The retail industry has always been a favorite target of cybercriminals. Recent studies have shown a great surge in cybersecurity threats against the retail industry that has become a fundamental business risk for retailers. Studies show cyber security threats lead to loss of customers and leave customers unsatisfied with the services of the company. Following the major data breaches that affected Target, Home Depot, and TJX — retail security threats have now become a daily concern for retailers.
Cyber attacks could be a reason for the global supply chain crisis. Any disruption could be a reason for delays in shipments and could even keep physical and digital store shelves empty throughout the season.
Online retailer institutions have been a primary target of automated bot activities and of DDoS attacks – spiking 200% in September 2021. Bots could be designed for either good or malicious activity. A malicious bot is a self-propagating malware that hits a host and connects back to a central server (s) that acts as a command and control (C&C) center for an entire network of compromised devices, or “botnet.” With the use of a botnet, malicious actors can launch broad-based, “remote-control,” flood-type attacks against their victims.
In 2021, monthly bad bot cyberattacks on retail websites increased up to 13%, which is double from the previous year. The research found out that this year 57% of cyberattacks that targeted eCommerce websites were carried out by bad bots.
The study further read that in 2021 the bad bots made up 33% of the total cyberattacks on websites in all other organizations. According to the researchers, a takeover of customers’ accounts remain a big risk for customers who have login into websites with their sensitive data including credit card or payment information.
Compared to other organizations, online retailer institutions face a higher volume of account takeover logins (32.8%) in 2021, compared to the average logins (25.5%) across all other industries. There are 4 Common Retail Security Threats that industries usually face including Refund Fraud, IOT Vulnerabilities, Gift Card Hacking, and Supply Chain Attacks. It's the pandemic effect that e-commerce has become a center for cyber threats, according to the researchers.
