Cybercriminals Gear Up for Holiday Shopping Season

By Fahmida Y. Rashid on November 25, 2014
 
With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just a few short days away and the memory of the Target breach still fresh, retailers are under heavy scrutiny. Cyber-criminals will be taking advantage of heavy traffic and increased sales to launch their campaigns this shopping season, and security teams need to be alert for suspicious activity, experts warned.
Retail experts estimate this year's shopping spending will total almost $750 billion this year, and the frenzy will kick off this week with Black Friday sales in stores and Cyber Monday deals online. 
The majority of these sales will rely on credit card transactions, and the past year has shown that payment card data is highly vulnerable. There has been a focus on point-of-sale (PoS) systems in brick-and-mortar locations and the shift to chip-based credit cards, but e-commerce transactions remain highly vulnerable to attack.
Security teams will need to be especially proactive in monitoring their confidential data and assets for any unusual activity, said TK Keanini, CTO at Lancope.
“We have seen throughout 2014 that cybercrime never stops,” Keanini said. “Attacks are likely to escalate even further in the coming weeks."
 
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