Securing your reputation is paramount in today’s business world. As a retail business, specific security issues can impact customer confidence and the bottom line — also, having to deal with regulatory penalties, breaches, and unscheduled downtime. New digital technologies such as social media, omnichannel shopping and a wave of emerging payment technologies are transforming the industry. Now is the time to get an understanding of the security risks to your business as a retailer and learn how to protect yourself against it.
All retailers need to ensure they have the appropriate response measures in place to reduce their vulnerabilities and to protect both themselves and their customers. Any retailer that holds data is a potential target.
Here are 10 things you can do to protect your business:
- Educate yourself and your staff on the risk both physical and online. People are unintentionally a weak link in the security chain; a best practice is to educate employees both regarding business and personal IT security.
- Credit card data is a primary target for Cybercriminals. Retailers may process thousands of transactions daily through their POS systems and online, and there is a thriving market for the stolen credit card. Protect your POS systems from targeted attack and strengthen physical security by purchasing tamper-resistant terminals.
- Ensure your data is stored and appropriately protected and is PCI compliant. Try to regularly back up the information on all computers.
- If you have a Wi-Fi network, ensure it is secure, encrypted and hidden. To hide your network, set up your wireless access point or router, so it does not broadcast the network name, known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID). Password protect access to the router.
- Change default system passwords and other security parameters regularly. Don’t have a simple password for everything and ensure they are unique.
- Encrypt sensitive data such as cardholder data across public, open networks. Ensure the implementation of new technology such as EMV, P2P encryption for mobile payments, Near-field Communications (NFC) and mobile wallets.
- Consider strong IT security policies an and ensure third-party service providers who have access to sensitive data have policies and procedures in place and enforce them.
- Beware of email phishing and potential ransomware. If something like this happens to you, you don’t want to be forced to pay to have your business files unlocked. Have rules and restrictions on opening unknown attachments and downloading untrusted software to machines and devices.
- Consult a specialist. By partnering with a provide retailers can achieve state-of-the-art 24/7 monitoring and managed response from experienced teams, all while controlling costs.
The ability to respond appropriately to a cyber-attack can mean the difference between a business’s success and failure.
Contact us for more information on how we can help you keep your business safe and secure.