Data Security

The landmark California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) data privacy legislation is certainly good news for California consumers, who can now control how their personal data is collected and processed. For companies doing the data collection, however, CCPA/CPRA is a wake-up call, alerting them to potential prosecution and crippling fines…

Overall consumer spending is at an all-time high. This is in spite of worldwide inflation, supply chain shortages, and evolving shopping preferences. Experts now anticipate that consumer demand will only continue to rise, especially in the U.S. In an effort to capitalize on today’s increasing shift to online shopping, many businesses have prioritized e-commerce or omnichannel…

As the pandemic shifted most shopping online, it has brought even more criminal activity with it. For example, retailers have suffered massive volumes of cyberattacks between 2019 and 2020, according to research from Akamai. The report notes while there were millions of cyberattacks overall, the retail industry was hit the hardest, taking the brunt of…

The continued ripple effect of the pandemic’s impact to all forms of retail has created a phenomenal digital disruption in the industry. With online purchases expected to hit record numbers this year — $1 trillion, according to Adobe — cybersecurity is top of mind for any brand with an online presence handling transactions. With the number of transactions…

Consumers and retailers alike are witnessing the explosive growth of e-commerce activity over the past two years, due in large part to the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Online shopping activity is unsurprisingly amplified greatly by the holiday shopping season, with the National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasting holiday sales during November and December to grow between 8.5 percent…

Retailers have become a primary target of cybercriminals. A ransomware attack hit 44 percent of retail organizations in 2020, and many paid a very high price. The average cost of recovery from a ransomware attack in retail was nearly $2 million, according to the State of Ransomware in Retail 2021 report by Sophos. The costs…

The QR code has become a ubiquitous part of the consumer experience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, as businesses seek ways to limit physical contact. Consumer confidence in the QR code is also high. Eighty-seven percent of respondents in a 2020 Ivanti Report felt secure using a QR code to complete a financial transaction. However, in…

The retail industry is facing numerous challenges stemming from the pandemic and its aftermath. From managing staffing and supply chain shortages to enforcing health safety precautions, retailers may be unintentionally ignoring another rising threat: cyber crime. Cyber threats are rising, with one report suggesting it could cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. On…

Neiman Marcus Group said on Thursday it had notified about 4.6 million online customers that their personal information, including names, contact information and credit card numbers, may have been accessed in a data hack. The high-end department store chain said it notified law enforcement authorities about the data breach, which it said happened in May…

According to McKinsey, nearly three-quarters of people who have tried curbside; buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS); or delivery want to continue using these services after the pandemic ends. Customer expectations have changed, and it’s become key for retailers to adopt different types of touchpoints across both physical and digital channels. To support the successful execution of these services, retailers…