Does This Sound Familiar?

Now that over a week has passed since this Economist article was published, I wanted to cite it and ask if the problem it describes sounds familiar:

Globally, shrinkage [(losses from shoplifting, theft by workers and accounting errors)] cost retailers $107 billion in the year to June. This was 5.6% less than the previous year, but still the equivalent of 1.36% of sales...

When it comes to thwarting thieves, shop-owners are on their own. In most countries the criminal justice system has all but given up trying to punish shoplifters... So retailers install CCTV cameras, attach so-called electronic article surveillance tags to their wares, train their staff to spot thieves and screen workers for criminal records before hiring them. This year retailers spent $26.8 billion, or 0.34% of sales, on preventing theft.

Some dismiss shoplifting simply as a cost of doing business. Yet it can be serious. Some shoplifters work in organised gangs. Some turn violent when interrupted. Some, especially those who are hooked on drugs, are persistent and prolific.

And all impose a cost on honest shoppers. Theft inflates the average family’s annual shopping bill by $186.

How many of us in the cyber world thought we were the only ones "on our own" fighting adversaries?

The critical difference between shrinkage and digital intrusions is that retailers can measure losses because their products all bear price tags. Maybe businesses could help security professionals by putting "labels" on information assets? Even a WAG would help!

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