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NewsBriefs

Editor's Note: Following are excerpts from news stories recently posted SCOTUS says yes to expanded
under Breaking Industry News on our home page. For links to these and online sales tax collection
other full news stories, please visit www.greensheet.com/breaking-
news.php?flag=previous_breaking_news. After 26 years, the Supreme Court overruled its decision
in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota. At the time, the justices
decided the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from forcing
businesses to collect sales taxes unless those businesses
have a substantial connection to the state, such as a physical
location. In a 5 to 4 ruling handed down June 21, 2018,
the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in South Dakota
v. Wayfair Inc., et al., which means Internet retailers can
now be required to collect sales taxes in states where they
have no physical presence.
Vectra finds tunnels in encrypted web traffic
The 2018 Spotlight Report on Financial Services, published by
Vectra Co. on June 20, describes how cybercriminals use
hidden tunnels to access encrypted networks. Researchers
Dixons Carphone under fire for believe this methodology may have been used in the 2017
slow reporting of data breach Equifax Inc. data security breach, when hackers stole 145.6
million consumer records while remaining undetected
A second major data breach occurred at Dixons Carphone for 78 days. Chris Morales, Head of Security Analytics at
PLC, a publicly held British electronics retailer that operates Vectra, observed that hackers mimic user behavior to blend
as Currys PC World and Dixons Travel. The company into networks, which makes them difficult to expose.
reportedly found anomalies in its POS network in July 2017
but took nearly a year to disclose the malicious activity. SCOTUS ruling a win for consumers?
In a June 13, 2018, statement, Dixons Carphone revealed AmEx, retailers disagree
the attack may have compromised 5.9 million credit and It is no surprise that directly after the Supreme Court
debit cards and more than 1 million consumer accounts. decided a Department of Justice antitrust lawsuit in favor
Security analysts criticized the delayed disclosure and of American Express Co., the company and retailer groups
failure to protect critical infrastructure after suffering an issued differing opinions on whether the ruling would
earlier attack in 2015. be good for consumers. The National Retail Federation
Pan-European digital bank to launch called it a blow to competition and transparency in the
credit card market. Stephen J. Squeri, AmEx Chairman
Alior Bank developed a new digital platform with the and CEO, issued a statement praising the ruling. "The
intent to establish a bank that bundles best-in-class Court's decision is a major victory for consumers and for
financial services from different fintechs and financial American Express," he stated. "This was a long battle, but
institutions. Four distinct enterprises joined forces to create well worth the fight because important issues were at
such a bank, set to launch in the fourth quarter of 2018. stake: consumer choice, fair market competition, and the
Alior Bank stated it will deliver multicurrency accounts ability to deliver innovative products and services to our
with international transfers and deposits; solarisBank will customers, both consumers and merchants."
add the banking infrastructure with its technological,
compliance and regulatory framework; Raisin is adding PayPal, Simility ally against cybercrime
various savings and investment possibilities to the San Jose, Calif.-based PayPal Holdings Inc. revealed June
offering; and Mastercard’s Benefit Optimization program 21, 2018, that it plans to acquire Simility, a fraud prevention
will be used to offer additional value-added services to and risk management platform. The purported $120
customers. million transaction is expected to close in the third quarter
Collaborations reduce chargebacks, study finds of 2018. PayPal was an early investor in Simility when it
launched in 2014, along with Accel and Trinity Ventures,
A Javelin Strategy & Research study, underwritten by the company reported. Bill Ready, Chief Operating
Verifi Inc. and published in May 2018, cites communication Officer at PayPal, said cyberattacks have become more
gaps as a leading cause of disputes and chargebacks. The sophisticated and innovative; merchants need better
36-page report, titled The Chargeback Triangle, examines methods to monitor, detect and mitigate them.
chargeback costs and impacts while demonstrating how
to prevent chargebacks by resolving open issues. In 2017, a
survey of U.S. firms revealed chargeback volumes reached
$31 billion, including $19 billion in merchant losses and
$12 billion in issuer losses, researchers found.

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