In a time when digital transactions and data storage is at its highest, retailers and consumers alike are dealing with the repercussions of data breaches. Most recently, major retailers such as Target and Apple, #36 and #6 on the Fortune 500 list, have received a lot of press – and scrutiny – due to major data breaches. The problem is even making its way to local government entities such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, including an incident recently in California.
While retailers are the targets of such acts, it’s often consumer information, sometimes confidential, that’s being taken. This information includes email and home addresses as well as social security and home phone numbers. In the case of the Target data breach, many shoppers even had their credit card and PIN number data stolen; although Target did claim that this information was heavily encrypted and extremely difficult to decipher.
In the end it’s becoming more and more difficult for consumers to trust retailers (or any organization) when it comes to providing credit card, personal, or other information. How do you know it’s safe? What is the company doing to ensure information isn’t breached? It’s simple questions like these that everyone is beginning to ask, on both the retailer and consumer side of things.
If these data breaches have taught us anything it’s that data security is more important now than ever before. For companies and organizations, the Information Age calls for increased awareness when assessing data security needs and guarding against future intrusions. If not, consumers may take drastic measures that could ultimately hurt the retailers even more.
It may be a stretch to think people will simply stop shopping online or at major stores. It’s also silly to think this problem will simply go away any time soon. It could be more advantageous for consumers to use cash or prepaid cards without personal information instead of credit cards. Of course, this would be only the case if data intrusion became so bad that everybody’s personal information was being taken on a regular basis – which seems more and more likely every day.
So, what can retailers and consumers do to safeguard themselves from data breaches? Luckily, there are solutions out there to help safeguard company and customer information.
Retailers and other companies can consistently perform penetration testing, network and cyber assessments, and data security assessments to ensure that their data is safe and secure from a possible breach. Consumers can use credit monitoring organizations and identity theft protection services to help them stay informed about any personal information that may be at risk.
Ultimately, it will to take a joint effort on the part of the retailer and consumer to ensure that data breaches are kept to a minimum. However, it will be up to retailers to regain trust from their customers by performing regular data security assessments along with prioritizing security issues and addressing the most urgent security needs.
Neovera is an expert in the field of data security and a market leader in IT Infrastructure Security services, with over a decade of experience identifying risks and outlining specific, actionable steps to improve IT infrastructure security for companies in every industry. We apply our in-depth knowledge of existing security policies, procedures, controls and mechanisms, ensuring industry best practices and compliance standards, helping you prioritize your security issues and address your most urgent needs. Our comprehensive evaluation of your environment not only assesses the state of your current security systems, but also includes strategies to reduce future risk.
Neovera realizes the importance of data security, and we practice what we preach when it comes to guarding against potential network penetration and assessing overall risks. We champion the cause of educating our customers about the importance of data security in an ever-evolving digital world.