If data were a goldmine, retail would be the most lucrative industry. Retailers collect, process, and store increasingly large volumes of customer data, mainly persönlich identifizierbare Informationen (PII) and payment card data. Additionally, many retail businesses function in hybrid environments between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar, forcing retailers to manage challenges such as disjointed ecosystems, hybrid work, cloud-based online experiences, and IoT technologies. Inevitably, the future of retail is digital, hybrid, and complex, creating numerous cybersecurity risks.
Over the years, supermarkets and large retailers have introduced contactless payments, and digital buying options that have only broadened their attack surface, making it challenging to protect customer data. Furthermore, cloud-based storage and mobile apps leave remnants of data on the web, leading to data breaches and new threat vectors.
Why Retailers Need a Data-Centric Security Strategy
Nach Angaben von IBM-Bericht zu den Kosten von Datenschutzverletzungen im Jahr 2023, the average cost of a data breach in retail was $2.96 million. The retail sector is highly targeted for its payment card data, with 37% of all breaches involving payment card data according to the Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report. The retail industry needs to evolve its cybersecurity strategy as it continues to leverage a hybrid model to overcome its unique data challenges.
In addition to protecting against cyber attacks, retailers must comply with increasing data privacy and regulatory requirements:
- Datensicherheitsstandard der Zahlungskartenbranche (PCI DSS): This standard applies to all retailers that process, store, or transmit credit card information and requires robust security measures to protect cardholder data.
- Gesetz zur Portabilität und Rechenschaftspflicht von Krankenversicherungen (HIPAA): This is relevant for retailers handling protected health information (PHI), especially in pharmacy operations, which requires measures to safeguard PHI and ensure privacy compliance.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Regulations: The FTC enforces consumer protection laws in the United States. Retailers must comply with advertising, marketing practices, and consumer data protection regulations, such as SEC cybersecurity incident reporting.
- The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA): Applies to retailers that collect, store, and use financial records containing personally identifiable information.
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): This law governs the collection of personal information from children under 13 in the United States, requiring parental consent and transparency about data practices.
- Data Privacy Regulations: Data privacy and protection laws such as the EU Allgemeine Datenschutzverordnung (GDPR) und die Kalifornisches Verbraucherschutzgesetz (CCPA) require compliance with multiple data management requirements.
Data Security Challenges in the Retail Industry
The retail industry is a unique landscape that differs significantly from most businesses. Retailers must consider several factors when developing a cybersecurity framework to better protect against data breaches and cybercriminals. This industry must confront these various challenges:
Limited Visibility
Data is the foundation of IT environments, connecting users, applications, and devices. However, because of their widely distributed, large, and complex IT landscape, retailers don’t always have the tools to gain visibility into all their data assets. This is a critical step to prevent cyber-attacks and ensure compliance because you can’t protect what you can’t see. There are several blind spots securing the attack surface, especially when dealing with dark and shadow data.
Omnichannel Threats
Retailers have accelerated digitization, primarily through operational technologies such as webshops, warehouses, sorting machines, cash registers, digital payment systems, IoT devices, etc. Additionally, retailers must secure large and complex IT landscapes, including networks, cloud services, checkout systems, distribution centers, and communication with suppliers across various stores. Retailers leverage omnichannel strategies to provide a unified ecosystem for consumers and suppliers. However, this offers several opportunities for cybercriminals to steal information and exploit vulnerabilities. Retailers should regularly monitor their data for unusual activity or unauthorized access.
Theft of Consumer Data
The retail industry’s digitization strategy now has millions of customers using cards more frequently in physical and online retail stores to purchase goods and services. Even though this makes it easier for both retailers and consumers, it also opens the door for cybercriminals as retailers retain the data of customers ( personal information, addresses, transactions, and financial records). There has been an increase in ransomware and phishing attacks as cybercriminals have targeted the retail industry. To secure customers’ confidential data, adhering to cybersecurity practices empowers retailers to avoid incurring the cost of financial losses.
Third-Party Attacks
The risk of a third-party cryberattack in retail is continually growing due to the interconnected systems between external suppliers, third-party vendors, and partners. These business relationships may introduce cybersecurity risks. Supply chain attacks allow cybercriminals an opportunity to attack several organizations through a single supplier. The protection of interconnected systems is necessary to prevent supply chain disruptions, cyberattacks, and unauthorized access to sensitive information. It is important to implement robust data-centric security measures, such as implementing a zero-trust model.
Loss of Revenue and Reputation Damage
There are very observable patterns in how consumers react after an organization is breached. According to an IDC study, “80% of consumers in developed nations will defect from a business because their personally identifiable information is impacted in a security breach.” Confidence breeds trust, but when there is a lack of adequate cybersecurity, retailers run the risk of financial loss and reputational damage.
How BigID Helped Retail Clients Automate Privacy, Security, and Govern Critical Data
Retail Giant Modernizes Data Discovery & Classification
Retail giant selects BigID to help achieve CCPA/CPRA/ PIPL compliance, fulfill DSAR requests, and better manage sensitive data for 100+ million customers and employees in the US and China. This collaboration streamlined privacy compliance efforts, reduced costs, efficiently fulfilled data access rights at scale, and enhanced data lifecycle management.
Global Retail Brand Accelerates Compliance and Reduces Insider Risk
A global retail and manufacturing brand uses BigID to find, discover, and classify all sensitive, critical, and personal data across complex environments. This supports secure M&A activities, boosts global compliance audits, and provides a “privacy-first” approach to accelerate data governance and security initiatives.
How BigID Helps Retailers Protect Data and Achieve Compliance
Retailers need a data-centric, risk-aware security approach to safeguard their most important data. BigID combines industry expertise with advanced technology, data security, and analytics to transform regulatory operations and drive growth while maintaining compliance. BigID enables retailers to gain complete visibility and insights into critical business data, manage risk, address data vulnerabilities, enforce security policies, secure data, and comply with regulatory requirements.
With BigID’s security-by-design approach, retailers can:
- Entdecken Sie Ihre Daten: Entdecken und katalogisieren Sie Ihre sensiblen Daten, einschließlich strukturierter, halbstrukturierter und unstrukturierter Daten – in lokalen Umgebungen und in der gesamten Cloud.
- Kennen Sie Ihre Daten: Automatisches Klassifizieren, Kategorisieren, Markieren und Kennzeichnen sensibler Daten mit unübertroffener Genauigkeit, Granularität und Skalierbarkeit.
- Verbesserung der Datensicherheitslage: Proactively prioritize and target data risks and automate data security posture management (DSPM).
- Bereinigen Sie Daten auf Ihre Weise: Verwalten Sie die Datenbereinigung und delegieren Sie sie an Stakeholder, öffnen Sie Tickets oder tätigen Sie API-Aufrufe über Ihren gesamten Tech-Stack.
- Aktivieren Sie Zero Trust: Reduzieren Sie überprivilegierte Zugriffe und übermäßig exponierte Daten und optimieren Sie die Verwaltung der Zugriffsrechte, um Zero Trust zu ermöglichen.
- Minderung des Insider-Risikos: Proaktive Überwachung, Erkennung und Reaktion auf unbefugte interne Offenlegung, Nutzung und verdächtige Aktivitäten im Zusammenhang mit sensiblen Daten.
- Reduzieren Sie Ihre Angriffsfläche: Verkleinern Sie die Angriffsfläche, indem Sie unnötige, nicht geschäftskritische sensible Daten proaktiv beseitigen.
- Sichern Sie Ihre Cloud-Migration: Optimieren Sie die Cloud-Migration mit datengesteuerten Einblicken und Compliance, reduzieren Sie automatisch redundante Daten und verschieben Sie die Daten, die am wichtigsten sind.
- Optimieren Sie die Reaktion auf Datenschutzverletzungen: Erkennen und untersuchen Sie die Auswirkungen von Sicherheitsverletzungen schnell und präzise, ermöglichen Sie eine sofortige Reaktion auf Vorfälle und benachrichtigen Sie die zuständigen Behörden sowie die betroffenen Studenten und Mitarbeiter.
- Beschleunigen Sie die KI-Sicherheit: BigID erstellt effizient Richtlinien zur KI-Steuerung basierend auf Datenschutz, Sensibilität, Regulierung und Zugriff, um die mit LLMs und KI-Anwendungen geteilten Daten zu kontrollieren. Nutzen Sie KI mit verantwortungsvollen Schutzmaßnahmen, um vertrauliche Informationen und Studentendaten zu verwalten und zu schützen.
- Compliance erreichen: Automatisieren Sie die Compliance mit durchgängigen Datenschutz- und Sicherheitsfunktionen und -Frameworks, um persönliche, sensible und regulierte Daten zu schützen.
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