{"id":247249,"date":"2025-10-07T09:34:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T09:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/?p=247249"},"modified":"2025-10-10T09:06:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T09:06:37","slug":"why-retailers-must-lock-down-every-data-door-to-withstand-black-fridays-heightened-cyber-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/builder\/why-retailers-must-lock-down-every-data-door-to-withstand-black-fridays-heightened-cyber-threats\/","title":{"rendered":"Why retailers must lock down every data door to withstand Black Friday\u2019s heightened cyber threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post<\/a> was originally published on this site<\/a><\/p>

As local retailers gear up for Black <\/span>Friday<\/span> <\/span>\u2013 the year\u2019s biggest shopping event \u2013 the rush to process payments, manage stock and serve customers across multiple branches leaves many exposed to a surge <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>cyber<\/span> <\/span>threats.<\/p>\n

From an IT perspective, Black <\/span>Friday<\/span> <\/span>typically translates into an exponential spike <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>traffic for retailers, placing a significantly higher demand across infrastructure such as online platforms and cloud environments.<\/p>\n

This surge <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>activity poses risks, as cybercriminals often exploit system vulnerabilities while retailers’ IT teams typically focus on uptime and performance, which can leave security gaps overlooked.<\/p>\n

Cybersecurity today is deeply intertwined with <\/span>data<\/span> <\/span>management, and when dealing with operations spread across multiple provinces, with varying connectivity between branches, warehouses and head offices, it quickly becomes apparent how fragmented the landscape can be.<\/p>\n

Retailers often make infrastructure decisions based on location, connectivity quality, or revenue potential. While understandable, this creates significant disparities across systems, and those disparities become blind spots.<\/p>\n

The real vulnerability<\/b><\/h2>\n

For example, while the <\/span>data<\/span> <\/span>centre infrastructure might be managed with precision, <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>line with best practices and robust security principles, at the branch level, the retailer may have point-of-sale systems running outdated software, disconnected from the broader security framework. That is the weak link, and it is not just theoretical, but a real vulnerability.<\/p>\n

Ransomware tops the list of threats faced by retailers and is almost always the entry point. Whether through phishing, compromised credentials, or insider mistakes, attackers get <\/span>in<\/span>, encrypt everything and demand payment, which sometimes escalates to double or triple extortion.<\/p>\n

Black <\/span>Friday<\/span> <\/span>amplifies this risk, and threats such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks also spike, especially targeting payment platforms. If retailers cannot transact, business grinds to a halt.<\/p>\n

Retailers <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>face the reality that their endpoints are the weakest link. Because centralised systems offer better control, many large enterprises are moving back to office-based models. Remote work, by contrast, often relies on unsecured home setups and public Wi-Fi, making it easy for attackers to exploit.<\/p>\n

Any<\/span> <\/span>connection to your retail network <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>be protected. Additionally, credential theft and social engineering are rising, with billions of leaked records enabling attackers to impersonate staff and launch targeted campaigns.<\/p>\n

Disruption means instant revenue loss<\/b><\/h3>\n

Disrupting a retailer\u2019s e-commerce or point-of-sale system means instant revenue loss. Transactions stop, and customer experience takes a major hit, especially if attackers go beyond the store and target customers directly.<\/p>\n

Brand trust also suffers as most consumers will not return to a retailer if they feel exposed by a breach. And with regulations like DORA, GDPR, and POPIA <\/span>in<\/span> <\/span>play, the fallout is not just reputational, but also financial and legal. A breach could trigger compliance violations, insurance claims and regulatory scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Cyber<\/span> <\/span>resilience depends on four elements: visibility, tested backups, proactive simulations and human awareness. It is not about having protection but about knowing it works.<\/p>\n

As retailers try to balance the need for fast transactions and customer service with robust <\/span>data<\/span> <\/span>protection measures, they need to understand that the world has changed, and so <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>their approach to infrastructure and backup. Backup environments now require the same rigour as production systems.<\/p>\n

Strong platform and endpoint protection<\/b><\/h3>\n

Fast, secure transactions depend on robust platforms and strong endpoint protection. Monitoring across distributed environments is critical, and service providers <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>understand the full stack: infrastructure, backup and security. AI and automation are also essential, and while modern backup tools include threat detection and anomaly response, they <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>be tested to ensure they\u2019ll work when needed.<\/p>\n

The next step is integration. Backup and security platforms <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>communicate to deliver real-time visibility, speed and resilience. That is how organisations can stay ahead of today\u2019s threats without sacrificing performance.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, cybersecurity is a company-wide responsibility and starts with recognising that protection <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>extend across the entire retail ecosystem: infrastructure, endpoints, people and processes. Every connected component is a potential entry point that <\/span>must<\/span> <\/span>be protected.<\/p>\n

Hemant Harie, Group CTO at <\/span>Data<\/span> <\/span>Management Professionals South Africa.<\/i><\/p>\n

Hemant Harie, Group CTO at Data Management Professionals South Africa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BUSINESS REPORT <\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As local retailers gear up for Black\u00a0Friday\u00a0\u2013 the year\u2019s biggest shopping event \u2013 the rush to process payments, manage stock and serve customers across multiple branches leaves many exposed to a surge\u00a0in\u00a0cyber\u00a0threats.From an IT perspective, Black\u00a0Friday\u00a0typically translates into an exponential spike\u00a0in\u00a0traffic for retailers, placing a significantly higher demand across infrastructure such as online platforms and cloud environments.This surge\u00a0in\u00a0activity poses risks, as cybercriminals often exploit system vulnerabilities while retailers’ IT teams typically focus on uptime and performance, which can leave security gaps overlooked.Cybersecurity today is deeply intertwined with\u00a0data\u00a0management, and when dealing with operations spread across multiple provinces, with varying connectivity between branches, warehouses and head offices, it quickly becomes apparent how fragmented the landscape can be.Retailers often make infrastructure decisions based on location, connectivity quality, or revenue potential. While understandable, this creates significant disparities across systems, and those disparities become blind spots.The real vulnerabilityFor example, while the\u00a0data\u00a0centre infrastructure might be managed with precision,\u00a0in\u00a0line with best practices and robust security principles, at the branch level, the retailer may have point-of-sale systems running outdated software, disconnected from the broader security framework. That is the weak link, and it is not just theoretical, but a real vulnerability.Ransomware tops the list of threats faced by retailers and is almost always the entry point. Whether through phishing, compromised credentials, or insider mistakes, attackers get\u00a0in, encrypt everything and demand payment, which sometimes escalates to double or triple extortion.Black\u00a0Friday\u00a0amplifies this risk, and threats such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks also spike, especially targeting payment platforms. If retailers cannot transact, business grinds to a halt.Retailers\u00a0must\u00a0face the reality that their endpoints are the weakest link. Because centralised systems offer better control, many large enterprises are moving back to office-based models. Remote work, by contrast, often relies on unsecured home setups and public Wi-Fi, making it easy for attackers to exploit.Any\u00a0connection to your retail network\u00a0must\u00a0be protected. Additionally, credential theft and social engineering are rising, with billions of leaked records enabling attackers to impersonate staff and launch targeted campaigns.Disruption means instant revenue lossDisrupting a retailer\u2019s e-commerce or point-of-sale system means instant revenue loss. Transactions stop, and customer experience takes a major hit, especially if attackers go beyond the store and target customers directly.Brand trust also suffers as most consumers will not return to a retailer if they feel exposed by a breach. And with regulations like DORA, GDPR, and POPIA\u00a0in\u00a0play, the fallout is not just reputational, but also financial and legal. A breach could trigger compliance violations, insurance claims and regulatory scrutiny.Cyber\u00a0resilience depends on four elements: visibility, tested backups, proactive simulations and human awareness. It is not about having protection but about knowing it works.As retailers try to balance the need for fast transactions and customer service with robust\u00a0data\u00a0protection measures, they need to understand that the world has changed, and so\u00a0must\u00a0their approach to infrastructure and backup. Backup environments now require the same rigour as production systems.Strong platform and endpoint protectionFast, secure transactions depend on robust platforms and strong endpoint protection. Monitoring across distributed environments is critical, and service providers\u00a0must\u00a0understand the full stack: infrastructure, backup and security. AI and automation are also essential, and while modern backup tools include threat detection and anomaly response, they\u00a0must\u00a0be tested to ensure they\u2019ll work when needed.The next step is integration. Backup and security platforms\u00a0must\u00a0communicate to deliver real-time visibility, speed and resilience. That is how organisations can stay ahead of today\u2019s threats without sacrificing performance.Ultimately, cybersecurity is a company-wide responsibility and starts with recognising that protection\u00a0must\u00a0extend across the entire retail ecosystem: infrastructure, endpoints, people and processes. Every connected component is a potential entry point that\u00a0must\u00a0be protected.Hemant Harie, Group CTO at\u00a0Data\u00a0Management Professionals South Africa.Hemant Harie, Group CTO at\u00a0Data\u00a0Management Professionals South AfricaBUSINESS REPORT\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":247251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-builder"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247249"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247250,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247249\/revisions\/247250"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premium-partners.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}