According to Wikipedia, “in 2014, $50.9 billion was spent during the 4-day Black Friday weekend”. People are eager to jump on the great Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals! What else comes with these amazing sales? Thieves and cybercriminals! They prey on the uninformed organizations that keep their guard down, ready to steal your customer’s credit card information!
Just a few years ago, Target was hit by a major Black Friday Data Breach. The attackers stole millions of credit and debit card information, as well as names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. Companies need to take precautions, as to not fall prey to these cybercriminals. The consequences of these breaches can be far reaching for both the consumers and you, the retailer. Consumers are usually insured and will recoup their money, but the process can be lengthy and tedious. However, as a company you have a bit more to worry about: negative brand image, customer lawsuits, and general decline of sales as can be expected once the trust of retailers has been broken.
Here are some steps retailers can take to protect your customer’s data:
- Partner up
Sometimes it is best to leave the data security to the experts. In a lot of cases the organization is lacking the necessary talent, skills and budget to properly address security in-house. So partner up with a data security vendor. - Put an encryption policy in place
The best form of data security is data that is encrypted, so that criminals cannot read it! - Use the latest payment technology
EMV Cards, these credit cards are smart cards that have chips that store their data on integrated circuits rather than magnetic stripes, and are designed to prevent fraudulent transactions. - Consider a company’s risk management profile
For each of your systems, you should look at how those systems are vulnerable and the probability that a threat agent will capitalize on those vulnerabilities. - Train your employees
Conduct workshops that educate your employees about such things as the dangers of phishing emails, so that they can start employees best practices and avoid internal threats.
WinMagic – Your Trusted Source for Data Security
Are you looking for ways to safeguard your company’s most valuable asset? Contact WinMagic today at 1-888-879-5879. WinMagic has been helping customers secure data through encryption since 1997.
Our products have won several awards, and we have more than five million clients in over 80 countries. Find out how our data encryption solutions can work for you and your business by speaking with a customer service representative.
