Former cyber czar urges vigilance ahead of holiday season — "it's not the attackers … it's us"
CBSN
Just a week before Thanksgiving, shoppers at Stop & Shop stores across Massachusetts were forced to leave empty-handed after a cyberattack against the supermarket chain's parent company led to inventory shortages.
Parent company Ahold Delhaize said in a statement earlier this month, that it had alerted law enforcement about the cyber breach and had taken some systems offline. "While there may be some limited inventory for certain products, we are working to re-stock our shelves and anticipate item availability to continue to improve over the next few days," the company said. But the incident may be a sign of things to come during the holiday season, when cybersecurity crises are likely to peak.
Already this year, corporate giants like AT&T, Ticketmaster and United Health have suffered paralyzing cyberattacks, and now, businesses are bracing for the holidays, a time when many cybersecurity operations rely on skeleton staffing. But the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning that it's no time for them to be taking a "cyber vacation."
Americans say they continue to feel the aftereffects of the highest inflation in four decades, especially at the grocery store, where prices remain 26% higher than before the pandemic. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could cause even more financial strain in the nation's food aisles by reigniting price hikes, according to a recent study.
One of the first tasks faced by an incoming president is staffing the Cabinet, the people who collectively are a president's top advisers and the nation's highest officials. Most of the members of this group need to be confirmed by the Senate in order to serve in the roles chosen for them by the president.