i-pad Theft-3 WC Blog 328
Bug Tag-3
Classic N10-3
Don’t Trust In Encryption Alone To Protect Your Mobile Medical Devices; Use The Alpha Bug Tag 2 To Boost Security
I don’t like to cry wolf and I don’t like to unnecessarily scare people. On the flip side of that, I do believe being too nonchalant about some things, like data security on computer devices can lead to harmful situations. Take for instance mobile medical devices, some web sites seem to suggest that encryption protects computing devices from hacking so there is not a lot to be concerned with in terms of protecting patient’s personal information. I will grant you that encryption is a powerful tool, but I would not be confident in it as my only defense should an ipad theft take place in my hospital, clinic or practice. Medical facilities MUST protect all patient data even if it only seems to be harmless on the surface, like an address. There are thieves trying to gain access to patient information be it addresses, credit billing information, names, prescription drug data, etc. They use the information to obtain prescription medications, file fraudulent medical bills with insurers, obtain credit information and so on. Medical providers must do more to protect mobile devices than depend on encryption. One effective method is to physically protect devices with the Alpha Bug Tag 2.
The Bug Tag is an electronic article surveillance (EAS) anti-theft device that works using a radio frequency (rf) signal in concert with an EAS pedestal, such as the Checkpoint Classic N10 unit. It has rounded edges that give it a flush fit with a device such as a tablet computer or i-pad. The design of the tag makes it nearly impossible for a criminal to pry it off of whatever item it is attached to. The built in tamper alarm ensures that even if it were pried off, the tag will sound a 95 decibel squealing alarm alerting employees to an attempted i-pad theft or tablet theft. With Classic N10 pedestals set in place at entrances and exits to a building, any attempt to smuggle a protected item out the door will result in an alarm from the tower. Again, staffs are alerted and can respond to the event and recover the item before a thief gets away.
Why would someone completely trust in encryption to protect their devices? For starters on their iOS security white paper, March 2017, Apple includes the statement on page 10, “iOS has additional encryption and data protection features to safeguard user data even in cases where other parts of the security infrastructure have been compromised…This provides benefits for both users and IT administrators protecting personal and corporate information at all times and providing methods for instant and complete remote wipe in the case of device theft or loss.” https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf I am not an expert in encryption and I know that the people at Apple are great at what they do. I only point out that one is left with the impression that there is no need to worry should a device be stolen. I would like to suggest that IF a breach were to take place, fines from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can be hefty. On top of the fines that could be levied, there is also the loss of public confidence in the facility where the breach has occurred and that can impact profitability.
Do portable devices get stolen from facilities? According to the hhs.gov website, in 2017 alone there have been four reported thefts or losses of “other portable electronic devices” and four “thefts of laptops” https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/breach_report.jsf This does not include all the breaches due to paper losses or thefts, network server hackings, unauthorized email disclosures and so on. In one case of theft, “A computer and storage device have been discovered to have been stolen from San Diego-based healthcare provider Sharp Healthcare. The devices were taken from a locked cabinet in an access-controlled patient treatment area of the Sharp Memorial Outpatient Pavilion in Kearney Mesa in San Diego, CA.” (emphasis mine). The article goes on to report that, “750 current and former patients are understood to have been impacted by the incident.” http://www.hipaajournal.com/sharp-healthcare-says-stolen-devices-contained-phi-of-patients-8718/ The story does not indicate the type of storage device or computer and it may or may not have been an i-pad theft but with the increased use of mobile devices in medicine the necessary precautions are the same.
Using the Bug Tag 2 on mobile medical devices and having Classic N10 pedestals installed in doorways is an additional security step you can take to protect your business and clients. Don’t allow i-pad theft or tablet theft to take your reputation or result in astronomical fines.
Get more information on the Bug Tag, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547today.
I don’t like to cry wolf and I don’t like to unnecessarily scare people. On the flip side of that, I do believe being too nonchalant about some things, like data security on computer devices can lead to harmful situations. Take for instance mobile medical devices, some web sites seem to suggest that encryption protects computing devices from hacking so there is not a lot to be concerned with in terms of protecting patient’s personal information. I will grant you that encryption is a powerful tool, but I would not be confident in it as my only defense should an ipad theft take place in my hospital, clinic or practice. Medical facilities MUST protect all patient data even if it only seems to be harmless on the surface, like an address. There are thieves trying to gain access to patient information be it addresses, credit billing information, names, prescription drug data, etc. They use the information to obtain prescription medications, file fraudulent medical bills with insurers, obtain credit information and so on. Medical providers must do more to protect mobile devices than depend on encryption. One effective method is to physically protect devices with the Alpha Bug Tag 2.
The Bug Tag is an electronic article surveillance (EAS) anti-theft device that works using a radio frequency (rf) signal in concert with an EAS pedestal, such as the Checkpoint Classic N10 unit. It has rounded edges that give it a flush fit with a device such as a tablet computer or i-pad. The design of the tag makes it nearly impossible for a criminal to pry it off of whatever item it is attached to. The built in tamper alarm ensures that even if it were pried off, the tag will sound a 95 decibel squealing alarm alerting employees to an attempted i-pad theft or tablet theft. With Classic N10 pedestals set in place at entrances and exits to a building, any attempt to smuggle a protected item out the door will result in an alarm from the tower. Again, staffs are alerted and can respond to the event and recover the item before a thief gets away.
Why would someone completely trust in encryption to protect their devices? For starters on their iOS security white paper, March 2017, Apple includes the statement on page 10, “iOS has additional encryption and data protection features to safeguard user data even in cases where other parts of the security infrastructure have been compromised…This provides benefits for both users and IT administrators protecting personal and corporate information at all times and providing methods for instant and complete remote wipe in the case of device theft or loss.” https://www.apple.com/business/docs/iOS_Security_Guide.pdf I am not an expert in encryption and I know that the people at Apple are great at what they do. I only point out that one is left with the impression that there is no need to worry should a device be stolen. I would like to suggest that IF a breach were to take place, fines from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can be hefty. On top of the fines that could be levied, there is also the loss of public confidence in the facility where the breach has occurred and that can impact profitability.
Do portable devices get stolen from facilities? According to the hhs.gov website, in 2017 alone there have been four reported thefts or losses of “other portable electronic devices” and four “thefts of laptops” https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/breach_report.jsf This does not include all the breaches due to paper losses or thefts, network server hackings, unauthorized email disclosures and so on. In one case of theft, “A computer and storage device have been discovered to have been stolen from San Diego-based healthcare provider Sharp Healthcare. The devices were taken from a locked cabinet in an access-controlled patient treatment area of the Sharp Memorial Outpatient Pavilion in Kearney Mesa in San Diego, CA.” (emphasis mine). The article goes on to report that, “750 current and former patients are understood to have been impacted by the incident.” http://www.hipaajournal.com/sharp-healthcare-says-stolen-devices-contained-phi-of-patients-8718/ The story does not indicate the type of storage device or computer and it may or may not have been an i-pad theft but with the increased use of mobile devices in medicine the necessary precautions are the same.
Using the Bug Tag 2 on mobile medical devices and having Classic N10 pedestals installed in doorways is an additional security step you can take to protect your business and clients. Don’t allow i-pad theft or tablet theft to take your reputation or result in astronomical fines.
Get more information on the Bug Tag, contact us or call 1.770.426.0547today.
PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN TO THEFT WITH ALPHA INK TAGS
It’s my job to prevent shoplifting; No, it’s my calling. I wake up every day of the week, get dressed and walk in the absolute best job I’ve ever had. I get to catch criminals, I get to weed out dishonest employees and I get to help my company see measurable success as reducing losses and improving profits. There’s no other job that I would ever want to do. Often, it requires some really “out of the box” type thinking. I always need to stay one step ahead of the thieves.
Not long ago, I was assigned a project to reduce external theft losses of our 5 highest shrinking styles of footwear. These 5 styles accounted for nearly 45% of all footwear losses. From our research, we were able to determine that the vast majority of this loss came from external theft. While we did have dishonest employees and vendor issues, it was evident that it I was going to reduce shrink, I needed to first prevent shoplifting.
Footwear is pretty tricky. First, you have to work in an “open sell” environment. I don’t have limitless payroll, so the stock needs to be out and accessible to the customer. I have to display every shoe, even the ones that are shrinking more than they are selling. I also need to incorporate a security device that does not interfere with the customer’s ability to try the product on before they buy it (incredibly important when selling a shoe). I was left with very little choices in hard tags. I needed something that was going to not only stop a career thief, but would serve as a deterrent for those opportunistic thieves. Cue the Alpha Ink Tag.
There are two EAS tags that I couldn’t live without; spider wraps and of course Alpha Ink Tags. After trying out about a dozen other hard tags, I settled on the ink tags; here’s why. For starters, I was able to prominently display the tag on the tongue of the shoe. This made it quite clear to any potential thief that there was one heck of a tag on the shoe. Second, it did not interfere with the customer’s ability to try the shoe on, nor did it negatively impact my ability to effectively merchandise the shoe on my wall. Finally, it was a show-stopper for the thief. They knew that if they tried to tamper with the tag, it would ruin their newly stolen product, and who wants to walk around with ink stained shoes?
Once in place, the results were pretty dramatic. This simple tool had single handedly allowed me to prevent shoplifting on my highest shrinking shoes. While normally associated with apparel items, I found that this seemed to be a unique way of using the Alpha Ink Tag. After reaching out to several industry peers, I found out that I was the only one using them in this way; but that soon changed. When I tell you that my shrink virtually stopped, I’m not exaggerating. I went from losing 20-30 pairs of shoes a day between my 10 stores to losing no more than 10 combined in a month’s time.
Before long, as a company we were using Alpha Ink Tags on all of our shoes that retail over $79. This lead to a 84% reduction in footwear shrink all thanks to a little outside thinking and use of a tag not really intended for shoes. If you are a seller of shoes and you find that too many are simply walking out of the door, give the Alpha Ink Tag a shot at helping you to keep those sales. I guarantee that this shoe will fit.
Alpha Hard Tags important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
It’s my job to prevent shoplifting; No, it’s my calling. I wake up every day of the week, get dressed and walk in the absolute best job I’ve ever had. I get to catch criminals, I get to weed out dishonest employees and I get to help my company see measurable success as reducing losses and improving profits. There’s no other job that I would ever want to do. Often, it requires some really “out of the box” type thinking. I always need to stay one step ahead of the thieves.
Not long ago, I was assigned a project to reduce external theft losses of our 5 highest shrinking styles of footwear. These 5 styles accounted for nearly 45% of all footwear losses. From our research, we were able to determine that the vast majority of this loss came from external theft. While we did have dishonest employees and vendor issues, it was evident that it I was going to reduce shrink, I needed to first prevent shoplifting.
Footwear is pretty tricky. First, you have to work in an “open sell” environment. I don’t have limitless payroll, so the stock needs to be out and accessible to the customer. I have to display every shoe, even the ones that are shrinking more than they are selling. I also need to incorporate a security device that does not interfere with the customer’s ability to try the product on before they buy it (incredibly important when selling a shoe). I was left with very little choices in hard tags. I needed something that was going to not only stop a career thief, but would serve as a deterrent for those opportunistic thieves. Cue the Alpha Ink Tag.
There are two EAS tags that I couldn’t live without; spider wraps and of course Alpha Ink Tags. After trying out about a dozen other hard tags, I settled on the ink tags; here’s why. For starters, I was able to prominently display the tag on the tongue of the shoe. This made it quite clear to any potential thief that there was one heck of a tag on the shoe. Second, it did not interfere with the customer’s ability to try the shoe on, nor did it negatively impact my ability to effectively merchandise the shoe on my wall. Finally, it was a show-stopper for the thief. They knew that if they tried to tamper with the tag, it would ruin their newly stolen product, and who wants to walk around with ink stained shoes?
Once in place, the results were pretty dramatic. This simple tool had single handedly allowed me to prevent shoplifting on my highest shrinking shoes. While normally associated with apparel items, I found that this seemed to be a unique way of using the Alpha Ink Tag. After reaching out to several industry peers, I found out that I was the only one using them in this way; but that soon changed. When I tell you that my shrink virtually stopped, I’m not exaggerating. I went from losing 20-30 pairs of shoes a day between my 10 stores to losing no more than 10 combined in a month’s time.
Before long, as a company we were using Alpha Ink Tags on all of our shoes that retail over $79. This lead to a 84% reduction in footwear shrink all thanks to a little outside thinking and use of a tag not really intended for shoes. If you are a seller of shoes and you find that too many are simply walking out of the door, give the Alpha Ink Tag a shot at helping you to keep those sales. I guarantee that this shoe will fit.
Alpha Hard Tags important and we can help you with it. Call 1.770.426.0547 and let’s talk.
AA Blog 13
Checkpoint labels: 5
Retail Theft Prevention: 3
Checkpoint Systems: 3
Checkpoint Labels Provide An Innovative Way To Protect All Your Products
Do you ever feel like you are struggling to stay relevant in the loss prevention community? Do you struggle to prevent shoplifting and increase profit? As a member of the Loss Prevention Community, I have done my fair share of research on the topic and the products available to mitigate my risk. I have come to realize that our economy has a direct correlation with our shoplifting rates. According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, there are approximately 27 million shoplifters in our Nation and more than ten million shoplifters have been caught in the last 5 years. More than likely these statistics are based on arrest records, and considering shoplifters acknowledge that they are only caught 1 out 48 times and only prosecuted 50% of the time, that number is probably not an accurate representation of the true problem facing our Nation. As our economy suffers, it increases the need for retail theft prevention, in order to detect this type of activity. Desperate people are more likely to steal out of necessity and will take anything that is essential to improving their personal situation. This results in the theft of items you wouldn’t normally see as high risk such as: medicine, food, or personal hygiene items. That is why it is so important for those of us in loss prevention to adapt to market changes and trends so we can continue to expand our loss prevention programs, through the use of innovative products. Checkpoint Labels can provide the added security you need for a reasonable price.
If you want to enhance your retail theft prevention program Checkpoint labels are a convenient way to protect all of your products. Checkpoint Systems have created Enhanced Performance Labels that serve multiple purposes and can provide coverage for any item regardless of type or size. Checkpoint labels have EAS integration and are designed to improve your detection capability. They offer round labels for your medicine, vitamins, cosmetics and hygiene products; or small square or rectangular labels as small as a postage stamp, to cover any size item. In our retail store we use these labels on everything. We started using these on our vitamins and high end medicine after we had a large influx of theft of these products. Checkpoint Systems also produce a clear label that can be affixed directly over the product’s barcode. The clear labels can be easily affixed without obscuring the product while maintaining a level of discretion for better detection capability. We use the clear labels on our cosmetics because they are difficult to detect by the average shoplifter and provide the added security we need. The Enhanced Performance labels are printer ready so you can customize them with your specific business logo or pricing barcode. This allows for a multifaceted label that can serve all your needs in one product. We specifically like the printing capability because it saves us money to print them ourselves and allows us to customize them to meet our business needs. So do yourself a favor do some research of your own so you can better prepare yourself and your business for the escalating theft plaguing our society.
Checkpoint Systems provide various options when it comes to retail theft prevention, all of which can help reduce shrinkage, and increase profit. I know in our store, Checkpoint labels are an integral part of our loss prevention program. I have seen the results first hand. Our fluctuating economy will continue to impact our industry and how we do business, which is why our knowledge of how to mitigate our risk is equally important. Technology is ever-changing, and requires continuous education on the resources available, so we can protect our businesses and improve customer satisfaction.
Need information on Checkpoint Labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
Do you ever feel like you are struggling to stay relevant in the loss prevention community? Do you struggle to prevent shoplifting and increase profit? As a member of the Loss Prevention Community, I have done my fair share of research on the topic and the products available to mitigate my risk. I have come to realize that our economy has a direct correlation with our shoplifting rates. According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, there are approximately 27 million shoplifters in our Nation and more than ten million shoplifters have been caught in the last 5 years. More than likely these statistics are based on arrest records, and considering shoplifters acknowledge that they are only caught 1 out 48 times and only prosecuted 50% of the time, that number is probably not an accurate representation of the true problem facing our Nation. As our economy suffers, it increases the need for retail theft prevention, in order to detect this type of activity. Desperate people are more likely to steal out of necessity and will take anything that is essential to improving their personal situation. This results in the theft of items you wouldn’t normally see as high risk such as: medicine, food, or personal hygiene items. That is why it is so important for those of us in loss prevention to adapt to market changes and trends so we can continue to expand our loss prevention programs, through the use of innovative products. Checkpoint Labels can provide the added security you need for a reasonable price.
If you want to enhance your retail theft prevention program Checkpoint labels are a convenient way to protect all of your products. Checkpoint Systems have created Enhanced Performance Labels that serve multiple purposes and can provide coverage for any item regardless of type or size. Checkpoint labels have EAS integration and are designed to improve your detection capability. They offer round labels for your medicine, vitamins, cosmetics and hygiene products; or small square or rectangular labels as small as a postage stamp, to cover any size item. In our retail store we use these labels on everything. We started using these on our vitamins and high end medicine after we had a large influx of theft of these products. Checkpoint Systems also produce a clear label that can be affixed directly over the product’s barcode. The clear labels can be easily affixed without obscuring the product while maintaining a level of discretion for better detection capability. We use the clear labels on our cosmetics because they are difficult to detect by the average shoplifter and provide the added security we need. The Enhanced Performance labels are printer ready so you can customize them with your specific business logo or pricing barcode. This allows for a multifaceted label that can serve all your needs in one product. We specifically like the printing capability because it saves us money to print them ourselves and allows us to customize them to meet our business needs. So do yourself a favor do some research of your own so you can better prepare yourself and your business for the escalating theft plaguing our society.
Checkpoint Systems provide various options when it comes to retail theft prevention, all of which can help reduce shrinkage, and increase profit. I know in our store, Checkpoint labels are an integral part of our loss prevention program. I have seen the results first hand. Our fluctuating economy will continue to impact our industry and how we do business, which is why our knowledge of how to mitigate our risk is equally important. Technology is ever-changing, and requires continuous education on the resources available, so we can protect our businesses and improve customer satisfaction.
Need information on Checkpoint Labels? Give us a call at 1.770.426.0547 now.
