The NRF Foundation launched two new credentials in its RISE Up program in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The credentials focus on Retail Operations and Customer Conflict Prevention to further ensure retail workers — and the millions of customers they serve — can work and shop more safely and help keep the economy open.
The Retail Loss Prevention and Security Association will be hosting its THINK Tank II summit virtually on October 22. The association also launched a new website that coincides with the summit.
At NRF Protect this morning, loss prevention professionals discuss their tactics regarding COVID-19 response and the role of their departments in the organization.
The National Retail Federation (NRF) will be hosting the NRF PROTECT ALL ACCESS, a free, four-day online event taking place September 22 – 25, 2020, featuring dynamic speakers, a virtual expo highlighting 75 retail security collaborators and networking opportunities catered to the retail security community. With 16 sessions spanning topics from talent and culture to theft and fraud to cyber and digital crime, attendees will have access to the latest information for the loss prevention, asset protection and cyber risk communities.
The pandemic has redefined what it means to be a resilient business, especially when it comes to retail. “Essential” businesses that have remained open, such as supermarkets or pharmacies, have had to figure out how to operate safely in this new world. No matter the type of retailer, the importance of cybersecurity hasn’t gone away. If anything, it becomes more important as a cyber disruption could be the fatal final straw for a business looking for a smooth return to operations and maintain its brand image and reputation.
As businesses and schools seek to bring people back to brick and mortar establishments, it’s going to be important to make customers, students and teachers feel comfortable, in addition to simply following guidelines. Customers are going to have to feel that it’s worth going out, versus shopping on-line. For retailers, that comfort might in part be derived from visible occupancy monitoring efforts and automated voice-down messages when people aren’t wearing masks or keeping their distance.
International technology standards consortium Object Management Group® (OMG®) and the Industrial Internet Consortium® (IIC™) announced the first vertical profile for the recently released v1.2 of the IoT Security Maturity Model (SMM) Practitioner’s Guide. Targeted specifically for the retail industry, IoT SMM: Retail Profile for Point-of-Sale Devices will help retail organizations determine the right level of investment to meet their security needs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new guidelines when it comes to workplace violence, including how or how not to confront anti-maskers.
By implementing a data protection by design approach, both before and during product development, organizations will build more trust with customers and end users, and curtail risk of future privacy-related conflicts.
