Data Security

From a revenue standpoint, what would you lose if your site was to go dark for 40 minutes? Where would your customers go? As we close the book on this past holiday season and look back on the e-commerce frenzy, I can’t help but reflect on this loss and how it might be avoided. To…

Looking back at 2015, we can all recall many large and well-publicized data breaches. In fact, retail breaches can almost seem like yesterday’s news compared to other high-profile incidents like Anthem, Premera and the OPM. Even so, retailers shouldn't become complacent and caught flatfooted. These attacks are spurring demand for increased regulation, pressure from merchant…

Home Depot agreed to pay at least $19.5 million to compensate U.S. consumers harmed by a 2014 data breach affecting more than 50 million cardholders. The home improvement retailer will set up a $13 million fund to reimburse shoppers for out-of-pocket losses, and spend at least $6.5 million to fund one-and-a-half years of cardholder identity protection…

In the afterglow of Valentine’s Day, many of us are thinking back on romantic dinners successfully booked, beautiful flower deliveries received and stunning diamond earnings gifted. Holidays like Valentine’s Day are some of the most crucial online traffic days for retailers and specialty stores. And it’s not just the big ones like Cyber Monday and…

The striking down of the existing Safe Harbor transatlantic data-transfer agreement has been all the talk of late. And while an agreement was finally reached – a new framework to be known as the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield – there are likely still hurdles to overcome before everything is finalized. Despite reaching this agreement, there may…

In today's age of advanced cyber threats and what seems to be near-daily data breaches, retailers have been forced to develop strategies and defense systems to combat fraudsters. In episode 23 of Total Retail Talks, Vincent Damiano, vice president of information security and compliance at Modell's Sporting Goods, discusses the steps his company has taken…

Independent business owners must constantly seek out business expense line items to minimize in order to keep costs low and preserve margin in an era of increasing local and global competition. Despite this constant pressure, however, a business owner can’t simply skimp on the quality or range of services offered to clients and customers without…

Everyone has already heard how important the cloud is to the future of business, but that doesn’t just apply to the Fortune 500s. E-commerce companies of all sizes can get terrific benefits — e.g., reduced costs and quicker recovery times — from moving their website and back-end to the cloud. Most important of all however is that the…

Eric Springer isn't happy, mostly because he believes that Amazon.com let a nefarious type get at his account. In a blog over at Medium, Springer revealed that he was the victim of a "social engineering" hack that exposed his details to an unnamed third party. With just a rough idea of Springer's location and his…

Shifting consumer purchasing decisions can loom large in today’s breach-laden world. You’ve likely heard about high-profile personal data breaches at corporations or government agencies, or more specifically of major retailers being hacked and credit card information of thousands of consumers being exposed or fraudulently used. Gemalto recently commissioned a global survey, conducted by independent technology…