Automation, a Weapon for Retailers to Fight Cyber Security Challenges

On the birth of the online retail market, people assumed that online shopping
could herald the end of in-store shopping – but questions regarding security are the most prominent reasons why this didn’t happen.

While there have been evident activity spikes for eCommerce, for many the shopping
experience is still something they enjoy actively in-person. Studies have shown that no matter how much a person shops online, they still like to peruse the mall shopping, too.

But, COVID has changed the game completely, as the current lockdown situation has forced
retail stores to shut down so that shoppers stay home. With all non-essential trips getting
banned, the demand for online shopping has spiked up remarkably. The situation has forced many retailers to shift their entire business online to continue trading.

Unfortunately, cyber attackers have taken advantage of this sudden business change. Retailers had to adapt too fast, and this has led to the creation of multiple loopholes in the system. Rapid changes in plans for business survival resulted in security taking a backseat over decisions to ‘keep the lights on’ For retail security considerations, it is usually only for deployment of reactive security solutions that analyze how to respond post-attack.

Automation allows retailers to proactively spot attacks before they could gain a hold on data, services, or applications. Automation technologies effectively leverage data insights and machine learning or artificial intelligence to detect abnormal behavior and provide various automated actions before any incident arises. For retailers, automation is a powerful ally against cyberattacks.

Also Read: Researchers Connect Conti Group to The Royal Ransomware 

• Ransomware: Often starts with a careless email. Targeted attacks include direct voice
communication for re-enforcement during the urgency of any action. Thinking ahead of the
attackers is vital. There will be various behavioral patterns, including computer network
communication, as the malware attempts spreads or computers accessing local data at speed, and more. Spotting these patterns early and quarantining the infected devices, and segmenting the network, is critical to prevent spread.

• DDoS: Modern attacks are disruptive and short, lasting for seconds but regularly repeating until a site is completely taken offline. Automated DDoS solutions respond in real-time, by re-routing traffic so that the business continues while mitigating the attack.

• PCI DSS: Being able to modify the card and payment data and tracking any unauthorized
changes is essential not only for compliance but also to protect revenues. Automation can
monitor for any suspicious abnormal actions, which may indicate data changes, modifications, restriction or deletion, and then perform actions to fix the situation.

These benefits of automation are evident for online retailers. But, the actual challenge for retail organizations to achieve this – especially when they are already struggling to keep everything moving in this new online-only shopping world.