The retail sector, increasingly digital and technology-dependent, has become one of the preferred targets of cybercriminals. Nearly 25% of all cyberattacks worldwide today target retail companies. It is estimated that 80% of global retailers experienced attacks in the past year—many facing multiple incidents, such as website malware infections, attempted fraudulent transactions, and payment gateway breaches.
The financial impacts are also escalating: the average cost of a data breach in retail reached approximately $3.91 million in 2024, an 18% increase from the previous year. Beyond the direct financial loss, these incidents shake consumer trust—62% of customers say they do not trust the security of their data with retail companies.
Main risks: data, availability, and fraud
Various cyber threats impact modern digital retail, with the most critical being the leakage of sensitive data, system unavailability, denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, and online fraud. Data leaks expose customers’ confidential information, potentially resulting in loss of trust, regulatory penalties, and damage to brand reputation. Unavailability caused by failures or attacks, such as ransomware, paralyzes essential systems, harms sales, and can lead to significant financial losses.
DDoS attacks, especially critical during campaigns like Black Friday, take down websites by overwhelming servers with malicious traffic, causing immediate loss of sales and damage to the company’s image. Digital fraud, such as the use of stolen cards and payment interception, exploits process flaws and is difficult to prevent due to speed and the absence of clear standards. These risks often combine, reinforcing the need for a structured and holistic approach to digital security to mitigate business impacts.
Structured IT governance: the key to risk mitigation
To counter growing threats, digital retailers need to adopt robust and well-structured IT governance, based on best practices and compliance.
This includes everything from planning responses to different attack scenarios in advance to deploying redundant IT architecture and business continuity plans. With governance, the company can anticipate threats and prepare responses, rather than reacting chaotically after damage occurs.
For example, well-trained security teams and defined protocols can contain a ransomware attack before it spreads or isolate an affected system to keep the rest of operations running. This proactive stance drastically reduces both the frequency and impact of incidents.
Robust IT governance in digital retail should be based on essential pillars, such as clear security policies defining detailed protocols, periodic audits, and continuous employee training. In addition, it is crucial to implement rigorous access management, adopting the principle of least privilege and advanced authentication tools, minimizing internal vulnerabilities and preventing misuse. Complementing these practices, it is essential to automate critical processes like security updates, continuous monitoring, and frequent backups, reducing human error and accelerating responses.
In summary, as retail becomes more digital and cybercriminals more audacious, investing in solid IT governance and rigorous security practices is no longer optional—it is a strategic imperative for survival and success in the sector.
Well-structured governance, supported by industry best practices and compliance standards, mitigates cyber risks and increases the operational resilience of retail companies. This means protecting critical data and essential systems against threats but also ensuring that, even in the face of an incident, the company can maintain its operations or recover quickly.
The result is twofold: preserving business continuity and maintaining customer trust in a secure digital shopping environment. In a scenario of constantly evolving threats, the ability to anticipate risks and respond effectively can define which retail organizations will thrive in the digital era safely and sustainably.
By Luciano Costa, co-founder of Setrion Software
