5 Steps Retailers Should Take to Handle a Cyberattack

The severity of cyberattacks hitting U.S. companies has been on the rise in recent years, and with it, so grows the risk to businesses. A new study by IBM finds that while the number of cyberattacks against retailers declined by 50 percent in 2014, the actual number of records stolen remains at near record levels at 61 million. It's clear that attackers are becoming more sophisticated and efficient, reaping larger gains with less work and at a higher cost to the retailer. A recent survey by the Ponemon Institute showed the average cost of cybercrime for U.S. retail companies more than doubled from 2013, to an annual average of $8.6 million per company in 2014.