Before the pandemic, buy online, pickup in store (BOPIS) became hugely popular to consumers who didn’t want to have to wait for items to be delivered, pay for shipping or for those that wanted to avoid shopping in store altogether. However, as retailers adopted BOPIS, its rise flipped a switch and increased opportunities for fraudsters, enabling them to use stolen credit card information to make purchases online and then simply arrive at the store to pick up the item. So what can retailers do to ensure their customers are staying safe? Here are a few things to consider:

Department store chain Kmart has suffered a cyberattack by the Egregor ransomware operation, resulting in the encryption of devices and servers connected to the company’s networks. According to Bleeping Computer, online stores continue to operate, but the 'Transformco Human Resources Site,' 88sears.com, is currently offline, leading employees to believe the outage is caused by the recent ransomware attack.

This holiday season, more consumers than ever will be shopping digitally - and cybercriminals are already capitalizing on the opportunity. Greg Foss, Senior Cybersecurity Strategist at VMware Carbon Black, looked through the dark web to find that: There’s a continued rise in e-skimming attacks in the retail sector, where attackers inject JavaScript into website payment processing pages in order to siphon credit cards and account credentials from customers. 

The pandemic has redefined what it means to be a resilient business, especially when it comes to retail. “Essential” businesses that have remained open, such as supermarkets or pharmacies, have had to figure out how to operate safely in this new world. No matter the type of retailer, the importance of cybersecurity hasn’t gone away. If anything, it becomes more important as a cyber disruption could be the fatal final straw for a business looking for a smooth return to operations and maintain its brand image and reputation.