Intelligent CISO Issue 20 | Page 22

infographic F SonicWall has released research revealing the growing number of cyberthreats facing modern retailers. 22 For cybercriminals, retail is where the money is. The possibility of spiriting away and selling thousands or millions of credit card details and chunks of consumer information is a powerful incentive. SonicWall’s Executive Brief: The Challenge of Multi-Vector Cyberattacks for Retail offers insight into the multi-vector nature common to most high-profile security breaches in retail enterprises. IT directors and security officers can learn about several of the characteristics common to recent breaches that have hit the headlines, including the damages and casualties in the millions, and how multi vector attacks have contributed to this. According to the report, modern retailers have had decades to toughen their brick-and-mortar stores against theft, but only a few years to harden their IT networks against data theft. Criminals have turned to the more subtle and lucrative option of sneaking onto the network, exploiting internal gaps in security and quietly copying huge amounts of sensitive data to storage outside of the network. These breaches include attack vectors as diverse as viruses, spyware, phishing, rogue software, encrypted threats and spam. A multilayer strategy is the only realistic defence against them. Terry Greer-King, VP of EMEA at SonicWall, said: "The retail sector is under constant threat of cyberattacks due to its vast repository of customer data, which cybercriminals steal in order to sell in the Dark Web. “Especially in the upcoming peak shopping season, cybercriminals are likely to amp up their attacks on retailers, hoping to capitalise on their increased activity. “With many retailers relying on the last quarter of the year to boost their earnings, the potential damage increases exponentially. “Retailers, whatever their size, should adopt both preventative and recovery measures to avoid data breaches that would lead to loss of customer trust, reparation costs, reputational damage and compliance issues that would follow them well into the new year. “Adopting a layered security solution that's able to block attackers at every step of the way is the safest option for retailers to protect their business against intrusions and attacks." Visit sonicwall.com/resources/brief/ executive-brief-the-challenge-of-multi- vector-cyberattacks-for-retail/ for more information. u The retail sector is under constant threat of cyberattacks due to its vast repository of customer data, which cybercriminals steal in order to sell in the Dark Web. Issue 20 | www.intelligentciso.com