It’s Time To Reevaluate Your Retail Customers’ Security

Halloween is weeks away, yet retailers are breaking out their Christmas decor in preparation for what they hope will be a record-breaking holiday shopping season. Your retail customers may be busy adding or expanding their e-commerce capabilities since 84 percent of consumers have recently reported shopping online.

While this is good news for retailers, it’s even better news for cyber criminals who are poised to steal customers’ payment information. Now is the time to reevaluate your retail customers’ security and consider bolstering their defenses with the Fortinet Security Fabric.

Retailers have more data breaches than any other industry

Many people are counting down the days to Black Friday—aka, the official start of the holiday shopping season—including hackers. Retail cybersecurity attacks outpace all other industries for a couple of reasons:

1. Retailers have access to a wealth of their customers’ personal identifying information (PII). Getting past your customers’ security defenses can result in a huge payday for hackers. Also, some retailers may have similar cybersecurity infrastructures. This means that an attack method that works for one of your customers may also work for their counterparts.

2. Cybercriminals are also using social engineering in which they deploy a wide range of attacks to fool victims into giving away sensitive information or compromising security. During a hectic shopping day, your clients may be overwhelmed and mistakenly expose or turn over their customers’ payment data to hackers.

Data privacy is a growing concern among consumers

Research from KPMG shows that 47 percent of consumers said they’re concerned about the possibility of their data being hacked. One of the best ways your customers can ensure the safety of payment data is to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). To attain PCI DSS compliance, your retail customer must take the following preventive measures:

1. Use firewalls to secure their network and specific areas of it

2. Encrypt data transmissions

3. Use antivirus software

Boost your retail customers’ security with the Fortinet Security Fabric

The Fortinet Security Fabric can detect threats and enforce security throughout your retail customers’ environments—giving them a leg up on potential hackers. It provides a comprehensive security solution that includes: