Data Management

Minneapolis -- Fazio Mechanical Services Inc., a heating and refrigeration vendor based in Sharpsburg, Pa., has reportedly confirmed it was the victim of a cyber attack that may have allowed hackers to gain access to financial and personal data of millions of Target customers. According to the Associated Press, the Secret Service confirmed it is investigating Fazio, which released a public statement acknowledging the investigation.

Northbrook, Ill. — Pine Tree Commercial realty has appointed Ryan Montes to the post of property manager and asset management coordinator. Montes will manage three Pine Tree assets, while overseeing quarterly asset management meetings and portfolio reporting.

Montes comes to Pine Tree from Miller Capital Advisory’s asset management and reporting group, where he handled reporting and analysis for over 10.4 million sq. ft. of regional and lifestyle shopping centers.

Minneapolis – The hackers responsible for the recent Target data breach reportedly gained initial access to the retailer’s network using credentials stolen from a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) vendor. According to the New York Times, the hackers, using the vendor’s access, were able to break into Target’s network and from there were able to compromise a server storing the personal data of 70 million customers, as well as in-store POS systems that allowed access to 40 million credit and debit card numbers.

By Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council

With the latest attacks at big name retailers, the pressure is on for businesses of all sizes to demonstrate that they’re doing whatever it takes to keep their customers’ confidential information safe and out of the hands of the bad guys. But with headlines changing every day on what actually happened and how, many retailers are unsure of where to begin making changes.

Aplharetta, Ga. - Catavolt, Inc., a provider of enterprise application mobility solutions, has launched the Catavolt for AirWatch app in the AirWatch Marketplace and Apple’s App Store. Catavolt’s cloud platform will enable AirWatch customers to rapidly and securely create new mobile apps that seamlessly integrate with existing enterprise systems.

Salt Lake City – Park City Group is adding enhancements to its food safety solution known as ReposiTrak. To enhance interaction between product suppliers and their customers, a communication feature has been added to ReposiTrak related to each referential document.  

Digital BrandWorks has introduced a new diagnostic tool that lets product suppliers grade the representation of their products online and then develop strategies to optimize their presence.

A proliferation in the ways shoppers engage with retailers and consume content across platforms has transformed traditional marketing and spawned new approaches to measuring advertising effectiveness.

This week digital measurement leader comScore said it had joined with the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) to expand a cross-platform measurement service that provides a continuous view and measurement of media suage across TV, radio, desktop, smartphone and mobile.

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Yahoo recently identified a coordinated effort to gain unauthorized access to Yahoo Mail accounts. In a Tumblr blog post signed by Jay Rossiter, senior VP, Platforms and Personalization Products of Yahoo, the company said that upon discovery, it took immediate action to protect users, prompting them to reset passwords on impacted accounts.

Minneapolis – A Target representative reportedly offered few new details during a phone briefing with members of Congress about its holiday data breach. According to Reuters, Target official Isaac Reyes spent about an hour on the phone with members of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on the evening of Jan. 30.