Tis the Season for Retail Cybersecurity

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Black Friday and Cyber Monday just passed, formally launching the 2023 holiday shopping season.

Dec 05, 2023

Cybersecurity

Black Friday and Cyber Monday just passed, formally launching the 2023 holiday shopping season. Analysts at IT trade group CompTIA predicted online spending during the post-Thanksgiving weekend would reach nearly $40 billion, and they expect cyber shopping to exceed $220 billion for the entire upcoming holiday season.

This annual spending spree year typically boosts revenues for retailers – especially small to medium-size retail businesses (SMBs) that rely heavily on ecommerce transactions. But this yearly spike in online transactions also spikes cybersecurity risk for those companies.

That’s why CompTIA’s CSO advises SMB retailers to take proactive steps this time of year to protect information assets from data breaches. We endorse that counsel and join CompTIA in recommending these seasonal cybersecurity measures:

Patch & Update Software & Systems – Tech makers make security patches and software updates available shortly after discovering bugs or security holes. Install the latest of them as soon as possible. Out-of-date apps are leading cybersecurity vulnerability.
Audit & Inventory Networks & Devices – Take stock of your business networks and the plethora of devices connected to them. At today’s pace of digital commerce, losing track of every entry and endpoint is easy. Find some out-of-date software? Update and patch it. Discover unauthorized users or devices? Block or remove them from your network.
Review & Refresh Response Plans & Policies – Make sure every member of your team from frontline to executive suite knows their role and responsibility in the wake of a data breach. When working to limit damages from cyber incursions, time always is of the essence.

Training is the best strategy for preventing breaches during the holiday buying season and year-round. Human error is the highest cybersecurity risk, making anyone in your company at any level a potential point of exposure. Teach your staff how to recognize and avoid the latest cyber threats like business email compromise.

We offer cybersecurity awareness programs as part of our managed services. Let us know if we can help.