Retailers Top on Cyber-Attack Target Index

EMEA, Cogeco Peer 1's Vice-President Susan Bowen who's also the company's General Manager highlights the malware and other cyber-attacks, which retailers encounter, while the measures they need to adopt for preventing them.

Cyber threats most targeted against are on retailers normally after financial service institutions then financial technology firms and then media companies. The reason for retailers being first among the target enterprises is their possession of almost uncontested databases on customers potentially exploitable for ID-theft.

An underground market exists that thrives on the gray area of World Wide Web, trading identity data that's available via a large number of websites and forums providing names, driving license numbers, e-mail credentials, addresses, passport numbers, indeed everything which comprise somebody's personal information, all conscientiously stolen.

For a cyber-attacker, retail companies constitute a goldmine being in possession of large volumes of customer-base data. What's more, such databases of personal information are ever-growing while retailers expansively hold more-and-more of client data through digital marketing, Internet shopping as well as loyalty schemes.

The Annual Cyber-security Report for 2017 by Cisco reveals that almost one retailer among every 3 are revenue losers due to a cyber-assault. Enterprise software firm Zynstra's research has shown that retailers from both UK and US at the rate of 16% suffered an attempted or real assault each day. Thus posted ITProPortal dated December 14, 2017.

Moreover according to Zynstra's research, 11% of retailers stated that they took action twice or thrice during every 7-day period against cyber-attacks while 64% stated that they responded to the attacks one time every month.

When Target the American retailer was attacked 4-yrs back it constituted the industry's watershed event. The impact was tremendous, with Target's reputation tarnishing enormously amidst shoppers while the company's sales and share prices plunged all putting the chief executive in a turbulent situation.

An approach of risk management by retailers towards every security aspect that concentrates on safeguard, identification and rectification can both tighten as well as simplify cyber-security. Consequently, product consolidation is easier which together with outsourcing of infrastructure hosting spectacularly minimizes complexity, far eases management while makes sure a leading edge online safety.

» SPAMfighter News - 12/21/2017