R-CISC Changes Name to Retail and Hospitality ISAC to Reflect Expanded Membership

The Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center (R-CISC), a cybersecurity community for retail and consumer-facing companies, announced it has changed its name to the Retail and Hospitality Information Sharing and Analysis Center (RH-ISAC) to better reflect its evolving membership base and offerings.

“Retailers and hospitality companies face many of the same challenges as they continue to strengthen their defenses to better protect their customers’ and companies’ information,” explained RH-ISAC President Suzie Squier. “Incorporating ‘hospitality’ into our name reflects the growing number of hotels, gaming casinos, restaurants and consumer-product companies that are joining retailers to combat these threats.”

“We, as an industry, must come together and join forces to manage our common cybersecurity risks,” said Colin Anderson, chair of the RH-ISAC Board of Directors and global CISO of Levi Strauss & Co. “A rising tide lifts all ships. If we as the RH-ISAC community can collaborate and help one another, then the entire industry will be stronger.”

RH-ISAC facilitates the sharing of timely threat and vulnerability information among its members and creates a variety of reports providing situational awareness, threat analysis and strategic exploration of the current challenges facing the retail and hospitality sectors. Members also share best practices through both virtual and in-person events to assist all members on their cybersecurity journey. In addition, RH-ISAC partners with other security organizations such as government agencies, law enforcement and other ISACs.

The new name is part of the evolution and growing mandate of the organization. The RH-ISAC has grown from an initial 30 companies to now serving more than 130 member companies and has expanded its operations. Recently, new personnel were added including Tactical Threat Analyst Seth Monteleone; Program Director Amy Tate, who will drive committee and member group products; and Membership Manager Lea Lubag.

Key RH-ISAC highlights from 2018 include:

• Formed the Gaming and Hospitality Cybersecurity Alliance
• Released Best Practices for Mitigating Coupon Fraud Report
• Published Growth of Business Email Compromise in the Retail Sector
• Produced Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP) Benchmark Report: Insights that Inform Decision-Making for Retail Industry Outsourcing
• Held 3rd annual Retail Cyber Intelligence Summit and Peer Choice Awards

Building upon last year’s momentum, 2019 offerings will include resources such as the Threat Trend Report, co-produced with Accenture, an account takeover (ATO) resource, Anatomy of ATO, driven by its Fraud Committee, as well as additional regional workshops and events for members at the tactical, operational and strategic levels are being rolled out in 2019. The Retail Cyber Intelligence Summit will take place in Denver, September 24-25.