Data Management

Toys “R” Us Inc. is creating a new position of CTO and turning to a veteran of American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) to fill it.
 
Lance Wills will join Toys “R” Us as executive VP, global CTO effective June 13. He will report directly to chairman and CEO Dave Brandon. In his newly created role, Wills will oversee global and IT digital strategy, including governance and infrastructure.
 

More retailers are suffering data breaches, but the industry is also feeling an increased level of capability to deal with them.

According to a new study of more than 200 IT professionals from security technology provider Tripwire Inc., 33% of retailers say they have experienced a breach where intruders stole or gained access to personally identifiable information, This is more than double the 14% who had experienced this type of breach in 2014.

The word “big” is often associated with Walmart, and that adjective also applies to the discount retailer’s IT spending.

According to data from IDC, Walmart Stores Inc. spent more on IT than any other company globally in 2015, to the tune of more than $10.5 billion. No other retailer, not fellow large tech-focused organization Amazon.com, cracked the top 10 list.

A look at cybercrime, data breach and security threat trends from 2015 demonstrates that criminals are indeed creatures of habit.

According to the Trustwave 2016 Global Security Report, which analyzes results of Trustwave security investigations during 2015, retail was the most targeted industry for data breaches. Twenty-three percent of Trustwave data breach investigations involved retailers. North America was the most popular geographic location for cyberattacks, with 35% of all Trustwave investigations occurring on the continent.

When it comes to security breaches, consumers are clear about who they hold responsible.

According to a new study from retail services provider Interactions, “Security Hacks and the Lasting Impact on Retailers,” 75% of consumers believe that keeping shopper information safe is the retailer’s responsibility.

The latest retail security breach may have exposed personal information of workers, rather than customers. According to The Denver Channel, a payroll employee of Phoenix-based, 220-plus-store Sprouts Farmers Markets provided W-2 tax form information from an unspecified number of the retailer’s personnel in response to a request in a fraudulent “phishing” email claiming to be from a company executive. The FBI and IRS are investigating the breach with cooperation from Sprouts.

Meeting Walmart’s product information requirements is not always easy for its suppliers, but the retailer is providing a new option that may make things a little simpler.

Walmart is integrating with product content technology provider Shotfarm. Walmart suppliers can now use the Shotfarm Switch Marketplace platform to directly connect with the retailer. This means suppliers can work with requirement such as the Walmart Spec program, which details the required, recommended, and optional data attributes suppliers must provide for their products.

Target Corp. is expanding the management of its technology organization with two new executive hires.

Tom Kadlec will join Target as senior VP of infrastructure and operations. He will be tasked with leading efforts to modernize and enhance Target’s technology foundation. The company also announced the hiring of Joel Crabb as VP of architecture, with responsibility for enterprise architecture, agile practices and Application Program Interfaces (APIs).

Albertsons, the second largest grocery chain in the United States, has selected a new partner for point-of-sale data, consumer panel insights and strategic growth initiatives to support joint business collaboration.

Everyone knows detecting fraudulent e-commerce activity is crucial, but how do you know when something is up?

Fraud detection provider Simility aggregated patterns across 500,000 browser-based devices throughout January 2016. Analysts looked for patterns in the 10,000 (or 2%) of those devices that were in the hands of fraudsters and contrasted those with the other 98% of devices in the hands of good or “organic” users.

Simility discovered seven anomalies that were leading indicators of fraud: