Data Security

How Retailers Can Protect Customer (and Company) Data This Shopping Season
October 3, 2018 at 9:18 am

With a record year of online shopping expected this holiday season, it's crucial that retailers take the appropriate steps to keep not only their data, but the data of their customers secure. According to the Verizon 2017 Payment Security Report, only 50 percent of retail companies are fully compliant with the Payment Card Industry (PCI)…

Newegg Victim of Data Breach
September 20, 2018 at 6:05 pm

Electronics retailer Newegg is reportedly the victim of a data breach that lasted a month. RiskIQ Threat Researcher Yonathan Klijnsma found that hackers installed 15 lines of card skimming code on Newegg’s payments page, which stayed on the site from Aug. 14 through Sept. 18. The hackers sent credit card data to a service controlled…

Never Heard of Data Ethics? You Will Soon.
September 10, 2018 at 10:12 am

There’s no doubt that more proactive data governance, transparency and ethical guidelines have washed onto U.S. shores after the standards Europe recently put into law. As we’ve seen with other initiatives, the recent passing of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) means it’s likely the Golden State’s counterparts will quickly jump on the bandwagon and…

Why Some Retailers Are Paying Hackers for Security Help
September 5, 2018 at 12:48 pm

Getting hacked isn’t just a concern for tech companies anymore. Businesses of all shapes and sizes have digital, forward-facing assets. Retailers, in particular, possess a large amount of consumer data — from purchasing habits to personally identifiable information like names, addresses and credit card numbers — making them attractive targets for criminals. A breach of…

2018 Thales Data Threat Report, Trends in Encryption and Data Security — Retail Edition
August 13, 2018 at 4:56 pm

U.S. retail faces daunting digital challenges, and IT security is among the biggest. Traditional retailers are struggling to balance brick-and-mortar businesses with emerging online retail trends, while at the same time battling digital natives like Amazon.com and Wayfair. With ultra-high volumes of personally identifiable information (PII) and payment card information changing hands with every transaction, the retail industry is one of the most, if not the most, vulnerable targets for cyberattacks. Not surprisingly the question on the minds of IT and business leaders in U.S. retail is, “What will it take to stop the breaches?” The data in this report are derived from detailed input from 100 senior retail IT security managers in the U.S. and 96 IT security managers from retailers in other countries, and is part of the Global Thales 2018 Global Data Threat Report. The report polled 1,200 IT security managers in eight countries and across four major vertical markets.

Would You Pay a Hacker’s Ransom? Research Shows 69% of Retailers Did
August 9, 2018 at 9:25 am

For years, cybersecurity experts have debated whether companies should pay hackers’ ransoms. Some experts pointed to the expediency of handing over the ransom — it can be less expensive to pay than to spend time and money getting systems back up and running. However, the overwhelming majority argued that paying the ransom encouraged more attacks.…

2 Months After GDPR: Less Data, More Relevance
July 24, 2018 at 10:00 am

The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect on May 25, 2018. Leading up to this day, organizations spent months, even years, assessing data collected from customers and employees as well as data privacy security procedures in place. As businesses continue to work toward maintaining compliance with the new regulations, it's still too early…

Why Cybersecurity is a Retail Issue That Starts at the Top
July 20, 2018 at 9:01 am

Recent data breaches affecting retailers threaten to undermine consumer trust and brand loyalty, making these incidents — and risks of future ones — more than a security team concern. Fraud is everyone’s problem, whether you're a security architect or a CEO, just as customer experience is an organizationwide goal. A promise to keep transactions safe…

Macy's Warns of Data Breach
July 9, 2018 at 2:17 pm

Macy's is warning online customers that it discovered a data breach that targeted profiles on macys.com and bloomingdales.com for almost two months, the Detroit Free Press reports. According to a letter mailed to Macy's customers this week, the retailer's cyber threat alert tools detected suspicious login activities on June 11, and that  this "suspicious activity" was being…

California's New Consumer Privacy Law Facing Backlash From Retailers
July 2, 2018 at 2:21 pm

California’s new consumer privacy law is facing a backlash from businesses, including retailers, across the U.S. that contend the law will hurt their businesses, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 grants consumers more control over and insight into the spread of their personal information online, creating one…