Modern retailers rely heavily on technology to manage inventory, process payments, and deliver stronger customer service. While this has led to unprecedented improvements in productivity, efficiency, and profitability, it has also increased the amount of risk involved. Anything digital can be accessed by threat actors. If that happens to be a location where you store sensitive customer information, your business may be in trouble.
For this reason, retail IT security is becoming an increasingly important consideration. Businesses want to know: how can they prevent cyber-attacks and protect customers’ personal information, without compromising the efficiency they have gained?
The Importance of Retail Data Security
Retailers often underestimate the importance of strong cybersecurity, leading them to neglect it. There is a prevalent belief that they will not be attacked, since threat actors are busy with industries such as healthcare and financial services. While it is true that those industries are more heavily targeted, retailers are not safe either.
Consider how much sensitive information passes through your systems on a daily basis. Email addresses, financial records, and even credit card details may be stored within your IT infrastructure. If this data is not secured, then your business may as well be leaving the door wide open for cyber-attacks. Threat actors often search for low-risk, high-reward targets such as this.
If you do experience an attack, and are unprepared, the consequences could be dire:
- Financial: Immediate recovery alone can cost thousands of dollars. Add a ransomware payment, forensic report, additional security measures, or a lawsuit to the mix, and the expenses become significantly worse.
- Operational: Cyber-attacks often shut down business operations entirely. Depending on the type and severity of the breach, this downtime could continue for hours—draining money without any profits coming in to replace it, and damaging the customer experience.
- Legal: All modern businesses are subject to strict data protection laws. Failure to obey these, particularly if a breach occurs as a result, may lead to audits and harsh penalties.
- Reputational: Ultimately, your reputation will pay the price after a cyber-attack. If customers cannot trust that their data will be handled safely, they may go elsewhere. In the long run, this could have terrible consequences on your profitability.
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Actionable Retail Cybersecurity Solutions
These risks can be effectively mitigated with the right approach. The best part is, a strong cyber defense does not need to cost thousands of dollars – you can accomplish a lot with a relatively small investment. Here are some effective retail cybersecurity solutions that you can implement right now:
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
EDR solutions monitor devices such as point of sale (POS) terminals and laptops. They detect suspicious behavior in real time, isolating systems that may have been compromised. Some can also provide forensic insights explaining what went wrong.
Physical Security
In a retail outlet, physical security is one of the easiest ways to protect your IT. Many breaches occur as a result of in-person actions, such as an unauthorized staff member accessing sensitive information. You likely already have CCTV installed, so this can be as simple as an additional camera that monitors your technological devices. Log who accesses them, and when. If a breach occurs, this may help you isolate the problem.
POS System Security
Your POS is the heart of your business, and is particularly vulnerable. For this reason, strong POS system security is essential. One way to achieve it is by segmenting your POS from other business networks. This strategy makes it more difficult for threat actors to breach the POS, as you can simply disconnect it from the network before they are able to reach it.
Regular Software Updates & Patch Management
Unpatched software is a major vulnerability. Establish a regular update schedule that does not conflict with business operations, particularly for POS terminals and credit card machines. This will reduce the risk of these devices being breached.
Safe Data Handling Practices
Data should be encrypted at all times, handled with care, and deleted when it is no longer needed. Threat actors cannot access information that you do not have stored within your systems, and they cannot read data that has been encrypted.
Employee Awareness Training
Even the best security can be undermined by a single staff member who makes a simple mistake. Teach your staff why security matters, what can happen if your systems are breached, and how they can help prevent it. Explain when and how a potential security incident should be reported.
Maintaining Compliance
Security and compliance go hand-in-hand, and thus it is important to discuss both. Retailers are subject to several regulations that demand a high level of data security:
- The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS): A set of standards designed to hold companies handling credit card information accountable for strong security practices. PCI DSS requires reasonable measures to be taken that protect cardholder data.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): An EU regulation that applies to any business serving customers or holding data from this location. If one EU citizen makes a purchase at your store, you are now subject to the GDPR. This regulation requires secure and transparent data handling procedures.
- State-Specific Data Protection Standards: Each US state may have its own data protection standards. One example is the California Consumer Protection Act, or CCPA. Check your local laws to ensure you are fully compliant.
Compliance should be relatively simple, as long as you maintain strict data security standards. Most laws only require you to be ethical (e.g. provide transparency around stored data) and implement common-sense security measures. Remember to keep thorough documentation of all security and compliance activities. If you are attacked, this may help you prove that it was not the result of poor security and avoid a fine.
FAQs
What Are the Biggest Cybersecurity Threats Facing Retailers?
Retailers are at a particularly high risk of threats such as ransomware attacks, data breaches, physical breaches, and insider threats.
How Often Should POS Systems Be Updated or Replaced?
POS systems should be updated the moment a patch becomes available. Ideally, no more than 24 hours should pass. Any systems that have reached end-of-life (meaning they will no longer receive software updates) should be replaced as soon as possible.
Can Small Businesses Implement Strong Retail Cybersecurity Solutions?
Small retailers can definitely achieve a high level of security. Many of the most effective measures are cheap or free, such as secure data handling practices and regular software updates.
Do I Really Have to Train My Staff on Security? It’s Not Relevant to Their Job.
Cybersecurity is absolutely relevant to your staff, even if it doesn’t at first appear that way. They can accidentally bypass your security solutions, jeopardizing your entire business in the process. Every single employee should receive regular training.
How do I Know If My Retail Data Security Measures Worked?
Perform regular security audits. Identify your biggest risk factors, then check your existing defenses for potential gaps. You can also use current industry standards as a guide: if you are not compliant, you are likely not secure either.
Strategize Your Way to Stronger Retail Security
Retail businesses who invest in strong IT security today will thank themselves tomorrow. Whether you are implementing basic access control procedures or complying with complex regulations, a strategic approach will serve you well. Consider what your biggest risk factors are, and focus on addressing those first. The end result will be a security posture that sets you up for success.
Ascentient understands that the retail sector faces a unique set of security challenges. We know that your strategy needs to be the same. That’s why we don’t use one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, we sit down with you to assess your needs and find strategies that will actually work. If that sounds intriguing, start that conversation now.