In today’s Bulldog wrapup of science and technology news:

  • Durham’s Windsor Circle is rolling out new products
  • Current Verizon customers can still get discount phones
  • ChannelAdvisor looks to expand sales to Canada with Newegg
  • Hackers allegedly stole press releases to make $100 million
  • The FDA warns Kim Kardashian about her social media endorsements

The details:

  • Windsor Circle’s new “Smaht” program

Windsor Circle, the fast-growing Durham startup focused on retention marketing, is rolling out new products at the eTail East show in Boston this week.

The company will introduce what it calls a “Wicked Smaht Retention” theme and includes two new products:

Automated Product Replenishment, which is “a feature within their retention marketing platform interface. This new tool provides a fully-automated, templated solution for marketing consumable products at exactly the right time for each unique customer. These “Replenishment Automators” use profile, product, and purchase history data to trigger emails reminding a customer to re-order products that have a natural lifecycle, just before they run out, such as beauty products, coffee, or air filters.”

Product Innovation: Behavioral Track & Trigger, which is “software to help retailers leverage critical website traffic and visitors’ onsite behavior for increased conversions. The Behavioral Track & Trigger solution targets known visitors who close their browser without adding anything to the shopping cart, allowing retailers to engage customers with personalized product promotions and recommendations at an appropriate, fully customizable timing and frequency.”

  • Verizon: Existing customers eligible for discounted phones

Good news for existing Verizon customers: You’ll still be able to getdiscounted phones for $100 or $200 by renewing a two-year service contract.

That part wasn’t clear when Verizon announced Friday that new customers will no longer get discounted phones, but they won’t have to sign two-year contracts, either. Instead, they’ll pay full price — it’s $650 for an iPhone 6 — while monthly fees for voice, text and data will go down.

Verizon clarified its policy in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday. As long as you stay with the current plan, you can upgrade at a discount. So if you were anticipating a new model from Apple or Samsung, you can wait until those phones come out. Otherwise, you would have been limited to what’s available as of Wednesday, as the new policy kicks in on Thursday.

Once you leave the current plan for a new one, though, you won’t be allowed back.

You might still save money under the new plans, even after paying full price of thephones themselves. This is particularly so for higher data plans.

  • ChannelAdvisor looks to grow Canada sales

ChannelAdvisor (NYSE:ECOM) is looking to expand sales into Canada by incorporating Newegg’s Canada program.

“We’re always seeking ways to connect our customers to more consumers globally. The Canadian market is embracing e-commerce quickly. Online retail is expected to reach$39.9 billion in Canada by 2019,1 according to Forrester Research, Inc.,” said David Spitz, ChannelAdvisor CEO. “Through our support of Newegg’s Global Seller Program, retailers and branded manufacturers can enter Canada with relative ease and reach its growing online shopping population.”

Notes ChannelAdvisor: “The Newegg Global Seller Program offers a comprehensive e-commerce platform and marketing system for retailers and branded manufacturers to sell into Canada. Newegg Canada offers more than 20 product categories2 such as consumer electronics, computer hardware, home appliances, jewelry and watches.”

  • Press release hack ring alleged

In late October 2013, Panera Bread Co., the national chain of restaurants that specializes in healthy soups and baked goods, prepared a news release to announce it was adjusting its earnings expectations downward for the recently begun fourth quarter.

The release undoubtedly was one of many sent by publicly traded companies to business news services for publication.

This one was different, though. As an unsuspecting investing public awaited the announcement, federal authorities say a group comprising computer hackers and stock traders already had seen the release in the computer system of Marketwired, the Toronto business newswire.

Using the crucial information in the release, the group allegedly made $17 million worth of trades and orders betting Panera’s stock would lose value once the news went public. They were correct, and for their efforts walked away with nearly $1 million in profit, according to a criminal indictment unsealed Tuesday against nine people in the U.S. and Ukraine.

The international hacking scheme allegedly raked in $100 million between 2010 and 2015. It is being called the biggest case of its kind ever prosecuted, and one that demonstrated yet another way in which the financial world is vulnerable to cybercrime.

The Securities and Exchange Commission also brought civil charges against the nine plus 23 other people and companies in the U.S. and Europe.

  • FDA warns Kardashian

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is no stranger to criticism, having spent the better part of the last decade in the public eye. But she’s probably never faced negative publicity like this before: The Food and Drug Administration says Kardashian’s social media posts violate federal drug-promotion rules.

Kardashian recently began promoting a prescription pill to treat morning sickness through her social media accounts. Such endorsement deals are relatively common for celebrities. In posts to Instagram and Facebook earlier this month Kardashian talks about her struggles with nausea due to pregnancy.

“I tried changing things about my lifestyle, like my diet, but nothing helped, so I talked to my doctor,” the post states. “He prescribed me #Diclegis, and I felt a lot better and most importantly, it’s been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby.”

Kardashian has over 42 million followers on Instagram and 25 million on Facebook.

The posts link to a company website that includes the FDA-approved labeling information.

Kardashian is five months pregnant with her second child, a boy, with husband Kanye West.

But FDA regulators say the posts violate rules for promoting drugs because they don’t mention side effects of Diclegis, which include sleepiness that can make it dangerous to drive or perform other activities that require mental alertness. The drug label warns that Diclegis should not be combined with alcohol or other medications that cause drowsiness, such as sleeping aids or certain pain relievers.