Samsonite announces the suitcase that will always tell you where it is

Samsonite has introduced the Track&Go suitcase that is likely to reduce luggage theft by ensuring the suitcase can always be identified, similar to the way prank calls disappeared after caller ID was introduced. 

The suitcase contains a Bluetooth beacon which uses Eddystone Ephemeral Identifiers (EIDs), an open privacy/security protocol by Google. Designed and manufactured by Accent Systems, the beacon enables the Track&Go suitcase. It has to be registered by the owner through the Travlr by Samsonite app, which is available free of charge. The app was launched in September 2015 to offer flight tracking, tips and reminders when travelling. 

The new Track&Go feature will soon be built into the existing app, allowing users to easily check the location of the suitcase within a distance of 70m, and also be notified if it is being moved closer or further away from the user. Should the suitcase go missing, the owner can easily flag it as lost in the app. Once flagged as 'lost', the app leverages its user base to help the suitcase's owner find it. Should anyone else, using the app, pass within 70 m of a lost suitcase, an EID-based signal is picked up and triggers a notification with location and time details of the suitcase to be sent out to the owner. 

According to Accent's web page, its Bluetooth low energy beacons can last up to about 100 months depending on the model and what it is used for.

"We're excited to work with Google on this project to make sure that our beacons support Eddystone EIDs. Missing or permanently lost luggage is the nightmare of every traveller. As the world's largest luggage manufacturer, we wanted to find a way to make this issue a thing of the past," says Ramesh Tainwala, CEO of Samsonite. "As Samsonite is known for its innovative and reliable luggage and bags, we also wanted to work with an equally as innovative and reliable technology partner.By leveraging Google's robust, secure and cross-platform approach, we feel confident that our customers will welcome this new solution."

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Samsonite aims to launch the first suitcases featuring the Track&Go solution in the European market at the end of 2016, followed by other international markets.

Checkpoint Systems prevents shoplifting in Hong Kong

Checkpoint Systems, a global supplier of merchandise availability solutions for the retail industry, has introduced smart loss prevention and RFID solutions for Hong Kong retailers that can protect their high-value merchandise from loss and theft throughout the supply chain all the way from the manufacturer to the store.

Checkpoint has enhanced its Merchandise Visibility Solution with new labelling and RFID (radio frequency identification) technology which enable manufacturers to apply RFID-based tags at the point of manufacture cost-effectively. These RFID tags can be read throughout the supply chain, and enable each product to be tracked or located individually. Information about the product's location is automatically captured and verified against expected quantities in real time to help reduce on-hand inventory at the manufacturing facility or the warehouse.

Once merchandise reaches the store, retailers can determine exact item-level quantities using handheld readers that are compatible with Checkpoint's software and hardware to cycle-count merchandise in an entire department or a store in a matter of minutes. The solution helps to optimise operational efficiency by helping to reduce the time required to complete a stock count by an average 60-70%.

Retailers can keep track of the location and movement of their high-value items within the store using Checkpoint's new S3i solution, a wireless network that provides critical data and analytic intelligence such as inventory quantity.

Shop staff receive real-time notifications and alerts simultaneously via smart phones and other devices when merchandise protected with S3i devices is tampered with or moved in and out of designated zones so that they can respond quickly to prevent shoplifting. In addition, any removal of the S3i device with an authorised key is logged and can help reduce incidents of internal theft.

S3i can be deployed to create zones around high-risk merchandise and high-risk areas such as backrooms, fitting rooms, rest rooms and exits. With the technology, retailers are able to detect and deter shoplifting, organised retail crime and employee theft.

According to Ken Ng, Manager Director for Greater China at Checkpoint Systems, "We offer a full suite of solutions that give retailers the ability to openly display high-risk merchandise such as luxury handbags, designer apparel and electronics, while helping them to reduce loss and theft from the source to the shopper. The solutions also greatly improve the customer experience and allow secure access to these items, increasing the likelihood of a sale.

"Furthermore intelligent tracking of merchandise will help retailers reduce on-hand inventory and provide them with insight into store activity and customer shopping habits in store, which will help drive sales."

Checkpoint Systems has also developed enhanced state-of-the-art electronic article surveillance (EAS) solutions, including jammer detection technology at the store level. Integrated into antennas within the portfolio, the system identifies if an EAS 'jammer' has been brought into the store and activates an alarm, which alerts staff to the potential threat and acts to deter possible shoplifters. EAS jammers suppress the signal produced by the tags/alarms when near the anti-theft gates often placed at shop entrances and exits.

New McAfee Threats Report identifies two major security challenges

McAfee Labs has released the McAfee Labs Threats Report: Fourth Quarter 2013, highlighting the increased threat from credit card theft. The company also said problem software is increasingly disguised to look legitimate, making the likelihood of getting infected more likely.

Each quarter, the McAfee Labs team of 500 multidisciplinary researchers in 30 countries follows the complete range of threats in real time, identifying application vulnerabilities, analysing and correlating risks, and helping to protect enterprises and the public.  

Detailed research of the high-profile Q4 credit card data breaches found that the point-of-sale (POS) malware used in the attacks were relatively unsophisticated and likely purchased “off the shelf”. McAfee Labs’ ongoing research into underground markets further identified the attempted sale of stolen credit card numbers and personal information known to have been compromised in the Q4 retail breaches. The researchers found the thieves offering for sale some of the 40 million credit card numbers reported stolen in batches of between 1 million and 4 million at a time. 

“The fourth quarter of 2013 will be remembered as the period when cybercrime became ‘real’ for more people than ever before,” said Vincent Weafer, Senior VP for McAfee Labs. “These cyber thefts occurred at a time when most people were focused on their holiday shopping and when the industry wanted people to feel secure and confident in their purchases. The impact of these attacks will be felt both at the kitchen table as well as the boardroom table."

In the fourth quarter alone, McAfee Labs found more than 2.3 million new malicious signed applications, a 52% increase from the previous quarter. The practice of code-signing software validates the identity of the developer who produced the code and ensures the code has not been tampered with since the issue of its digital certificate. The vast majority of growth is due to dubious content development networks (CDNs). These are websites and companies that allow developers to upload their programs, or a URL that links to an external application, and then 'wrap' it in a signed installer. 

“We can see from the threat statistics in the Q4 report that Asia Pacific comes in third place after North America and the Europe-Middle East market, with 8.4% of servers hosting suspect content here,” said Wahab Yusoff, Vice President for McAfee South Asia. 

“Although only a rather small number of suspicious content is hosted in Asia, we should remain vigilant and monitor the situation as cyber attacks don’t know physical borders.” 

The McAfee Labs team warns that the growing number of maliciously signed files could create confusion among users and administrators, and even call into question the continued viability of the long-established certificate authority (CA) model for authenticating “safe” software. 

“Although the expansion of the CA and CDN industries has dramatically lowered the cost of developing and issuing software for developers, the standards for qualifying the identity of the publisher have also decreased dramatically,” said Weafer. 

“We will need to learn to place more trust in the reputation of the vendor that signed the file, and less trust in the simple presence of a certificate.” 

Click here to read the full McAfee Labs Threats Report: Fourth Quarter 2013 report.