Data Security

The numbers of those impacted by any of the high-profile consumer data breaches over the past few years sound almost comical: 50 million, 150 million and then 500 million. Is a billion next? It may not matter, considering that the sum total may already be a significant portion of the global population with a digital…

Since the mid 1990s when Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.com to sell books online, and Pierre Omidyar created eBay — enabling everyone to sell everything — new business models have threatened to destroy the traditional retail economy. To remain successful, brick-and-mortar retailers must offer personalized and deeper online and in-store customer buying experiences. How? By harnessing…

You’ve seen it before, the long form you must sign before participating in a potentially dangerous activity, the checkbox at the bottom of an end user agreement before you can use a new piece of software, the numerous documents that are part of every major financial purchase. These arduous processes are developed by companies in…

Now more than ever, cybersecurity is a crucial form of protection for businesses across industries working to combat a variety of threats. It's easy for organizations and individuals to grow complacent about security, but implementing measures to protect the data of customers, partners and your own business is a key step in mitigating cyber risks,…

For many retailers, working with third-party vendors is part and parcel of doing business, offering financial benefits and operational flexibility. However, as companies take increasing care to protect themselves against cyberattacks, their vendors often don’t face nearly as much scrutiny. Third parties, which vary in their ability to safeguard against bad actors, may simply not…

A lawsuit against Amazon.com-owned Zappos will continue after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the online shoe retailer in a seven-year-old data breach case. In the wake of a 2012 data breach that exposed the names, addresses, phone numbers and more of 24 million customers, Zappos faced several lawsuits from customers. Zappos argued unsuccessfully…

More and more companies, particularly retailers, are using chatbots to connect quickly with customers, enabling them to handle basic service needs faster and more efficiently. While many businesses and consumers have embraced chatbots and automated features in order to make service inquiries and share personal information, the relationship between customers, chatbots and brands still needs…

E-commerce is booming, but so is card-not-present (CNP) fraud. In fact, CNP fraud is growing at 14 percent per year because fraudsters have become more sophisticated about leveraging all the stolen data that’s out there. While this isn’t great news for online merchants, knowledge is power. Here are five fraud trends every e-commerce seller needs…

As retail companies advance new strategies to reach customers, they must also advance cybersecurity. Complying with the PCI Data Security Standard alone is not enough. Compliance didn't prevent major retailers from suffering breaches in 2018. Bypassing PCI-mandated controls, attackers exploited weaknesses in point-of-sale systems, created “backdoor” access through third-party partners, used stolen credentials to hack…

The retail industry’s reputation for providing software security has taken some hits over the years. The top 15 data breaches of the current century include Target in 2013, with account information on an estimated 110 million customers compromised; TJX in 2006, with 94 million credit cards exposed; and Home Depot in September 2014, with about…