
She was charged with possession of meth with purpose to deliver, three charges of of possession of a Schedule IV drug with purpose to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of probation — all felonies. She was also charged with theft of property and obstruction of government operations. [Source: ArkansasOnline]
Shoplifter Drags North Branch Officer In Shopko Parking Lot
A 43-year-old Minnesota woman was arrested for dragging a North Branch officer who had confronted her over shoplifting at Shopko, according to the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office. The officer was conducting a walk-through business check at Shopko when she was approached by a store employee who had observed a female customer acting suspicious and putting items inside a shoulder bag.
The suspect exited the store and was approached by the officer, who identified herself. The suspect didn’t comply to the officer’s commands and fled to a vehicle. As the suspect tried to start the vehicle, the officer struggled to get control of the ignition key and the car’s shift lever. The suspect put the car in reverse and dragged the officer about 10 feet and causing the officer’s feet to hit a cart corral. The suspect then put the vehicle into drive and went through the parking lot until the officer was able to gain control. Other deputies arrived on scene, and the woman was taken into custody after a struggle.
The officer suffered several minor injuries during the incident. The suspect, identified as Melissa Zielinski, was arrested and charged with second-degree felony assault, fourth-degree felony assault on a peace officer and fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance. She was also charged with felony possession of shoplifting gear, felony theft, obstructing legal process and driving after revocation. Zielinski is in the Chisago County Jail while the incident is under investigation. [Source: CBS Minnesota]
Employee Charged with Felony Theft
A former employee of a Wilmington car dealership is accused of stealing more than $100,000 in funds over the course of a year and a half. 40-year-old Misty Hook was charged with two counts felony theft last Friday. She is accused of stealing money from the D’Orazio Ford in Wilmington from January 2013 all the way until August 2014. An investigation into Hook’s activities was launched after her resignation in August 2014 when a new general manager noticed discrepancies within the company’s books. Hook’s arrest carries a $300,000 bond. [Source: WJOL.com]
The Mobile Side of Retail Loss Prevention
Today, retail loss prevention’s focus has grown from preventing the loss of inventory within a retailer’s stores to a variety of other activities ranging from HR challenges, crisis management, emergency situations and disaster recovery. However, the process for communicating emergency preparedness procedures with employees has remained stagnant. This could result in a tremendous loss in operations and profit for retailers. With brick-and-mortar retailers fighting for every dollar against growing online and mobile sales, empowering employees at each store location to protect assets has now reached a critical level.
Working with associations like the National Retail Federation, which recently addressed these issues at their loss prevention event NRF Protect, most retailers build robust loss prevention, risk mitigation, and emergency preparedness plans.
While corporate management makes a concerted effort to distribute these guidelines to each store manager, nine times out of ten, these plans are extensive paper-based manuals, posters, flip books, building diagrams, and websites that are too cumbersome to access quickly. Even worse, they are often lost or filed away in a drawer and not available when an issue arises.
Smartphones Yield Greater Access to Loss Prevention Tools
The technology for communicating emergency processes and procedures is evolving. Retailers are spending more money and time on mobile apps for their workforce to increase productivity and sales, since virtually every employee brings their own device to work. Mobile technology provides retail and loss prevention professionals a way to dynamically update plans and turn them into digital playbooks, ensuring employees have real-time access to the most current procedures. [Source: ChainStoreAge]