In the frenzied whirlwind of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping season, protecting your business’s reputation is extremely important. It’s not just about safeguarding your customers’ sensitive data; it’s about preserving your brand’s integrity. Whether you’re a small business or a global corporation, the importance of shielding customer information from cyber criminals is not something that should be taken lightly. The rise of cyber threats in the retail sector, particularly during high-traffic events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, highlights the cyber security measures businesses need to take in order to protect their assets from cyber criminals. Remember the Target breach from November 27 to December 15, 2013? That shocking incident remains relevant today, serving as a stark reminder of the risk’s businesses face.

Here are essential steps to protect your business this Black Friday and Cyber Monday:

Is Your Website secure? Cybercriminals are particularly fond of tactics like credit card skimming during the holiday season, it tends to be the most popular. Regardless of your website’s size, hackers are indiscriminate and employ automated tools to hunt for vulnerabilities.

How to Safeguard Your Website from Credit Card Skimming:

• Stay Updated: Ensure that computers with admin access to your website are secure. If your computer harbours malware, even the strongest website defences can crumble, as hackers can steal your credentials. Keep your employees’ software current with the latest security patches. Deploying antivirus software and a password manager can help bolster your website’s defences.
• Utilise a Web Application Firewall (WAF): Solutions like F5 Distributed Cloud can furnish your infrastructure with robust web application firewall protection. WAFs play a pivotal role in identifying and preventing potentially malicious data, including SQL attacks. Moreover, they act as sentinels, preventing unauthorised data, such as credit card details, from escaping your website. Incorporating a WAF provides an additional layer of protection that should complement, not substitute, regular patching.

If you’re unsure where to begin with implementing a Web Application Firewall, consider engaging in a conversation with one of our Technical Consultants to explore our Managed Service offerings today!

• Shield Users from website dependencies: Modern web pages are intricate compositions of various elements, including scripts, images, interactive features, and social widgets, sourced from diverse origins. These elements combine when a user’s browser loads a page, and this process repeats for each visitor. However, every dependency presents a potential entry point for malicious actors.

If a site hosting one of your dependencies gets compromised, attackers can exploit it to inject card-skimming code into your webpage without directly compromising your site. Since you lack control over the security and maintenance of external sites you rely on, protecting your users from these risks becomes paramount.

By diligently implementing these cyber security measures, you can bolster your business’s defences during the bustling Black Friday season and beyond, ensuring both your customers’ trust and your reputation remain intact.