At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, several retailers understood the potential shift to e-commerce shops. No matter how loyal you were to your favorite neighborhood store, you wouldn’t want to risk catching an infection. Hence, people in countries like India turned to online services to make purchases.
In the space of a few months, the shift to e-commerce shops was years ahead of its time. So far, you ran an online business; whether it was a live casino in India or a services-based platform, patronage became high. Because of the increased amount of data collected and the finances passing through several online stores, retailers need to increase their cybersecurity.
Sensitive customer information is on the increase in the cloud and local databases. Now that the internet shift seems permanent, retailers have to boost their digital security practices.
Cybersecurity Measures that Retailers need to Take
Here are some cybersecurity measures that retailers need to take:
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Creating a Cybersecurity Budget
Even if you already have a budget and don’t want to experience a deficit, you need to adjust other areas to accommodate cybersecurity.
It has been estimated that retailers could decrease their IT budgets by 15% due to the economic effects of the pandemic. However, as a retailer, you need to maintain or boost your cybersecurity budget. One successful cyber-attack could cost you your entire business, so you need to place maximum priority on IT security.
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Encryption of Data
When data gets transferred between two points, it can get intercepted. This way, it can be stolen, and that data can be used for malicious purposes.
When data encryption is utilized, there’s security when the data is in transit. Even if a hacker diverts the data, it will make no sense since the high-level encryption protects it. As a retailer, you can go for homomorphic encryption. This form of encryption allows for the computing of encrypted information.
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Train Employees on Cybersecurity
About 65 in every 100 cybersecurity breaches in organizations are due to employees’ ignorance. A lot of successful hacks occur when an employee’s password gets stolen.
If you’re a big online retailer or have employees working for you, educate them on cybersecurity measures. Once periodic training is organized, they should be familiar with phishing, spyware, and malware attacks.
Conclusion
Due to the shift in consumer purchase habits from physical to online stores, more data is being collected. Hackers realize this fact and are stepping up efforts to steal your customers’ data. The negative part is that a single cyber-attack could cost your business its reputation and profits.
It would help if you took cybersecurity measures like boosting the cybersecurity budget, training employees, and encrypting data in transit.
